Starting a trucking COMPANY worth it?

If you decide you like Trucking you will succeed.I sometimes wish I had a business not as regulated as Trucking.Think of all options and if you decide to get into Trucking I’m sure you will succeed.I always hear “I don’t know how you do it. My answer is simple I enjoy it like anything it’s what you make of it.If I waited till I saved a ton of money to buy my first truck it would have never happened.As I recall I bought a truck so I could make a little more than driving for someone else. I started with nothing worked hard and over time learned and am still learning all I can.All the details of the legalities is no big deal just have to keep up with everything.In my opinion having choices equals freedom so I try not to get so in debt that I am trapped.I think $1500 a month max truck and trailer pymts is reasonable. The less the better.Labor costs are about $100 an hour so you should plan on doing all you can yourself. I find I know it’s done right that way.I run 1 truck 1 trailer with my own authority for 15 yrs now.Its a full time job 2800 miles a week avg. working 5 1/2 days avg although lately working a bit less as rates have risen and I’m not greedy.Paperwork daily and weekly,and keeping a 17 yr old truck running cost efficiently is a challenge.Is it risky?Is it stressfull at times?of course.But So is counting on someone else to provide for your livelyhood.Why not ask your Uncle? I’m sure you can get some advice there.I do it because It’s what I know and like.I think I’m pretty good at it just like every other Trucker out there. However It is definitely a hands on full time job. I think a person has to enjoy the challenge to succeed. If you start with 1 truck and drive it yourself you will figure the rest out, that is whether or not to grow the company or not.The best thing you have going for you is your age.I read a lot of good advice here.Logistics schooling is good because it gives you credentials. Lots of things can change throughout life. You may run a company and then work for someone for a while.Then start another company later in life.Ive seen a lot of changes over the years.The business changes a lot and it changes fast. Got to be able to adapt and survive one way or another.You will figure it out. If you decide to get into Trucking I wish you the best.The industry needs new people willing to do the job. Everyone’s different. I worked for a very successful company owned by a Man that never drove a truck. Everyone attributed his success to the fact he ran it like a business first. Others say you must first drive yourself personally I agree as I myself would like to know all aspects of my business.Some talk about hiring Mechanics and such. Don’t put the buggy in front of the horse. What I did was drove a few yrs made my mistakes and jumped in with both feetI Leased to a company for 7 yrs planning on getting my authority.Finally I just did it and figured it out as I went.Business plan? Yeah make money!!! Made mistakes ofcourse that’s what Life’s about. My point is no need to over complicate things.I used to say I can screw things up just as good as the next guy.Bottom line you can succeed if you want to, and that goes for anything you do. I don’t know what your other interests are as far as career choices.Being an Owner Operator is in many ways the job that never ends.However I can park the truck and take time off unlike some other businesses like a restaurant or retail store.Ive seen some people grow to hundreds of trucks in just a few yrs. And I’ve seen a lot of guys lose everything in no time.Years ago I would question everyone I could. I found that a lot of people had just decided to throw in the towel.That is after hearing all the negatives I would eventually get to the math. And I’d say “well you did make money” and the usual response was that it wasn’t worth it to them anymore. That is they got tired of the business.I think if your looking for an easy way to get rich then Trucking is a bad choice.There are a lot of other ways to achieve that through higher education or any number of businesses. But if you are realistic and willing to work hard you can make Trucking work for you whether you run 1 truck or 1000 trucks.Just be yourself and be honest with people, no need to try to impress and bs people remember people aren’t dumb they’ll figure you out if you aren’t straight with them. Like I said it’s what you make of it and at your age you have the advantage to take chances and if you fail you’ll recover quickly. My thing for the last 10 yrs is “ First You make the money then you spend it” Unfortunately a lot of Truckers get buried in debt starting out and slowing get behind for whatever reasons. They end up bankrupt and owing IRS etc. been there done that believe me it’s no fun being a slave to debt.Like someone said you can get a good truck for $30 k or less that’s $750 mo for 4 yrs or $1000 a mo for 3 yrs at about 10% interest. Trailers are another issue better to get the best one you can as they hold their value a little better than trucks. That’s just my opinion. The main thing is don’t get into a deal where you’ll be upside down. Being able to get out of any business if nessesary is sometimes harder than getting into business in the first place.Getting your authority is the easy part.Staying committed so it will benefit you is the hard part. And be very careful of mechanics. They will ruin you quick if you’re not diligent. I’ve had them try to sell me overhauls clutches radiators when upon closer inspection it was something minor. They seem to always go to the worst case scenario.Ive learned that if you drive it right it will last a long time. A lot of issues are driver abuse.Good Luck to you

