Why is it so hard to make money as a independent?

and those are the very ones who don't how to operate a business.

 

Planning for the month or quarter will leave you with a truck full of fuel sitting at the shop. Or, you will owe IFTA a bunch of money at the end of the quarter. I used to try and buy fuel when it was cheap and only when I passed through a low tax state. Until I went to the shop with $400 of fuel that could have helped pay for the repairs. Then the IFTA bill came for all those miles that I didn't pay taxes on. From their I learned the #1 rule in trucking is true, never plan too far ahead because the roads change from day-to-day. Plus, extra fuel can kill your fuel economy by adding extra unnecessary weight.

 

there a reason the guy is broke and has no money to move truck, have you simply asked why and learned the reasons why he thinks its everyone elses fault??

 

skinny I thought you had a clue but you don't. you are focused on a week to week deal for revenue. and if having 400 bucks in your tank at the shop causes a bind in paying the shop bill, you aint doing something right.

planning revenue for the month or the quarter has nothing to do with ifta . only buying for each load is the sign of a broke guy with no cash reserves, who isn't doing a good job or running a trucking business

if you are going on a week to week basis and not considering monthly or quarterly revenue or profit goals, you are doomed to live paycheck to paycheck forever.

let me guess, you have been a lease purchase man on mileage plus fuel surcharge??

 

Yukon Cornelius

Lotta things sound good on paper. You said you have a new company and want to sign up someone with bad credit, no funds, no trailer. And build from there. That's a shaky foundation to build from.

do you have the capital to pay for all the other fellows startup cost and immediately lose it all? That's certainly a likely outcome. Not the way I'd run a new venture personally, and I'm not risk averse.

what are you running for freight? Will you be able to pay your OO the following week for 4-5 weeks while you wait for payment? How will you control the extra costs you'll have because of your new contractor? How will you monitor your contractor to verify that they aren't using you as a spring board? What will you do to continue your business relations when you and your contractor's relationship goes south?

banks and lending institutions weigh risk: higher risk means higher interest rate. Are you going to finance this fellow for no return? If you capitalize an individual and they go belly up despite your best laid plans and assistance, what will you do to recoupe your investment?

i edited this to add who it was for...sometimes you start a reply while working and finish at days end :/

 

I can see that rather than see it as a sound way to do business you would rather criticize and name call. I am speaking to the opportunity cost of those extra fuel dollars.That $400 that is sitting in your tank is a lost source of revenue. I would rather see a guy put that money into his IRA for retirement, than to see it just rest in his tank. I also guess that you don't comprehend that each gallon of fuel weights a couple pounds. That means you are burning fuel to carry fuel. Also, why do you need fuel for a load that you haven't even picked up yet? You sound like a company man that follows the fuel solution given to you by the in truck communication system. I am just advocating that you fuel for the load not just fill your tank because it is cheap or you have the cash flow. That also makes it easier to find your cost per load and your optimal rate per mile. That way you can start charging the correct amount for a run. So we can get these rates to where they should be!

 

answer the question? were you a lease purchase guy getting paid mileage plus fuel surcharge.

fuel is a expense for me, its not an ira fund. and a gallon of fuel weighs more than a couple of pounds its actually about 7.1 pounds per gallon , and an extra 100 gallon or 700 pounds wont affect my fuel mileage enough to offset losses by buying in the wrong places.

and i fuel where its the best for me monthly or quarterly, i don't operate from load to load , i don't have too. i have the resources to not operate from load to load. and i cant ever recall ever following a companies fuel solution. i hauled my first load in 1979, long before you learned to wipe your own behind no doubt. bought my first truck in 1989 for 1250 bucks, a 1976 intl cabover 4070b with no a/c and no power steering with a 290 cummins and 13 speed. i have managed to survive owning one ever since .

so your analysis of a company man following the lead of a in truck quallcomm is quite wrong.

you haved treed the wrong coon, young hound dog.



again you are operating on a week to week paycheck mentality where ya hope ya got some money left after the lease payment so ya don't fuel to ensure that.

 

you edited your post. i would love to see where you say i named called????

that 400 dollars you speak of isn't a lost SOURCE of revenue. it doesn't affect my ability to know what my costs are at all, i know exactly what my fixed costs are and have enough experience to easily estimate variable costs, i just don't do it on a load by load basis , i set my goals for a weekly revenue to truck then a monthly goal and a quarterly goal.

i also have no problem whatsoever getting the correct rate for a load, my last 4 loads were 2.79 on 680 miles ,11,000 pounds, 2.13 on 10,000 pounds 630 miles, 2.98 mile on 845 miles 22,000 pounds, and 1.98 a mile on 13,000 on 1186 miles to within 60 miles of home , the dh miles were 10 miles for the first one, 45 miles for the second one, 48 for the third and a whopping 130 on the last one.

and on fuel the 2.98 a mile to boston, i filled up in va ran to nj and filled up after 320 miles with 44 gallons, which gives me enough to run to boston to the edge of ny state and back down to nj or va before i need more. with my discount i paid 3.34 in nj off a pump cash price of 3.95.

fuel is a continual expense, it doesn't matter whether you buy this week or next week, its gonna get used.

and its not a sound way to do business , its a operating on a shoestring way of doing business, operating on a week to week basis prevents setting long term goals

 

I’m with skateboardman on this. . Your total cost for fuel will be higher over the year by forcing yourself to buy fuel for each load at whatever the cost is where you happen to be.

$400 worth of fuel sitting in a tank is not lost review, it is an asset. It is fuel you will not have to purchase later at probably a higher rate if you are picking your fuel stops correctly.

If you need that $400 to help pay for repairs then you are undercapitalized and have a cash flow problem. Focusing on the near term is not a sound way to do business and will cost you in the long term.

 

You sure can tell skateboardman doesn't pay fuel tax shortages! VA and NJ!!!! Lol, what no GA too. I remember being leased to a carrier that paid fuel tax, NJ was the only place I fueled. My only concern price wise when buying fuel is what is the pre tax price, but I pay my shortages. If I worked for Mercer, it would be the lowest pump price, period.
Who worries about $400 In the tank? I do try to come home with as little fuel as possible, only to discourage fuel theft as I don't park at home.