What makes you look?

I'm an owner op, but I'm also a carrier. Got my MC because I hated the offers I saw out there. Mostly because I didn't believe them. I still see the ads, $12k/wk up to $2/mile. (literally saw this on Indeed last week). I want to start growing and looking for new perspectives. I know what I can offer, but I keep seeing people focus on stuff I never thought should matter.

I don't have contract work, but a buddy of mine just wasted 2 weeks running contract work for $1/mile after carrier cut, adding in deadhead, and chasing empties. I warned him. So is it really that important?

Dispatch seems nice but most want 10%. I could toss that in if I take a bigger chunk, but is that attractive or do you like the option to do it yourself? So many stories of in-house dispatch lying about ratecons and the company stealing pay. Hard to trust in this business.

Would you rather see expenses as a passthrough or just wrapped into the percentage?

Ultimately, how much should a carrier reasonably profit from a truck after expenses? Where is the line between good business relationship and taking advantage? Everything else is about how to structure it.