Comments By Larry B.

4. Learned a wealth of knowledge from my trainers. He is a owner-op at prime with 7 trucks under him

Don't say that too loud, some folks around here say that's just not possible.

Congratulations! Sounds like you are doing great and enjoying it!

Maybe the ones that have come through here and went on to build a successful owner operator business don't have the time to frequent your forum anymore

Oh my friend you don't know truck drivers at all I'd say. They'd swim across the Atlantic just to say, "I told you so!"

Heck, if I thought there was a ton of money in it I'd be doing it myself! Wouldn't we all?

Im glad you consider me your friend. Wish I knew how to use those cute little avatars.

Not everyone is in it for the money

My mistake I apologize. I read your post wrong. I at first thought you said you had 6 trucks. I missed you retiring from your manufacturing business. The trucks were a part of that?

That's correct!

Gotcha. So this trucking thing is your second career then and your not doing it for the money. That's my plan too, I probably wouldn't try it if I needed miles to pay the bills

And just because you failed as an owner operator but have found success as a company driver doesn't mean it can't be done.

Larry, where ever did you get the idea that I failed as an owner operator? You are reading this stuff with your own conclusions already established, and because of that it is no wonder you are completely missing the point of the discussion.

My mistake I apologize. I read your post wrong. I at first thought you said you had 6 trucks. I missed you retiring from your manufacturing business. The trucks were a part of that?

I would even venture to say he's making 5 times what he was at Prime because he has real assets.

Well then congratulations my friend! You too have the gift for "Owner Operator Math".....it's the math that dreams are made of!

Hey I told you I don't have a business degree. 😀 I'm just a cop.

So now you are calling him a "blow hard". Nice.

Maybe the ones that have come through here and went on to build a successful owner operator business don't have the time to frequent your forum anymore. Or just maybe they tried and you guys gave him the "Steve" treatment and just laughed and moved on, like I have a feeling Steve will do

Sorry I'm not here to defend Steve. He doesn't need defending. It just p...ses me off when people that haven't figured out how to be a winner has to criticize those that have.

Ya know Larry, I'm not sure why I'm even going to stay in this conversation, because it seriously doesn't bother me to be misunderstood, even when it is from well meaning folks. I suppose you think I am being critical, when that is the farthest thing from my mind. Steve himself stated he was making five or six times as much money as an owner operator, but after a few simple questions from me he dialed it way back to claiming he has been paying himself 500 dollars a week. Now the way I do business, and I do know what it takes to be a winner (I retired from my custom manufacturing business after thirty years of producing tens of millions in sales), it appears to me that Steve is making less than he was at Prime. I don't know how you guys do your math, but paying 7500 in quarterly taxes regularly, or even putting fifty thousand in a maintenance account is not considered making money - that money is already allocated, it just hasn't been needed yet. But it most probably will be at some point - I had six big rigs in my fleet, and that was only part of our fleet - there were other trucks and vehicles also - and I learned my lessons about running trucks down the road from the school of hard knocks. I consider myself to have a worthless Ph.D. in managing the expenses for a fleet of trucks.

I'm all for being winners in the game, trust me there is no bigger risk taker than I have been in business, but the cards are stacked against you in this trucking business. I don't expect everyone to believe me, but I still have a responsibility to share with you what I know is true. So many people don't really understand how difficult it is to actually "make" money at this - they see those big checks coming in, and they are getting to write some large checks themselves, and it all seems like a yellow brick road. In the trucking business there are some really stubborn things that we call means and averages - and if you understand those words then you know they cannot be avoided. During the "honeymoon" they seem so distant, but like a wolf after it's prey, they have this nasty habit of nipping at your heels and then one day grabbing you by the legs and pulling you down to fight with you. If you can overcome them then you are the victor, and Steve is certainly taking the right steps to do that by setting up his maintenance account, and hopefully a few other back-up plans. My experience in watching this industry is that very few actually succeed at beating those wolves - the failure rate is astonishing - I have a lot of respect for Steve - I remember when he was first in here years ago. I want him to succeed, but if he seriously believes he is making five or six times what he was making at Prime, then he still has a lot to learn about business.

I spoke up because I don't want to see any of you guys deceived into thinking it is going to be easy to make a killing by becoming owner operators - it just is not the case.

Im pretty sure he doesn't think it's easy. And just because you failed as an owner operator but have found success as a company driver doesn't mean it can't be done.

I don't have a business degree but I think most start up companies don't even take a salary for the first couple years. So for Steve to pay out what he is, and pay himself a salary of $2000/per month, I would say he's doing pretty good. I would even venture to say he's making 5 times what he was at Prime because he has real assets.

I take my last sentence back. I do believe old school and Bret are very successful. As are a lot of company drivers ( I plan to be a company driver, I have no desire to run my own business).

It is nice to see someone succeed as an owner operator when most don't. Just like most small business fail in the non trucking world. But when you accuse people like Steve of "throwing numbers around" as if he's lying that is what's frustrating.

And Realist, I think you are a winner too :)

I think the point trying to be made by people here is you made a blanket earnings statement. Even I, a firmly wanting to be company driver but still a newbie, said, "Wow!" Now, imagine if I had said wow and then decided, screw company I'm going to go do what Steve does and be rich because Steve says he makes 5-6 times more than what I will! I'd invariably fall on my face because I have none of the experience.so.

You would fail because you didn't do your due diligence, not because of anything Steve said.

Steve, I really am glad to see you doing well. It's just that some of the numbers you threw out are a little unsettling to me. Really glad to know about your hefty maintenance account - that is important. My concerns are that you keep telling us about what the loads pay, that is typical talk for Owner Operators. As a former business operator I was more focused on my costs. That is where most new business owners stump their toe.

If you don't really have a good accounting system set up yet I highly recommend that as a priority. It will help you to see things in a different perspective. A good accountant is also important, especially if you can find some one who is familiar with the trucking industry.

There are a lot of expenses that I would think you should have that you don't mention, but I'm not expecting you to give us the whole picture. I just don't want to see you get squashed or blind-sided unexpectedly. We wish you the best, but we try our best to keep folks from falling prey to some pit-falls we recognize. When we see someone coming in here saying they are making five or six times what they were as a company driver, we feel compelled to sound the alarm. It just doesn't happen like that, and if it did we would all be running our own trucks. But the sad part is, that if one person says something like that in here, then there are a couple of hundred hungry truck drivers wanting to get on board that train who are going to fall flat on their faces. That is why we start raising red flags.

It appears some folks just don't want to believe that's it's possible to succeed as an owner operator. Steve you have obviously thought this out, put together a business plan, have your goals and are actually reaching them! Some people are leaders and go getters in this business and some are happy just being a company driver (which is what I will do).

Even if you had a million dollars in that expense account, some would still say your are doing it wrong and will fail.

You have already had success in one career and I really believe that you are on your way to an even better 2nd.

Super Excited! I have in hand my pre-hire letter for Melton Truck Lines. I start CDL training in one week at Pinellas Technical College. I have my TWIC card already, Passport and studying for the Haz-Mat test. Any Melton Drivers or for that matter Melton Trainers out there that have any advice for Orientation and time on the road with my trainer? Thanks in advance.

Also I am retired Military and am used to being away from home for long periods, so 3 - 4 weeks out doesn't concern my very much.

I was under the impression that you had to have 1 year Otr experience for Melton. Glad that's not the case. Congrats!