What are we doing wrong?! This is long but the backstory is necessary :)

Hello everyone, .
My spouse and I started a non-CDL hotshot business in September 2022 but we only ran loads in the month of October with TQL because we simply did not know what we did not know. We were new, the driver was new, the dispatcher was new. We tried to dispatch ourself but we got intimidated by the fast talking brokers and kept missing important details. Instead of digging the hole deeper, we sat the rest of 2022 out and decided we needed to do more research and lean on our resources (buddies we had in the industry).

In 2023, we felt more confident and knowledgeable. We found a decent driver and dispatcher. We ran mostly within GA and SC. Mid 2023, the 2500 Chevy started giving signs of transmission problems. The business had made enough money for us to upgrade to a 3500. We got a Ram 3500 Dually (huge mistake)! For 1 we did not know it placed us in CDL status (until we were informed by a DOT officer that placed us OOS) and the truck was crap due to the regen issues we started having. My spouse and I both have full time jobs, which is what allowed us to carry this business, but we knew one of us needed to get a CDL. We got a CDL and met an experienced CDL driver at the school that was an awesome addition. He drove our CDL hotshot until July 2024 when we purchased a 2020 Freightliner. We were scared we would make more mistakes with this new tractor, plus we still needed to save money to buy a flatbed, so we leased the driver and truck on to AMX. It paid the bills for and kept money in the driver's pocket while we searched a for a 53ft we could afford outright. In October 2024 we left the leasing company and went back to running under our own authority. Then our driver had a medical issue in January 2025 and we have been struggling to find another driver!

We were averaging about $3,500 a week with the hotshot. We pay the driver 30% of each load. We provide him with every ratecon for transparency. We pay the dispatcher 5% (she's a friend of ours). With the Freightliner, we average about $5,000 a week. Never made more than that in a week. That does not seem accurate! What are we doing wrong? We know we made a lot of costly mistakes starting out, like getting OOS, overspending on a 3500 Ram, not taking the time to calculate our RPM to CPM. We started this business with profit we received from the sale of a rental property. We knew it was risky but we know business is risky. We know we had large expenses so we expected a loss in those months but we can't seem to catch a break. We get going and then encounter a stoppage. Is this normal? We realize we are still babies in this and infants with the recent tractor purchase but I feel like we are still missing a lot. We are welcoming constructive criticism. Quitting is not an option for us! We've invested too much and we do really enjoy the business. We understand the importance of truckers and we take pride in having a part in it. I even kept the contact for the DOT officer that did our entrance interview and reach out to him with compliance questions so we don't make another huge mistake like we did in 2023. We want to do this correctly. How do we turn this around? Currently, we are operating at a .17 loss per mile.

 

We would drive the truck but it is not making enough to substain itself. We are basically keeping the company afloat. You think we should gross more per week? It's hard to find what others are averaging because they are so hush hush but I really expected to make more than $5k a week with the 53ft flatbed and experienced driver. Otherwise, we could have kept the hotshot.

 

I'll reiterate...quitting is not an option, especially this early in! We've technically only ran for a full 2 years (2023 and 2024). We've only had the tractor for a few months. If all businesses owners gave up within the first 2 years, we would not have any business owners, regardless of the industry. We expected some struggle. The point of this post was to gather Helpful insight to help turn this around.

 

I do, just as others are doing it every day.

 

And we can't just sell everything and get out because we have a monthly tractor note to make now. We don't need encouragement to quit at a loss.