Advice On Becoming an Owner-Operator

So you have the dream of owning your own truck & becoming an owner-operator (O/O)?

Some people are supportive & some are totally negative. You don’t know what to do?

Despite the excitement of your dreams, you need to heed the advice of the negativity, do your research & be realistic.

The reason you get so many experienced drivers & O/O’s giving negative advice is, that it’s a hard business. It’s hard to make a trucking company work. The market for the trucking industry is seldom great. There are always obstacles. This is a highly regulated industry. Seldom can you control the obstacles. Fuel prices, truck prices, freight prices etc, etc. It’s tough to make a go in the trucking industry on the face. So many people want to get into the industry?solely on their driving experience. Most know little about business. Most know little about the?company?industry regulations. They may know the regulations on drivers, but not the “company” side of the regulations. They don’t know what’s required.

Some people are natural businessmen, and some get lucky. Luck is a lot of it. Sometimes these O/O get lucky and a good contract will fall in their lap & they make it. Some are good enough to know where, when & how to find these good contracts & how to get these contracts even with nine other companies also trying to get them. Sometimes these contracts are obtained through connections from a friend of a friend.

Most people with dreams of becoming an O/O see only those people making $125,000 – $150,000 a year & see their future bringing in those numbers. Some O/O make $200,000+ a year in heavy haul & some specialized forms of trucking.

This is highly unlikely for most people getting into trucking. The reality is, that most people who get into trucking either struggle or go broke. I don’t have the figures & I won’t pretend I know, but I’d venture to bet that 70% that try to buy their own truck & go O/O, go broke. Probably only 10% get to stay in but struggle. Most of these got sucked into a rent-to-own lease deal with a mega. That only leaves about 20% max in my opinion that really make it to their dream, make a comfortable living & float.

In some scenarios, dreams of becoming an O/O often want to run local or just a few states within 300 – 500 miles of home & that limits him severely. That in itself limits the reality of even breaking even & staying in & struggling. To be in this already difficult industry, you’ve got to seriously be in the mindset to put EVERYTHING in. You’ve got to be prepared to do whatever it takes & sacrifice whatever it takes (which is something most people today don’t know anything about) to get on your feet in the first couple of years.

First, you don’t need to just assume the loads & the money are out there. You need a guarantee in hand before you even buy that truck. Then when the truck is bought, you can sign that contract & work HARD on that contract to get yourself started. You can’t go on with hopes and dreams getting into this industry. You have to have something in your hand before you invest your money. If you try to get into this industry on an “if or maybe” you’re gonna be one of those 70% in the first year.

Whether you have enough money saved to?buy a newish truck or put some down on a truck, the experienced O/O’s say that you need 6 months of revenue on hand in addition to buying the truck, trailer, insurance, authority fees/costs, etc & I agree.

You’ve got to be realistic. You’ve got to KNOW there WILL be breakdowns, accidents, DOT inspections & violations/tickets. There’s gonna be a $2000 wrecker bill. You’re going to run over something in the road & tear up two trailer tires at $400 each. Two drive tires at $500 each or a steer tire at $600 each. These are things most don’t count on in their dreams. Your dreams & expectations are all about the money you’re gonna just rake in. Most don’t look at this problematic industry realistically. It’s all about a dream… I’m just gonna get loads, drive, see the country & rake in the money. Yeah, some say they see it but until you feel the realistic effect of sitting beside the road broke down & what effect that REALLY has on you, not only for that day, but that week, that month & sometimes that year, you won’t really understand it, but you better have that figured in the business plan. This is why 70% don’t make it & another 10% struggle.

I think I’ve put out there, why most people always get advice that “right now is not a good time to start a trucking business” from the very people they go to for hope… the experienced O/O’s. Because this industry is hard. It’s tough. Everything has to go “good” at best for you in the first two years.?ANYTHING?can break you. Freight is down, fuel is up, insurance goes up, COVID comes along, industry regulations change, accident, had a bad run on DOT inspections, the economy is bad, got a recession going on, etc, etc. These are all things YOU can’t control. In this industry, you’re simply betting on luck. Betting on luck to be with you & on your side. That doesn’t happen very often.

It’s fine to have a dream. This country was built on & continues to grow on dreams, but dreams get in the way of reality sometimes. I think that the most important piece of advice I can offer is to be realistic. You have to research & take the downside seriously. You have to subtract the downside deficit from the upside revenue. You need to take the downside advice as seriously as the upside advice. Heed the words of the experienced.

Lastly, not everyone is cut out to be in business. Driving & owning is a huge difference. Owning & managing is a huge difference. Just because you can drive doesn’t always spell success as an owner-operator.

Revenue, hard work, determination, knowledge, preparation & sacrifice are the biggest factors in becoming an owner-operator in any market in today’s trucking industry.

A dream is just the seed, You need good soil, some fertilizer, sweat, endless dedication & a lot of luck to bear the fruit & reap the benefits.

Article originally published in the TruckersReport Forum by member, Grumppy