Just Opinions

First off i want to say i really appreciate all the replies i had gotten on the last topic. I was really glad i was takin seriously instead of just laughed off like i had kinda expected. so again thank you. Im curious to see what everyone thinks about owning there own truck. Its not in my immediate future or probably near future i have just seen things like leasing trucks from the companies you drive for or just straight up owning them. Is it worth it ? Pros,, Cons like i said just opinions.

General consensus is: "Don't do it!" It's a huge business risk - I've seen this type discussion often on other forums when discussing opening restaurants or catering businesses because "Everyone says my is the best they ever tasted"! Note, they ate your food for free and it makes you wonder if they'd been so free with praise and suggestions if they were paying $10-12 per plate. Trucks, trailers, business licenses, tax codes, etc. make it a tough road when you start.

It's a simple question I always ask - why does everyone think that trucking companies, who own and control their trucking business, are trying to push the truck ownership responsibility onto someone else's shoulders? If owning the truck and hauling freight was a solid method of making money, these companies wouldn't push that onto anyone else. Whenever a business offers you the "opportunity" to go into business for yourself, it should throw a huge red flag in your mind. And why do you think companies push so hard to incentivize people to lease with big bonuses, special trucks, and special perks? If leasing was such an attractive idea, would you have to incentivize it that way??? I mean, when the ice cream truck comes rolling down the street, all the kids come running with their money held high, waving in the breeze as they sprint down the road. There's no "hot fudge sundae bonus". The ice cream truck has a massively attractive product to sell - they don't have to incentivize people to get them to buy it because there's great value in it already. I've run small businesses for years. I know how insanely competitive the business landscape is. Believe me, if a business is begging you to do something, it certainly isn't for your benefit. And if they're begging you to become a business owner, it certainly isn't because they see an awesome opportunity for you and they'd like to share the wealth instead of keeping all of the profit for themselves. Think of it this way - trucking companies, like any business, are in constant pursuit of profit. A trucking company that's encouraging you with the "opportunity" to lease a truck from them is just like a dog that brings you the "opportunity" to eat a big T-bone steak .... don't you think there must be something awfully wrong with that steak if the dog doesn't want to eat it himself??? So wouldn't you suspect there's something awfully wrong with being responsible for the ownership of a truck if trucking companies are bringing that "opportunity" to you? Companies don't give up profitable opportunities. They're simply pawning off the burden onto unsuspecting victims.

In other words, feel free to check out this Thinking about becoming an O/O?

It's a simple question I always ask - why does everyone think that trucking companies, who own and control their trucking business, are trying to push the truck ownership responsibility onto someone else's shoulders? If owning the truck and hauling freight was a solid method of making money, these companies wouldn't push that onto anyone else. Whenever a business offers you the "opportunity" to go into business for yourself, it should throw a huge red flag in your mind. And why do you think companies push so hard to incentivize people to lease with big bonuses, special trucks, and special perks? If leasing was such an attractive idea, would you have to incentivize it that way??? I mean, when the ice cream truck comes rolling down the street, all the kids come running with their money held high, waving in the breeze as they sprint down the road. There's no "hot fudge sundae bonus". The ice cream truck has a massively attractive product to sell - they don't have to incentivize people to get them to buy it because there's great value in it already. I've run small businesses for years. I know how insanely competitive the business landscape is. Believe me, if a business is begging you to do something, it certainly isn't for your benefit. And if they're begging you to become a business owner, it certainly isn't because they see an awesome opportunity for you and they'd like to share the wealth instead of keeping all of the profit for themselves. Think of it this way - trucking companies, like any business, are in constant pursuit of profit. A trucking company that's encouraging you with the "opportunity" to lease a truck from them is just like a dog that brings you the "opportunity" to eat a big T-bone steak .... don't you think there must be something awfully wrong with that steak if the dog doesn't want to eat it himself??? So wouldn't you suspect there's something awfully wrong with being responsible for the ownership of a truck if trucking companies are bringing that "opportunity" to you? Companies don't give up profitable opportunities. They're simply pawning off the burden onto unsuspecting victims.

In other words, feel free to check out this Thinking about becoming an O/O?

very logical point of view :D

That is a good point I have never heard anything good about owning a truck

I am going good to kick myself for writing this but here I go....

Everything Daniel wrote is true. Then you might ask why do people still do it? It's not the money cause I can honestly say "I have been there and done that"...... 2 times. Sure I made money but I also spent many years inside and behind the scenes of Fortune 500 companies and I know what it takes to make money in trucking where the profit margins are even smaller.... Pure and plain bull headedness and just plain meanness.

Few questions you have to ask yourself and if you answer no to even one of them then you might want to rethink about owning or leasing a truck....

1) Are you willing to work 3 to 6 months before you have 1 day off? (I took 2 weeks off every 3 months cause the wheels had to stay rolling to make money. Truck payments and insurance still has to be paid even if your not making money)

2) Are you ready to assume sole responsibility for all aspects of your small business even if that means absorbing all cost? Where as large companies get to spread their expenses over several thousand trucks.

3) Are you ready to tell yourself NO you can not by that candy bar cause you need fuel for the truck?

4) Do you have an extra 10k to 15k for minor repairs that you can not touch cause it's money the business needs to stay running? (BTW when I had both (2) of my trucks each had escrow accounts equaling no less than $36,000 for each truck that I never touched.)

And for the last one... 5) are you ready to make only slightly more money than an experienced company driver but take ALOT more stress and headaches?

First full year I grossed $275,000 gross and brought home $68000 gross for my pay. That's gross. Not net. That's at or slightly above average for a truck owner. I am a company driver now. Now I am on track to gross close to $50k to $54k this year as a company driver. So what if I brought home $14k more as a truck owner? That's one breakdown from making what a non stressed company driver makes.

$14k, at least to me, is not worth all the stress and worry of having my own truck. And one major breakdown and I would have all the stress and headaches BUT made less than a company driver.

My P&L statements (profit and lose) did not say "Hey your doing an awesome job. Keep up the great work". What they told me is I am doing OK and I can lay claim to the title Truck Owner but you really are a higher paid company driver.

Two great perspectives to think about and learn from .

I know quite a few O/O's that are making $$.

Are they making more than company drivers? Some are.

But for the amount of financial (and overall) responsibility involved - and ESPECIALLY FOR A NEW ENTRANT IN THE INDUSTRY - probably not enough for a person that's "run the numbers", to take that kind of financial risk.

Rick

I know quite a few O/O's that are making $$.

Are they making more than company drivers? Some are.

But for the amount of financial (and overall) responsibility involved - and ESPECIALLY FOR A NEW ENTRANT IN THE INDUSTRY - probably not enough for a person that's "run the numbers", to take that kind of financial risk.

Rick

Yes you can make money. Many do. I did but it's a tough job and you have to be 100% commented or you will go broke very easily.

If you have a business plan and have a plan B in case your truck breaks down, you may consider that route. However, as a owner operator as an independent contractor you do not have really much control. You depend too much on the companies.