if you have your own authourity now what??

[gcal]

lk

[rank]

>please keep the bashing to a min.
OK. That will be tuff tho. I mean seriously....why didn't you become a stock broker....insurance salesman.....restaraunt or 7-11 franchise owner...anything would offer you a better return on investment and time for less risk than trucking. I know you researched your market in advance so you already know that trucking is a slim (to negative) margin business. And no good businessman gets INTO a slim margin business. But I digress. At least your truck is paid for. Your smarter than most.

>how do i get freight from other then a broker that offered me freight for 20% fee?
I'd say 20% wasn't bad. He's got the frieght and you don't. He's the guy that made 1,000,000 phone calls to 1,000 potential shippers to lock up that one guy.....so you could hold the steering wheel in a saturated market of guys just wanting to get home for free (or less).

>How do I make money in Portland?
make 1,000,000 phone calls and get some freight. Then hook up with some other carriers (they will think you're God and buy you breakfast because you have freight) then buy a warehouse and you will soon realize how to make money in trucking.

>how do i avoid leasing on to someone to be under their thumb?
make 1,000,000 phone calls and get some freight.

>i guess what im asking for is what do i do now to make sure i make money and dont get ripped off.
Brokers don't rip drivers off. Drivers rip drivers off. On any given Thursday, there's 1,000++++ drivers that need to be home to mow the lawn tomorrow. That's FREE MONEY for them. I won't even get into immigration issues.

>my truck is paid for and so is everything else.
As I said above, you're smarter than most. Hope you've got $10,000 set aside for maitenance.

>if someone screws me im parking it and going back to my 9-5.
I like that you ahve a backup plan, but I suggest finding out WHY and HOW they screwed you and not letting it happen again. If you bail at the first road block you never get anywhere.

Drivers are a commodity. They are less important than the freight they haul. Immigrants will do it for pennies. Companies will continue to use any and all means to reduce the cost. GET OUT.

[GMAN]

Gcal, it seems to me as though you got the cart before the horse, as they used to say. It is usually a good idea to have business lined up and know how you are going to make money before buying a truck, trailer and spending all that money on insurance, base plates, etc.,

Unless you want to get out and start knocking on doors, you will need to use brokers. While I personally don't care for some brokers, there are a few who are honest. Consider the percent you pay them like a sales commission. You will pay a salesman to sell your services unless you do it yourself. And broker commissions can range from 10% to over 50% with some brokers. Most of the honest ones will be between 10-20%. The problem is that you may never know what the broker is making. He could be brokering the load from another broker. It may be dishonest, but there is more of this going on than most truckers realize. Most of the time, if a rate is really cheap, it is being double brokered. You either stay away from those who double broker or live with it.

If you don't want to deal with brokers, you need to print some business cards, put a contract together and start calling on those whom you want to do business. Good luck.

[rank]

Rereading my earlier post, I think I may have been a little rough on you....sorry about that. Good luck out there.

Gcal, it seems to me as though you got the cart before the horse, as they used to say. It is usually a good idea to have business lined up and know how you are going to make money before buying a truck, trailer and spending all that money on insurance, base plates, etc.,

WHAT?!?!?!?!? :shock:

[btinc]

You will have to start knocking on doors and making cold calls, go to all the industrial parks in your area and sell your services. When you are on the docks ask if the traffic person is at that location and talk about future hauling.

If you have a reefer trailer, associated brokers and select express which is the same company just different division, can keep you busy up and down the I-5 corridor at very competitive rates until you get your own customers.

[Sonny Pruitt]

First of all you need some humility.
Start with brokers.
There is nothing wrong with starting with CH Robinson and turning them into a mini landstar until you find the right brokers. Get a load from them and tell them you need another load etc. (I wouldn't even care what it paid for now you need some momentum)
The quicker you realize what you got yourself into the better.
One of the things you should have had was a list of reliable brokers from someone in the busness(even if you bought them from someone)
Now you are drifting.
The getloaded message board has load finding services.
That may help.
You can even ask on every truck message board for some decent brokers.
You can lose your shirt with direct shippers who may take 30,45 even 60 days to pay.
Do you know the laws, the procedures etc in dealing with a direct shipper?
Why did they pick you to do their trucking?
What happened to the people who were hauling for them last week?
What if they decided not to pay until you take them to court?
You need to get on loading docks make pick ups and deliveries and keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities.
Thats what is meant by knocking on doors.
If the broker gave you a pick up ask the shipper who brings the material in?
Its a lot easier to start some frivolous conversation on the loading dock
than making an appt to the shipping manager and given 5 minutes.

[GMAN]

There is nothing wrong with dealing with brokers, especially starting out. It might surprise you at how many of the large carriers who use brokers, even though many of them also broker loads themselves. Some have their own customers going out and broker loads coming back. Others survive solely on brokered loads. Some pay well while others do not. Regardless of whether you deal with brokers or shippers direct, there are benefits and drawbacks to both. You can always factor your receivables if you get into a cash crunch situation. It is difficult for a one man operation to sell, drive, handle the books, billing, collections, maintenance, etc., etc., I didn't say that it couldn't be done, but it can be a challenge. One of the most important attributes you need in business is flexibility.

[brian]

if your needing some quick work mitchell brothers would probably take you on with your own authority, they mainly haul containers from portland to seattle and pay something like 85% of the load.

[gcal]

thank you for all the responses. you guys are great.