 

Sounds like a good plan as long as you and you’re wife are both committed. Family businesses tend to have problems due to lack of discipline.My wife and I had the same plan however we never got the brokers authority. She runs with me now and we really do enjoy it.I don’t know enough about brokerage but suspect cash flow is key element. As long as you manage right and stay on top of everything it would be an ideal situation. Working together helping each other figure things out and making it happen can be a great thing.Her running a brokerage could benefit your truck. More than likely she will be helping you book loads on top of taking care of her loads.On the other hand you will be able to help her cover some loads with your truck.As long as your both committed to helping each other and keep things in this perspective it would be a win win for your family. I will give you my honest opinion. If either of you starts to feel like your being taken for granted or not supported it could become a disaster. Sounds like you both want to try this plan. I think as long as you both keep the goal in mind, that is making a living to support your family regardless of who’s doing what as long as you’re both doing your best. I know you will be successful. I’ve seen it work well. Might want to check into becoming an agent for a brokerage at least until she learns the business.just an idea working on commission without all the hassles of collecting and paying $$$ And without getting bond etc. I think it might be a good way to get training in brokerage. I don’t know for sure as we never got brokerage authority. But I believe it’s a good way to get customers as you can flip freight and cover large accounts. Can’t do that with just 1 truck.You can book loads with anyone but why not Cover her loads whenever possible for obvious reasons. Hardest part will be her getting the customers.But I think now would be the time to do it. She could just book loads for you at first that is deal with brokers over the phone and do the contract set ups. Getting The feel for how it works. In no time you will have a good plan together. No sense in getting a brokerage bond and mc# for a brokerage if she doesn’t ’t have any customers. I think if you get your mc# first start running your truck with her support at home you can start shopping for customers explaining simply upfront to potential customers your plan to open the brokerage. The truck can start making $$$ right away. I suggest using a non recourse factoring company such as D&S Factors owned by Internet Truck Stop Load Board they charge 5% But you get $$ 2 days after delivery.That way you know where your at financially at all times instead of waiting 30 to 45 days for $$ And having bills that are due.Meanwhile work on the rest.You will both be busy learning the ropes for a few month anyway. As far as the 10 k I would try to hold onto that as much as possible.It would be great to start off debt free but not really possible for most people. I bought my first truck 22 yrs ago for $40 k it was a beautiful western Star that was 4 yrs old with 500 k miles. I bought it with no $$ Down $1000

 

$1000 mo for 4 yrs with a $1 buyout. After a little more than I yr I refied it through Chase bank at 6% 750 for 3 yrs. Everyone said “ You need 20% dn etc. Problem was I didn’t have much $$ Thats why I needed to buy a truck to make more $$ !! I would hang on to the 10 k if possible since that’s not a lot of $$. A breakdown just starting out Insurance dn pymt plates that could easily cost 4K . Finding equipment for no $$ dn at about 10 or 11 % or maybe less depending on credit shouldn’t be a problem.But 20% dn for in’s easily 1500.00 or maybe dbl that for the first couple years from what I hear plus plate $1300-2500 plus hut $550 plus first weeks fuel $1200-$1600 that’s roughly $5000 start up $$$$ leaves you $5000 in reserves about 3 or 4 weeks of fuel b4 you collect a check unless you do quick pay through broker or factor the loads. I’m not-trying to be being negative just thorough. I would finance with as little as possible dn pymt. Holding the closing off until 2 or 3 wk waiting period is up and authority is granted. Tell lender to close deal after whatever date necessary so as not to have a pymt for as long as possible ( prob 6 wksThen get with it to build up some cushion with a little luck you’ll be fine. But if the worst case happens .., you will at least have a bit of lee way.

