Owner operator business growth questions

if i wanted to drive for someone else i myself just dont see why i would ever drive for someone not offering health amd 401k

 

maybe ill start my own thread if i cant get answers here

 

If I had to drive for someone else.......

I wouldn’t drive.

 

It's just my opinion so take it for what it's worth.

Some drivers don't want to work for a large company. Some drivers would prefer to be more of an integral part of what's going on if there are only a few drivers there. Some drivers prefer a place where they know the owner and they work right with him rather than they never meet the owner and all they see are managers and dispatchers and they are simply driver number XXX. Some guys prefer a smaller company that respects them and knows their name and respects their home time and whatever their needs are and works with them.

I would think that there are some small fleets that pay very well and try to pay the driver well enough to offset the health and 401k. Or they pay them whatever is a fair percentage.

There are other factors besides pay that people look for when they work. If someone Works in a much better work environment where it's less stress and things are much more easygoing, that's a plus.

There are two things that come to mind first. The first thing is that if you want someone good you have to find a way to pay them.

The second thing is you have to be able to offer them something different that a large company doesn't.

I also think there are some guys that don't particularly want to drive a brand new plastic truck. I know that when I worked for places where they had new trucks or practically new trucks there were plenty of things wrong with them that drove me nuts. Like clutches being out of adjustment and clutch brakes not working. I would have much rather worked at a place that when there is mechanical problem they jump right on it. And I also would have preferred to work at a place where I had one truck that was mine and no one else drove it.

It is not easy, and it is one of the most difficult parts of growth. It's that way with growing and expanding contracting businesses also.

 

Your husband needs to stick to one truck for a while.

Why?

Because one or one hundred, it is all the same paper work. There is nothing more than the same safety file, the same financial records and the same insurance records for all the trucks.

The biggest issue is operating capital, if you don't have $20k to $30k PER TRUCK sitting in reserve, don't bother.

If he is being introduced to excel by the IRS, then he needs to take a break from this idea, get his crap together with record keeping as I described above, get an accountant involved and then start acting as this is a business.

All this other crap that people are talking about, 401k to what type of pay scheme to work out does not matter until he has a grip on running it like a business.

 

You can't compete with them, unless you somehow hit the lottery and got a direct customer that pays above market rates, then manage to keep them when someone comes in and offers to run their loads for $1 less.

The way you do it is offer a man a schedule and pay arrangement that doesn't require a calculus degree to predict next week's take home pay. Then, you make sure you pay him what you agreed to, on the day you agreed to.

The least you can offer is an above-board W2 wage, make the tax deposits like you're supposed to, and either have WC where required or pay for an occ/acc policy where you don't.

When things don't work out, as in breakdowns and such, you figure out a way to make them whole on payday. Little things like that are a big deal.

Don't mess with a man's money, if I wasn't clear enough about that already.

I like what @Dino soar posted, here's another perspective.

99% of the prospective drivers you'll see are coming to you because the companies offering a great benefit plan won't hire them for some reason. Maybe something on their criminal background. Maybe driving violations or accidents, or dirty drug tests. Something that would make a big fleet say no. They are counting on the fact you are either too naïve, or don't know how, to find their secret.

That sounds kind of bleak, but sometimes it isn't. You have to be the judge of it. There will be a small handful that come clean on the application/interview. Maybe it's something you can work with. Maybe it's something they did as a 20-something that the 50 yr old man in front of you would never do again. It's a risk you might have the time to consider, that a big fleet with hundreds of better applicants to choose from just won't. There's so many ways this can go right, as there are that will go wrong. But it's something you can consider that a big fleet won't.

Then there's that 1% unicorn: The guy that has dreams of becoming an owner operator or independent, but just hasn't mustered up the cash or the nerve to take the leap. He's looking for a place he can learn from, and won't work for the bigger companies. He's not your average 2nd choice company driver. He isn't expecting a six figure salary and benefit package. He's also not a dummy either. He is going to look at you as a potential business partner and try to figure out your success or lack of. The more transparency you offer this one, the more likely you can hire him and keep him. The trade off for you is more hands-on time to get a top tier driver that won't tear up your equipment or steal from you. But you better come correct, or this guy will move right on to someone else with more integrity or opportunity. The downside is, when he's finally ready to make the leap, you need to be the enabler and not hold him back. Encourage that move and give him all the support to be successful you can.

You don't have to be an independent to run multiple trucks and drivers. There are many Landstar, FedEx, and the like contractors that are decent sized outfits. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to expand unless you have a lower risk opportunity to pursue. The outfits I mention can offer that. If you're independent, it's all on you to do the sales side and get profitable freight on your trucks. It's easier said than done.

I'll add to what @Ridgeline said. The questions you're asking tell me you have no idea how much you don't know about the part of trucking that doesn't involve holding a steering wheel and looking at a carrier settlement on payday. Do yourself a favor and get to know and be somewhat comfortable with all aspects of the industry before you go buying more trucks and hiring drivers to put in them. You'll make better decisions and avoid some really bad ones. You should already know there's a dozen such opportunities around every corner who are very practiced at getting their hands in your pockets for no good.

Also bear in mind that nobody in the world cares about your business success than the person you see in the mirror. There are a lot of little things an owner will do in the course of routine business that few company drivers will do, or even be capable of, that add up to substantial money. Or that you'd trust to do right even if they claim they can. A good starting point to figure out what this will cost: take your one truck operation maintenance and repair budget and double it for a truck with a company driver in the seat. Forget about installing a $10 clearance light on the side of the road. Now it's gonna be a $100 bill at the Petro shop. That sketchy trailer tire you've been watching and take into the tire shop for a new $400 tire? Now it's going to pop on the road and cost you $1,000 to roll a service truck for the same thing. Obviously there's some things you can do to mitigate that risk. On the other hand, it ain't you behind the wheel so you can't be 100% on top of everything all the time.

It's just not a simple multiplication of profit. The risks and cost climb more steeply than you imagine when you add equipment.

 

finding drivers can be a challenge especially now ... so were a lot of guys get messed up is they get the second truck and find a driver and he quits and suddenly there is 2 truck payments to make and insurance so you have to be able to get along with the extra truck sitting in the driveway for awhile and also have twice the maintenance money available. ....... best to have 1 truck paid for before buying a second