owner ops happier or more stressed?

Yop, we've been livin' the highlife....not....

I am a lot less worried about things than I was working for someone else. Freight will always have to move. That's a given. How I fit that piece of the puzzle into my daily life is another thing.

Since I don't have to answer per se to an employer, my wife has told me that life is really more relaxed around the house. It's been enjoyable.

There are always daily trials and distractions. You can either just roll with them, or you can sit and whine about them. Your choice. It's definitely not a life for the timid.

 

I guess I would add, I was both less stressed AND happier as just an O/O with my own authority, main reason was I didn't have to answer to anyone else (except of course your customers, AND the bank)

I always seemed to get frustrated because I saw the company doing things that made no logical sense, I'm sure every driver feels this way to a degree, BUT, drivers also don't always see or know the big picture.

Now I have no one to blame but myself, however, just to go one step further, with all of that being said, I now have several trucks and drivers on the road, yes I make good money and have a lot of toys, but I have more worries and stress than I ever did as an O/O.

If I had to do it all over again, and know what I know now, I would have just kept the one truck, and ran myself.

JMHO,

Stan

 

I have owned trucks for many years. I don't find running my own authority as being more stressful, for the most part. I do find that I am more stressed having to deal with all the new regulations every time I turn around. CSA is a joke, but we are the ones paying the bill. I could enjoy it much more if the government would stay out of my business. I am less stressed running my own business than when I drove a company truck. Some people feel more stressed when they have to worry about paying the bills. A certain amount of stress is good for everyone. I have a number of friends who are owner operators. I think that most are more stressed over all the over regulating government than running their businesses.

 

Good question OP. I am not an oo but wonder the same. I have been a business owner for 12 years in programming though. The problem was that I got too lazy since I had too much control. As a company driver, there are days when I didn't get a lot of sleep, weather sucks, I have a headache, but since I am forced to go I get up and go and afterwards I feel better and have a nice check. If I had control, I am sure I would have not driven those days and not made any money. So I was happier to know that I could take off if I really needed to, but stressed since I knew I still had to pay the bills. When the economy was good I made so much money that I could take long breaks without any worries, but now you have to work harder for less in the obama economy. I do know if I ever decide to become an OO I will have my truck totally decked out with every feature you could think of.

 

Well that must be a heavy burden to bear lol

 

I'm o/o leased to a a large company; I see all the BS the company drivers are taking; enforced dispatch, fuel routing waiting unpaid in yards for truck to get serviced , limited time off ; I'm happier ,make more $$ and more freedom .

 

Yeah I look at the relatively minor quibbles I have over 15 minutes detention pay, or even this bad load last week where I screwed myself out of 10 hours detention.. ..well, that one was on me. I never have to deal with trailer shuttling or searches or freebies like that company drivers put up with as a matter of forced routine. I determine if the load is to my liking, use my own judgement if it is a hassle not worth messing with, then have the ability to decline, or more importantly demand what the compensation will be before deciding to accept. At worst a quick glance at a confirmation and I miss something that bites me later but that's all on me and no one made me do it..

 

A lot of stress can be eliminated by changing your attitude. If you are a company driver, owner operator or independent, you can avoid some of the stresses by changing your attitude and how you deal with situations.

 

I was never a company driver. I was one of the few suckers that fell for the lease thing right off the bat. I did, however, get a truck out of it. And have had my own authority for the past 16 months.

So, I can only compare my own authority to driving under someone else's authority. The big thing to me is, I drove about half the miles, but made about twice the money. I also got to decide where I wanted to go, and for how much. How heavy the load was. No 'we'll swap you out, just go pick it up' crap, either.

Stress is there only if you let it be there for you. You can always be nervous. But, stress is because you don't have a lot of wiggle room. If that's the case, you're not making enough money. If making money is only about driving miles, and you NEED those 3000 miles this week from your employer and you only get 2200, then you'll be stressed, too. If you make enough to cover your expenses, set money aside for the inevitable (taxes, permits, plates, insurance, payments, repairs, tires, etc) you'll be a lot less stressed. I spent $1000 last week on my truck and trailer. And it didn't bug me at all. If I was a dollar-hauler, I'd probably be sweating it.

 

if you get stressed easily, and stress gets you down, being an O/O isn't for you... you need to be someone who can take stress in stride