 

$1000 mo for 4 yrs with a $1 buyout. After a little more than I yr I refied it through Chase bank at 6% 750 for 3 yrs. Everyone said “ You need 20% dn etc. Problem was I didn’t have much $$ Thats why I needed to buy a truck to make more $$ !! I would hang on to the 10 k if possible since that’s not a lot of $$. A breakdown just starting out Insurance dn pymt plates that could easily cost 4K . Finding equipment for no $$ dn at about 10 or 11 % or maybe less depending on credit shouldn’t be a problem.But 20% dn for in’s easily 1500.00 or maybe dbl that for the first couple years from what I hear plus plate $1300-2500 plus hut $550 plus first weeks fuel $1200-$1600 that’s roughly $5000 start up $$$$ leaves you $5000 in reserves about 3 or 4 weeks of fuel b4 you collect a check unless you do quick pay through broker or factor the loads. I’m not-trying to be being negative just thorough. I would finance with as little as possible dn pymt. Holding the closing off until 2 or 3 wk waiting period is up and authority is granted. Tell lender to close deal after whatever date necessary so as not to have a pymt for as long as possible ( prob 6 wksThen get with it to build up some cushion with a little luck you’ll be fine. But if the worst case happens .., you will at least have a bit of lee way.

 

let me give you a quick cost break down and no im not mentioning the startup costs with fmcsa thats fairly cheap however in my experience 23k for used truck and 15k used trailer trust me any less on the trailer you will be replacing in 1 to 2 years mid ranged trailer is best to start. a bank account with $30,000 in it about 2k permits and base plate. oh if your state doesn't exempt you from sales tax then you will need that for truck and trailer as well. depending on the state you live in your going to want to cover your insurance for the whole year. 15k so quick estimation I would say about 90 to 100k to start and have a decent chance of success.and with 30k in bank account you also wont need to factor and will get to keep 100% of your profits without the need to take quickpay or advances. and can handle unexpected break downs.

 

I have a question, if I want to get permits under my name, do I need to have a cdl even if I wouldn’t do any driving?

 

You are going to need a lot of money. A ONGOING amount of money that piles up. If you have to eat ramen for a while.

Not all trucking businesses will success. Not everyone should get into trucking business.

You overused the word ignorance, meaning those who literally do not know about something. I know enough not to be involved in that. I bought a truck back in the 90's a little kitty cat that was a nice litle rig in her day and actually proceeded to see about arranging loads etc. That first payment is due in three weeks like it or not. Moving from basic chump company mule to a actual one truck business made all the difference in the world. For about three days Until the program manager's ignorance about deafness in general caused him to dynamite that little effort. If there was anything he needed telling, it was everything. But no he chose to wallow in his lack of knowledge towards deaf truckers, me. (And now a business owner...) how dare do we get into these things here in America. We are into everything.

At the end of the day I am happy to be just a company chump. Two words each week. Pay me. Everything else is YOUR problem. =)

 

It’s a hectic business if you ask me....we’ve had our business for a little over 3 years. My spouse and I are 26. He indulged in the lux life as soon as he saw the cash coming in and I won’t deny that I did some damage myself using my credit cards. Now we are literally drowning in debt due to not making as much profit as we once were. Currently running 2 trucks interstate and 1 intrastate. 2 truck payments and one reefer totaling $3,600 a month aside from insurance and personal debt! I can’t seem to find the way out of this would like some recommendations!

 

Hang in there , work efficiently and pray. Take the loads others dont want that pay a bit better.

 

I was about to give my advice until I realized the 20 year old who was the OP is now 30 years old. Wheww.