[GMAN]

The trucking business isn't bad for everyone. If it were, it would not have survived up to this point. Business runs in cycles. Trucking is no exception. Those cycles can differ from one segment of the industry to another. There are times during the year when business is good. There are also times when business will be slow. You just need to prepare for the slow times. I usually take off from around Christmas until after the first of the year. Things tend to be slow for flats during that time, so it is usually a good time to visit with family and enjoy the holiday. Right now we are in an unusually slow business cycle. Those who are heavily laden with debt and running for cheap rates will find it difficult to survive. Those who are either debt free or have a low debt and run for decent rates will likely fare much better. Part of this slow down has to do with it being an election year. Things always seem to slow down somewhat during an election year. High energy costs have also greatly contributed to the slowing economy. But, again, it is only a business cycle and will pass. Things will get better. We are already seeing some improvement as some trucks are moving into the normal Christmas season. The government is again moving more freight, since they just entered a new fiscal year. In business it is sometimes difficult to resist over spending when things are going great. Just remember, things will slow down. The world isn't coming to an end, it is only a regular business cycle. Those who prepare will survive and prosper. Those who don't will fail.

[Sonny Pruitt]

one other thing I can suggest is not to keep all your eggs in one basket.
You could work for a CH type company because of their rep and they have quick pay.
If you find your own shipper and they pay in 30 days you could run into a problem with cash flow.
First of all 30 days is never 30 days.
But lets say he has work for you that pays 4000 a week.
Its easy and you are very happy.
In one week he owes you 4000
in two weeks he oowes you 8000
in 3 weeks he owes you 12000!!!
in 4 weeks (30 days) he owes you 16000!!!!
in 5 weeks you are ready to shoot yourself and you call and "they are cutting the check thursday" thats over 5 weeks ($20,000)
so on week 5+ you get a check for $4000
you work for them every week from then on
they pay your 4000 like clockwork
but they will always have your 20k
the same thing can happen if you use 30 day pay brokers
you have to have a good mix of brokers-shippers

[GMAN]

That is where factoring can come in handy. You lose some of the profit, but have the cash flow until you can build your reserves. Cash flow has put a lot of people out of business. There are factors who have a non-recourse agreement. In other words, they buy your receivables, usually at a higher discount rate, but assume all the risks. If the shipper or broker fails to pay, you still have your money and they cannot charge back anything to you. Some factors have a lower rate, but you can still be charged back if the shipper doesn't pay by a certain time. I have one with whom I deal and they charge 5%. I have my money within 1 day from when they receive my bills. I like them because I don't have to factor all my receivables. I only send them what I want. Some factors require you to send them a minimum amount of receivables each month and have minimum fees. You need to be careful when signing with a factor. Some have some very restrictive clauses and hidden fees. I don't factor everything, so this factor works well for me. I can stop factoring a receivable at any time. Whether you like the idea of factoring or not, it is a way to free needed capital to run your business.

[Sonny Pruitt]

When dealing with shippers directly you are walking on thin ice as a new carrier.
There could be a problem if you use a "strong arm" factoring co (and there is no way for you to know) that keeps pestering the shipper for "their $$$"

[gcal]

one other thing I can suggest is not to keep all your eggs in one basket.
You could work for a CH type company because of their rep and they have quick pay.
If you find your own shipper and they pay in 30 days you could run into a problem with cash flow.
First of all 30 days is never 30 days.
But lets say he has work for you that pays 4000 a week.
Its easy and you are very happy.
In one week he owes you 4000
in two weeks he oowes you 8000
in 3 weeks he owes you 12000!!!
in 4 weeks (30 days) he owes you 16000!!!!
in 5 weeks you are ready to shoot yourself and you call and "they are cutting the check thursday" thats over 5 weeks ($20,000)
so on week 5+ you get a check for $4000
you work for them every week from then on
they pay your 4000 like clockwork
but they will always have your 20k
the same thing can happen if you use 30 day pay brokers
you have to have a good mix of brokers-shippers

wow! that dont sound good at all.

[LOAD IT]

Gcal what type of wagon do you have? I will PM you some customers in your area that ship daily, however I need to know the type of trailer that you pull. Also you need to use brokers to get back to your customers unless you are good enough salesman to get them to pay you for coming back to them empty, they may pay you. Dont rely on brokers for your daily business, but you will need brokers to stay alive until you find your niche.

[gcal]

Gcal what type of wagon do you have? I will PM you some customers in your area that ship daily, however I need to know the type of trailer that you pull. Also you need to use brokers to get back to your customers unless you are good enough salesman to get them to pay you for coming back to them empty, they may pay you. Dont rely on brokers for your daily business, but you will need brokers to stay alive until you find your niche.

fld 120 flat top. 350 big cam cummings, 9 speed, with 390 rears. short wheel base and a sliding 5th wheel. good enough ?? but i dont have my own trailer YET.

[LOAD IT]

Gcal what type of wagon do you have? I will PM you some customers in your area that ship daily, however I need to know the type of trailer that you pull. Also you need to use brokers to get back to your customers unless you are good enough salesman to get them to pay you for coming back to them empty, they may pay you. Dont rely on brokers for your daily business, but you will need brokers to stay alive until you find your niche.

fld 120 flat top. 350 big cam cummings, 9 speed, with 390 rears. short wheel base and a sliding 5th wheel. good enough ?? but i dont have my own trailer YET.

Let me know when you get a trailer. I started with authority, tractor and no trailer. I ended up buying one, noone wanted to lease to a newbie at a decent price. Your truck brings back memories, I had a red 92 120flattop, 425 Cat, 18 speed Rockwell, 1 million miles. My wife hated that truck! She called it a Red Witch or something like that.

[gcal]

hil

[LOAD IT]

Learn all that you can from your mechanic. Now that you have a big truck, you have to get big wrenches they will save you money. Stay away from the dealer unless you have money to give away as you noticed with their $2500 quote that you had done for $700. They are in business and so are you. Good luck and let me know when you get that trailer. Its christmas tree time really soon. How far do you plan on running this truck from home?