Young owner operator

and only working off the load boards it's going to crash and crash hard but hopefully not for awhile, that's actually the best time to get started a lot better deals on trucks, I don't want to discourage you . I can sit for a few months with the truck parked and maintain my current lifestyle easily if rates tank .. how about you ? but I don't think I will have too because I have built up relationships with agent's when times were good and I have a zero debt load ..... I assume you will have to finance your truck so you have to make the payments and maintenance costs let alone the cost of living now you need insurance and that is going to be prohibitive and now are you going to get the loads on your own most likely not so you are going to be using agents , brokers now being a new company when and if you find someone that will work with you most likely they are going to be bottum of the barrel guys that I would never pull for . now what are you going to do when you pull a few loads for this guy and the money comes in fast at first then a week or two then before you know it 60 days past due and he owes you a few thousand . .. there is a lot more scenarios most do not end well. my suggestion to you is at least start out leased to someone else at 90% or 85% what ever but don't get tied up to much in % it's what you end up with is all that counts . a company that has been around for awhile and will let you in on there insurance . smaller the better so they can help you with dispatch and get you in touch with a few good brokers where you are going to have a much better chance of success, get someone that let's you find your own loads but can help you out when needed. learn learn learn than always keep an open mind so you can keep learning and adjusting and you just find that's where you are going to stay be at least you will have working relationships with brokers than starting out from scratch . and you find guys that will tell you that you need 50000 in the bank to start out with , heck a million is better I started out with a old truck and a tank of fuel and been doing it for 30 some years I can remember going to new York city and paying 20.00 for gw bridge and another 20.00 to get to Brooklyn was down to about 30.00 in my wallet I had no idea that it's free to get out was really worried lol anyways I don't want to discourage you but shortcuts don't always pan out learn a few things and you will have a much better chance.

 

Lease on first. Insurance aside, do you have any idea what loads should pay what rates? That information as well as all the other operational expenses of truck ownership is worth the % you give in order to learn. Also, lots of folks are content giving up a % to not have to do all the filings and billing and collecting and finding work etc. Not to mention carrier discount on the big expenses, Insurance, fuel, sometimes tires.

Slow down a bit. If you go too fast your chance of failure probably goes to 99% when if you do your homework first one step at a time still high fail rate but nothing like 99%.

I bought my first truck at 24 (2011). Signed on for company I was driving for. Learned quickly (also was learning all along as co driver) and got authority August 2012. I still learn every day. When you don't, you're dead. Because of this continuous learning, every year has been better than the last. Again: slow down, just a little bit, young man.

 

24 yrs old intrastate authority 100 mile radius. Hired a buddy who had his cdl for a few yrs to be primary driver so my fresh cdl didn’t affect much. Old ### truck and trailer. Progressive.

I do know that radius made a big difference. We applied for the interstate authority that same year but ended up having to let it go inactive because we just couldn’t afford it. Stayed local for a few years then activated and expanded radius across state lines.

Edit: That was Indiana and 2008.

 

Started when I was 23 in 2015. Intrastate 100 mile radius pulling side dump in MN. Glad I did it.

 

when I started the economy wasn't too good and too many trucks working, but it teaches you how to run lean and smart or you just don't make it , I bet the guy that started in 2008 is doing great now as that was little lean times but the last couple of years it's been like shooting fish in a barrel you could make a bunch of mistakes and not really have to pay for them and the guys who started out recently got pretty good at shooting fish in a barrel but now that the barrel is empty it's time to go out in the big Lake and fish and a lot of those guys are not going to make it. ..... if you're counting on the load boards and spot market for a living it's going to be very tough , it's the first place to crash .... contrary to what some people think the load boards weren't invented to make you rich. who's posting loads on the load boards...... carriers will have loads they can't cover so they will post these on a load board generally through an agent. now when things slow down these get scarce and what happens those carriers will be looking on the boards for loads to keep there trucks moving and they can afford to run cheap frieght to get there trucks positioned to cover there contract loads ...next is the better agents now when times are good they need to get there loads covered but when it's slow they have some regular guys they work with and can cover most of the loads that way........ but don't worry the third type are always posting loads on there and that type is the cheap skates and the aholes they are always on there and this is there good times .. in general the best loads never make it to a load board