[pepe4158]

Hi all.....thks for the replies, mullin them all over and trying to digest them, and thinking of my next move.
So far the big warning has been about insurance, but thats is looking kind of a bright spot for me as I contacted a company I found refered to here on this board (they seemed a logical choice since they are only 30 minutes away) and the broker gal I talked too seemed very optomistic she could get me the coverage I need even though I have been away from the business 3.5 years (a big problem to all the carriers cuz of insurance)
Appreciate all the input, going to check ut all the suggestions I have here soon, after I get my quotes in a day or so and look at trucks

[Sonny Pruitt]

You also need a boatload of cash
Lets say you find a decent shipper/broker who pays well.
You do a load a week for them that pays $3500
They pay in 21 -30days
Your weekly expenses are $1000
In one month's time you have put out of your pocket $4,000
All your house bills come in and you have not been paid in 21-30 days
Someone you don't really know owes you 14k!!!!!!!!!!
After 21-30 days you start getting a check
and every week after that
.......But then you realize that you are still 14k behind.......
you need a boatload of cash

[RostyC]

I think anybody that's thinking of getting into any business must realize that you will always be chasing money. Maybe not all businesses, I don't want to generalize, but I bet most. I don't mean chasing people down to get paid, I mean monies floating around that belong to you.

[pepe4158]

Yeah...already fiqured on canceling my trip to the Philippines to see my wife;so I have the extra capital to get this gig started :P Freights gonna be slow as I remember now too

[brian]

or just factor a ton of invoices at first, take the hit on pay but at least you get paid, then after a month or two you see who pays quickly and who dicks around and you can pick and choose who you haul for.


at least thats what I did and I already had the initial startup money to survive.

[Teal 95 KW]

I went to the DOTAUTHORITY website, and it says that their "package" cost $699.00. I read where I believe it was Steve Booth got it for $350.00? Does this seem expensive? Is there anything else that somebody needs (aside from equipment) other than their own Authority, and Insurance of course? Any other legal fees etc.? I have my own LLC, had it when I pulled for United so that is covered already. Can anybody think of anything else that someone would need to have in addition to what I've already listed?



Thanks,
Jason

I think I did pay close to the $699 when all was said and done. In the beginning it's all very confusing for the new person. It seems that different states have different steps to be followed in a certain order. Paying someone to tell me what to do and when to do it was very painless.

I did look at the forms and I must say many questions I had no idea how to answer. I don't think I could lead someone through the process myself now that I've gone through it.

DOT number
MC number
KY number
NM number
NY number
Federal ID
BOC-3
Single State
IFTA sticker

[pepe4158]

Yeah lil steep at over 600....been finding mostly 500....100 a bit to wana save. Think I will probably go with that OOIDA that everyone is so high on, usually a good reason if so many recommend them.

[pepe4158]

Originally Posted by Sonny Pruitt

Steve you did this all on your own?
No one helped you?
No mentors?
Trust me, you need a mentor to succeed
To start out you need list of time tested brokers who pay quickly.
There are a lot of brokers who do not not deal with load boards!!
there is a whole world of non load board brokers who pay well
A couple of 7 day payers makes all the difference in the world.
A friend of mine gave me his brokers with days to pay etc.
and only 2 or three would occaisionally show up on getloaded
the rest had a good carrier base and did not need any outsiders
Or you can call this guy....
Without this kind of information
You are dealing with scraps
.

Hmmmm anyone not driving anymore care to kindly share any brokers names (kind of funny, I was considering doing brokering instead, seems easier to get going lol) If not Ill have to kindly ddo just well eating my, "scraps" for dinner.

[pepe4158]

Well justt an update, got my insurance quote back and it was good news indeed! 9,000 covers me for a mil and I can run aywhere, going over to Freightliner now to look at trucks,....hmmmm if I do go under as far as not getting enough loads aka too low paying, can I use these months towards leasing on to a company ?They seem to have their panties on to tight as far as my recent experience, or lack there of, but I know I can run for a few months b efore I went under with the capital I have, given I dont screw this up tottaly anf get loads where the broker never pays.