A friend of mine called yesterday and is ready to give up his rig after only 60 days. He is currently out of funds and cant operate.....why? He didnt prepare to become an owner operator financially. Once he got his first settlement he bought a Rigmaster cash, then 2 weeks later he fell out with management where he was leased and took his Hotwheel to another company. The new company is slow to pay and the first company is still holding his final monies for 45 days. This guy is stranded at a truckstop and is totally freaking out, he's pissed with me because I laughed, wont lend him money and said "that's trucking". What I know is that his money will catch up to him and he will not sink, been there got 2 t-shirts. I posted this for those who inspire to be owner operators but want to do it on half of a shoestring or dont have a solid plan and money to operate and live on for a while.

 

by the sounds of this, maybe he is not fit to run his own business...

 

Typical hothead owner operator, this guy sold building materials for years and I cant believe he has acted this way. His EGO got in the way, now he can live off of ego for awhile.

 

Good post, Load It. One of the main reasons so many fail in this business is because they fail to prepare. I feel for this guy, but he never should have stared spending so much money starting out. I am amazed that he would have bought a Ringmaster after such a short time in this business. Had he put that money aside, he would still be in good shape. He may not appreciate it right now, but you probably did him a favor by not bailing him out. There is something to be said for finding your own way out of a situation.

 

I kind of feel bad for not helping him out, but he never thought about leasing on with me. I've known this guy since he was a company driver and I hope he sees the lesson that I am hoping that he learns. That Rigmaster helped to put him in this situation, that was $6000 he could be operating with right now.

 

I've been doing this for almost 2 months now and I have no clue how somebody starts out with no money. I have been very fortunate in that I have pleny of work, I get paid very fast and I have all payments well under control.

I bought a newer truck and now am home for almost a week and probably til the end of next as the fifth wheel plate had a crack in it. I wonder if I should have just paid to get a new one put on instead of going through the warranty. A lot of down time so it might have made more sense to pay and get going. I was prepared for downtime like this but hoping that it wouldn't have happened so fast.

But honestly with decent credit this game is much easier. If this guy wanted a Ringmaster, then he should have gotten himself one of those credit cards that offer 0% for 15 months.

 

He apparently didn't think his actions through. I hope it helps others see that things can happen and that it is critical to plan and save before buying a truck.

 

Merrick--Are you still getting your loads thru the same guy? How is he taking your down time, do you still pay him when you arent running?

 

Yes, still with him. As for how is he taking the down time, I'm not sure what you mean? That is apart from the money question. As to that, he is on automatic bill pay, so his check goes out like clock work. Honestly to me the fee is not only to load the truck. I am completely green out here so for instance when I found a slow leak in my tire and they TA wouldn't repair it as it was too close to the side and they wanted $500 for a new tire I called him and he told me to run it back and I am buying a brand new Michelin off him for $150 (he pulls them off new trailers and puts his own tires).

But I had no clue what the right decision was when I was standing there at the TA. I really was about to buy a new tire (they didn't have used ones that matched up to my tire).

It's like before when you mentioned really the actual profit or price that people get is secondary to whether they are happy with it. So maybe to many $600 a month is a lot but I have a steady supply of freight, I don't worry about brokers not paying as I go through his contacts (which obviously are checked out already as he wants to get paid on his loads too), I am going through all his contacts when I bought this equipment and now they know me on my own and MOST important (to me anyway) is as I'm am running under my own authority, I am building credibility with these people out here under my own name.

Other than that, not sure if you meant how he takes it that I'm not available to work which would be a valid question as another reason he likes this situation besides the money is that he can offer more trucks, well he knows that I do not want to be at home right now. It's not just the money, I truly enjoy being out there. I am eager to get things going out there. I will say this downtime has been productive as well so far. I need to find a good accountant though.

I just remembered another plus by the way. I am having trouble with the parking when I'm home. I found a spot for $200 a month but he pays for spots in a locked yard with cameras and he said to just pay him $10 a day for when I park. I don't plan on being home much so it's better for me this way.

 

suprised he bought an apu right out of the gate, I installed plenty before starting out on my own and I could`ve bought my pro heat right out of the gate but I still waited several months.

why doesn`t he factor some loads, not only does he get some apparently much needed cash but it also allows him to see how fast certain brokers take to pay.