So you want to "own " your own company

I have a couple friends of mine that wouldn't mind running team with me that I trust. If I were to make this into a team truck would it be possible to pay two drivers $1300 a week and maybe lower the overhead by maximizing the usage of the equipment? Does anyone have any strategies they could point me to? I'm just kinda frustrated because I don't really like where I work at, but my bills force me to stay there. If I could just make $200 more a week that would be awesome. I don't know how determined I am but I've done some pretty tough trucking. I don't mind lumping my own reefer loads or tarping a flatbed which I've done many times.

 

OK. Let's break down the numbers a bit further.

There were 792 FMCSA Notices of Action posted for April 14, 2010. 992 was a typo. My mistake.

# of Voluntary Revocations- 26

# of Involuntary Revocations- 139

# of Notice of pending Involuntary Revocations*- 271
(* liability insurance expires in 30 days)

# of Discontinuance Notices*- 284
(* insurance reinstated before final action taken)

# of Reinstatements*- 72
(* MC authority reinstated after being inactive more than 30 days)


Motor carriers with active authority: 176,528
Motor carriers with inactive authority: 294,296

Again, these were the numbers for ONE DAY. FMCSA posts Notices of Action each and every day, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) year round. They fluctuate from day to day, but have held this trend for the last couple of years.

The 5 to 1 ratio was too general and is misleading. Thanks for catching it.

 

your not gonna maximize your equipment by running it harder, your gonna wear it out faster. unless your running it yourself, you are throwing money away everytime another driver is beating it up. theres people on here who own their own trucks talking the numbers you're talking, i dont know how they stay in business. i bring home about 3 grand a week but you gotta make 5g to do that, and thats not counting unexpected repairs, which has to come out of the 3 grand...

 

used daycabs are about the same price as used cars too....I'd like to figure out an owner-operator home-everyday oppurtunity. hehehe.

 

Most dump buckets and gas haulers are local and most are O/O's and home everyday. If you notice they all mainly run daycabs.

 

this is the best site byfar for truckers

 

Good evening ladies and gentleman,
IM posting from Philadelphia tonight I am 23 years old....
I am not a driver..
So please excuse my partial ignorance towards the industry
if at anytime during your reading you come across something that I may have misinterpreted from the networking I have encountered with truckers/brokers/friends/family/

( My situation )

My father has been a trucker for over 20 years, with his knowledge and experience we are in the process of starting are "own" business we are going to start with 3 trucks,
I will be investing my money to make this a reality ( ive read about 12 pages of the sticky topic atop the page , you can read that here )

ive been browsing the boards and researching what alot of you have been going threw,
I know alot of you will say "DON'T DO IT" its a recession," DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY THE GOVERNMENT DICKS US"
I realize at this time how ruff it is out there,
we could also say that bill gates started a little known company in a recession BUT by no means do I have intentions of sitting here and compare apples and oranges,
furthermore I understand that its EVERYONE'S childhood dream to become a millionaire and a successful business owner

Im a very logical and understanding person and its not my intended goal within a 1-2 years period to become the next JB HUNT..LOL,
I understand that many of you have made the leap and adjustment from company drivers to O/O's....
I am fully aware of all the requirements that the Gov. Has put in place..
ie;
CVSA-2010... The more I read the fine print the more conflicts I see.
Hiring requirements for employees..... Sex,race,religion, sexual orientation,handicaps,& the President's new Healthcare requirements
I WAS TOLD TOO....
NET-VS-NET
Compare that to what you will get in interest from a 180 day "T" bill or CD. If you had ALL your trucking money invested in one.
Chances are that you will show a larger return on your investment with the "T" bills.. And far fewer headaches.. And you will have time to go fishing instead of using 100% of your time & money trying to make ends meet."

Haha sorry for the long read,but hey that's why we are all here anyways'

my question to you all is this I have full faith and trust in my father to make this happen.but from YOUR PERSONAL VIEW, WHAT WOULD U DO?


Thank you very Much for your time and response
Joseph L Horner IV

 

Doesn't sound like you're sold on his idea. The ONLY way to make trucking work, or anything work for that matter, is to be committed to its success.
Although many around here think I'm full of hot air, I was raised to believe you can do anything if you set your mind to it. Plan the work and work the plan. I believe that still rings true today. You won't get the results you want without some long hours and hard work. I have no doubt it can be done.
People are freaking about CSA2010. Read through it and you'll realize that if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, there won't be any problems. I think this program is designed to weed out the "bad actors" in this industry.
Hope this helps...

 

willworkforfood,

good luck to you and your father, as a father, I would want the best for my son,I'm sure he wants the best for both of you guys.
Be prepared for long hours( initially getting started, expect those hours w/o pay),hard work to get get things up and running,etc..

If you and your father are committed to success, I say go for it, even in a ressesion like this.

Be determined to succeed ,
do almost everything yourself if you guy's can,(to keep overhead down), keep really good paper and electronic records( for future possible DOT,FMCSA and IRS audits).

Remember,
If a man doesn't attempt to succeed with a business,
that man has already started the down the road to business failure.
( unknown quote, not my quote!)

crusin

 

I wanna be an o/o but I need some help and advice first.

A little info about myself:

I'm 26
Single
Current Occupation farmer
Have had a CDL for about 7 months
Have been driving trucks for about 8 years
Live in Nebraska
And love driving trucks

Financially I know i can buy a truck and trailer (used of course). So now i have a some questions about getting started:

Should a person drive for a company before becoming an o/o?
What steps do I need to take after buying a truck and trailer?
What kind of trailer will make more money (Flatbed, Dry Van, Reefer)?
How do I find loads? I've looked at Getloaded.com but don't really understand how it works.

I know some truckers but none are o/o, so they can't really give me any advice. I sure would apreciate any help anyone can give me.

Thanks,
Jeff

P.S.
I'm sure I could think of a hundred more questions but I don't want to make this a really long post, so if there are any questions that I didn't ask that are important please let me know. Thanks again.