So you want to "own " your own company

That statement only makes sense if your run the whole year for $1.30 per mile. You should be a politician.

Sometimes you have to take less to get to a better area. Chances are you got a good rate to get into the cheap freight area your in at the moment. Waiting for an extra $.20 cents per mile means you lose about $500 per day in lost revenue.

I live in NH where freight stinks. TMC and all the other big boys are hauling nonstop out of here for $1.10 per mile taking crushed cars and bailed cardboard trash. They take it to Ohio and from there they get an excellent rate.

 

You are absolutely right-- My bad. I knew it wasn't 3000.00 plus but I didn't look back until I saw your figure. It was $1388.00. I wrote these figures down from a guy at a truck stop that was sitting at a table near me doing figures. When I was posting this I had a smoke detector go off that got my attention and I didn't proof read before posting. I also didn't put the main part that the $5700.00 was gross and he said he had a little over $1000.00 in brokerage fees. I don't have the paper now but I think he said $1025.00 plus he forgot to add some deduction for a quarterly tax. All I know is that he had a bunch of figures that looked legitimate that involved a big number ($5700.00) and a crappy ($388.00) bottom line. I didn't figure that up at the time but told him it looked like he was getting screwed.
As for as us I think we did great. We bought 2 Columbia's off eBay for $11,000 each cash, contingent on a physical inspection. The guy was in a bad bind and had to sell. The auction closed around midnight and we left for Arkansas within minutes. They were great trucks with a little over 500,000 miles and we put a refrigerator, inverter, and microwave in both. We leased on hauling elevators but the broker kept screwing us around on back hauls and eventually didn't pay us and we didn't have a lot of money left to just pull the lease and look around. If we had the capital we could have hauled the elevators ourselves but needed more for fuel money than we had. They were the wrong kind of trucks to outfit for the oilfield and we got an offer to sell the trucks for $16000.00 each which was great. Almost at the same time I got a call to go to work for another guy in the oilfield so we sold out and moved on. We may be able to get other trucks and lease them on but so far things are less stressful and the money is great. Last week I made $2200.00 and never drove the truck a single mile. The truck was on a barge and we were on 12 hour shifts on standby. This week was 1304.22, because of a storm and I took time off. I did work some but still didn't drive one mile. I think we will play this out for a while.
The point is still that anyone getting into the business has to check it out and be frugal. It is not all a bed of roses and would be a mistake to not look at all angles. Also, If you are legitimately incorporated or LLC there is protection. Having the "hands on the wheel" does not automatically pierce the corporate umbrella. There is most certainly a difference between being an employee of a company regardless if you own it or Bob Boohoo and you work for him. The company is the entity. This does not mean a person can not be sued because anyone can be but I assure you that those that think they do not have protection need to check with an attorney. If that were true every company driver would be at risk of being sued every time there was a wreck and that is why a company has insurance. We incorporated on advice of more than one attorney and became employees of a company. Limits of liability is a main reason to form a company and there is not a "truck driver's" exception. Also, aside from that, if a company goes under, the company is as far as creditors can look unless personal guarantee's are signed by a principle stock holder. It is not 100% that an individual will not be sued but it is 100% fact that it will limit liability to be under a corporate umbrella. Issues may arise if money is co-mingled or other exceptions but to solve the issue need only be a call to an attorney to verify.

 

Every driver is at risk of being sued. Many are not, some are. For most drivers, getting money from them is like getting blood from a turnip. The big company has the deep pockets. If you are a small o/o, and you destroy your assets in an accident, the lawyers will sue the driver if that driver has any personal assets at all. In most cases for small o/o, being incorporated is time consuming, many times cost more in taxes according to which state you live in, involves more paperwork, cost more in accountant fees, and offers very little to none in protection. If you are a fortune 500 company with many employees, yes, by all means incorporate. A small one man show is just spending money that could be put in his pocket.

 

I am just saying working for a somebody who takes that .20CPM from you instead of doing stuff yourself and getting it. Not sitting because of the .20CPM less. I also understand about taking a load from say BFE WY for 1.00 a mile to get to Chicago for a load paying 3.00 a mile.

 

Oh, ok. Sorry misunderstood.

 

I do really need to stress the point of keep running. Sitting around does not do much good to your bottom line. Ever notice a TMC or Swift truck sitting around waiting for a load? Not normally.

I run at least 3,800 miles per week when I'm out. I would rather make $5,700 at $1.50 per mile then $3,600 for 2,000 miles at $1.80 per mile.

I'm out for 5 weeks and my job is to drive, not sit around and take naps and get fat.

I tend to take the long runs at a lower rate as opposed to the short runs at a higher rate. When all is said and done after 5 weeks I've done much better.

Every once in a while I take a good paying load to a real bad freight area. Sometimes I get another good rate to an even crappier place after that. After a few of those I dead head 300 miles to a better spot. In the end I've done pretty good and been to some very scenic areas out in left field. Very nice break and no stress.

 

I like your thought process.

 

or you can just go do a cr england lease and save yourself about 95% of the trouble....

 

.........

 

Been hitting the pipe too much?