Third party dispatch?

So you're telling me if you had $100k to spend: in one year you'd have $90k back (before wages) ? You should talk to a lending institution about getting a loan.


=O

Who am I to say: that scenario isn't my business plan.

 

Didn't say I'd spend the whole $100k. Maybe $40k for a truck, $5k for a trailer, some to get me through until invoices start coming in. Might only cost $60-65k.

And then built into the weekly expense account is money set aside for maintenance and new equipment. Probably $25k a year will go to an "equipment fund". And then when I feel like getting rid of the truck I'd have, I could sell it for maybe 40% of what I bought it for, and add that to the fund.

There aren't many businesses that you can recuperate your costs in a year and still make above average income for yourself. Didn't say it's easy work, trucking isn't easy, I know that, and being an O/O is even more difficult on top of the driving, but the numbers seem to add up. I don't owe on a house, I don't owe on a car, I have no debt except car insurance, phone/internet, rent and food. No wife no children.

So to keep this on topic, if there are owner ops having a rough go of it, I'm certain many of them can and will benefit from a good 3rd party dispatching service. Even $300/week can pay for itself just in increased efficiency, not to mention better rates from those who know the market better, even if your current revenue is average.

I would think that independents and small fleet owners would welcome these types of businesses, if they do right by their clients, then it can help keep rates up for everyone else.

 

If you in your first year make any profit at all consider yourself lucky. Everything always looks great on paper until reality bites. Stuff happens. Mistakes get made. Mistakes cost $$$$.

 

First time poster here. I'm doing some research on whether or not to start independently dispatching on the side of my current position working as a dispatch agent for a larger 3PL to make some extra money while developing new contacts from a different angle. I agree with most people that paying a flat rate per load leaves little incentive on the dispatchers end to find the best paying loads possible, while paying a small percentage in the range of 3-7% has its own set of shortcomings in terms of how much you end up paying for the amount of "quality" work you actually receive. The business model I plan to put forth will have nothing to do with payment for my assistance as the primary talking point. In the 14 months I have been working for minimum rate and a small commission of my invoiced profits, I have developed integrity, and an appreciation for not only the hard work that I put in from an office chair sitting behind a computer, but the even harder work drivers do from behind a steering wheel. I want to develop relationships that incorporate the different set of skills that a driver and a dispatcher can bring to the table with a handful of trucks, to keep those relationships tight knit, to become their anytime, negotiable every time, dispatching assistant and consultant that ultimately ends in a mutual relationship in which both parties benefit. And to do this, the DISPATCHER MUST PREFORM and be able to match the financial demands and work load requested by the O/O.

I hope this post wasn't too off topic, and I'm open to any suggestions, comments, or pm's offering any of the following or interested here within.

 

You sound like you *might* be one of the rare instances of a dispatch service that likely does a good job. Not an endorsement or anything but I'd certainly trust a few of my buddies with their own trucks who know what they're doing to dispatch me than some office jockey promising the world. But I don't need a dispatch service.

You know some drivers would whine about $3,000 revenue on 800 miles in a week. I'd take it every week if I could and laugh all the way to the bank.

Back to the topic at hand though. For the most part it seems like these dispatch services out here are nothing more than leeches looking for an easy way to work from home. Most of them don't have their own trucks and probably have never seen the inside of a cab either.

 

I have considered running my own dispatching service, over the years and here i am considering it again. I have been in business 6.5 years I have had several trucks I have dispatched and ran my own truck. I am also a driver with a ton of experience negotiating with brokers for the best rate possible. Main reason I been so hesitant is drivers can be hard to work with. especially new owner operators that don't understand the system, and really have a hard time grasping lane rates. I have had drivers complain about a rate being too low in a bad freight area sometimes you have to take a load paying 1.50 a male to get in an area that is paying 3.50 a mile. they want all loads to pay 3.50 a mile and its just unrealistic and they don't understand its better then sitting an extra day. it can be very frustrating dealing with drivers that don't understand their 20 years driving experience doesn't mean squat. running your own truck is nothing like when you ran for a company or even on a lease purchase. However if i were to take that plunge I would want to be fair to the driver but also myself as it is also alot of work doing the paper work .