What are the first steps....

i agree with brickman...but i guess LLC was better in my situation/state
do all the company fillings ( check out your secratary of state website, should have the needed forms), get your insureance ( you cant move the truck you buy without it....trust me on this) and all authority stuff done.....meanwhile be looking around for good used trucks...i bought mine from an owner op who was gettin out and saved myself alot of headaches...if you need financing for said truck...i would write up a good business plan (a good one shows pretty close to actual figures of gross income/expences) and take that to my bank along with any lenders a dealer might use...shop around for the best rates...and with a BP....the small bussiness assocaition will back a large portion of your loans, making it easier for the bank to loan you the money at a lower rate, plus should you ever defualt on the loans they pay that percentage off..then take any collaterial you put up...lol
im still learning as i go so dont take any of this as gospel...but the sba helped me out alot

 

I too have been interested in becoming an owner op but have no clue as to where to even start. A lot of these words like "my own authority" and such are kind of greek to me. I have been a company driver for 10+ years and have been getting more frustrated with living paycheck to paycheck while the boss gets a new F-350 every other year.
I kind of have been looking at a couple of these companies that do a lease/option type deal but have heard many horror stories there as well. Sometimes I think I would be better off staying a company guy and just dealing with all the BS that comes with it.
Are there really any benifits with one over the other? I do plan on speaking with my tax guy and my lawyer first but I wanted some opinions from people that have been there, done that, got the cookie and more than a new company hat/ 1/2 penny every 6 months.

 

Motor carrier operating authority is just that. It authorizes you to operate as a motor carrier. There is companes out there that will get all the filings done for you and get it all set up. Of course they charge you a few hundred but if you don't know where to start then I would reomend them. There is ALOT t do. there is irp, single state regstraition, ifta, etc etc etc. If you go to one of these companies they can have it set up fast then you go get your insurnce and the ins agent will send a copy of it out which will activate your authority.

On a side note.Not to be a jerk or anything but I'v had my authority and it's a pain n the you know what. And it's hard, and there is alot of filings you have to do yearly, quarterly etc. I would recomend you buy a truck and lease it to a company and run on there authority for awhile while you just concentrate on learning to own the truck. there is more to it than just buying it and driving. Once you have that down you can get your authoity. If you do get your authority you need like 3 months operating and living costs before ou start. Brokers pay slow, you don't get a wekly paycheck. it can go two or three months before they pay. They say 30 days but many don't pay that fast. Just think of the fuel costs alone for driving for 3 months!!!

 

Cwiggy and Gazoo you both are starting off good by researching it all out. That is the first step in becoming successful. I too am planning on being an O/O and this forum has a lot of good info. Good Luck

 

If you hire a company to do it for you then you need to do your research. Some will just do the basics and when it is filed that is it. Few will basically hold your hand through the process. I am biased about who you should choose because that is what I do. Being a former truck driver and working my way up to mgmt, I got fed up with all the BS that was thrown towards drivers and O/O's. So thus I created my company. I digress sorry. Some do it themselves but most hire someone to do it for them. Hope this helps.
God Bless

 

PM sent.

You can do it, you just need to figure what exactly you want first.