When is the best time to go into the trucking business?

The best time is when you ready !
If you survive bad market - you will be winner anytime after !
People will be discouraging you all the time . You have experience , try to get well maintained equipment , have cash ready on the side , count your cost and do it . Its better regret failing than never try !

 

If you can wait for the truck price to hit the bottom and get a low mileage glider that is the type that you want to keep, then it's the time to buy?

 

Best time to get in and find out if you are gonna make it when it is the worst ever. It will show you if you can make it in the worst of times. You will learn how to really run the business instead of getting in the market when it is easy to find $3 plus loads all day long. You will be lazy and not get the information needed when you are going through a down turn.

Now when I got in it was all about my personal situation. I didn't care how the market was doing as I had run out of work and ready to move on to a new thing.. It happened to be at a decent but not great time frame so I learned how I needed to run pretty fast. Regardless of when a person comes in they are gonna make it or not depending on how they work as a business man and not a truck driver.

 

Its never really a bad time to get in-
Most people getting in will fail, and #### it up for the rest of us no matter when they get in.
Most people that get into trucking are not running a business, they are people that know how to drive and think that is the important part of owning a trucking company.

 

Probably in 6 months. I got in Jan 2008 and had no idea. But, those early first couple year hard lessons set me up well for the future hard times.

It does seem like the guys that get in during the great times end up failing more then the guys during the hard times. Thinking that’s the norm vs thinking omg this is freaking amazing!

 

When you are ready.
You have at least the minimal knowledge you need. Ideally you are out of debt, or at least have everything well in control and have been responsible with your money.
You have enough money to make a go of it.
Surprisingly I have found you can have too much money to start, it can make a guy sloppy and not worry about expenses.

 

I remember thinking how in the hell do people make money doing this crap? I’m trying to be smart and running my balls off and not really making any money after expenses. It really teaches you to count every dollar and get every dollar. Those are great lessons come time when things get good. You can really capitalize at that point and get ahead.

Id have to send my truck into Cummins and I’d scrutinize them like a son of a gun and get half ####ty at the prices. They probably thought I was an ### hole but the truth was I just didn’t have the money to easily be paying these stupid high bills.

Nowadays I have warranty and the cash to not really care but trust me, there were some real hard times for the first atleast 5 yrs. It’s not easy at all to get a 8 or 15k repair bill when it doesn't seem like your doing great to begin with.

 

When you are mature enough to run a business, use common sense, no big bills like a mortgage or kids yet, have saved up at least half the price of a truck, and have an emergency fund set aside, and don't mind working 16 hours a day 7 days a week.
Then go hard, i mean really hard. If you are not driving, you are wrenching or hustling up loads.
When you are flat broke, you have to not care, and eat at a food bank if necessary, run used tires, and explain to the landlord why the rent is late again.
You do this for 3 to 6 years, and oneday realize that you can afford brand new tires, pay the entire fuel and parts account off monthly, pay the rent on time, and occasionally go out for a steak dinner, that's when you can relax a little bit, and look back and see how all that work has paid off.
Nothing worth really having comes easy.