I assumed since he was just starting out after being a company driver that he probably wouldn't have many direct contacts and would be relying heavily on brokers. Regardless of what any of our individual experiences were, 2007 overall was a slow year. Overall, rates tend to be more volatile on the west coast...individual results may vary :lol:

Notice I didn't make any recommendations, simply stated the industry-wide facts. If you've got good contacts there's never a bad time to get into the industry. If not, well I wouldn't be in a hurry to jump in this year...but that's just me.

 

Gotta agree with BIG D on this one. There is GOOD money to be made out west....but you HAVE to leave the brokers OUT of it. 8)

I have a friend who runs reefer western 5 and does REEALLY good. No brokers involed.

tootie

 

Again, I'm assuming the guy doesn't have contacts guaranteeing him good rates. If that were the case, he wouldn't be asking if it's a good idea. The fact is, most people when they first start are using brokers almost exclusively. I've seen nothing to indicate that his situation is any exception, in which case it's dicey.

 

Take a business man and you can teach him to drive a truck in a couple weeks, now take a truck driver and try to teach him to run a business, it takes alot longer.

The best way to make a small fortune in trucking is to start with a big one.

 

What would qualify as a small fortune...say for a 2-4 year old truck and just leasing onto a carrier? I'd like the whole number taking into account start up money and money in the bank to survive on during the startup?

 

Thank you all for your input.
Terry

 

anthony1995 had a good post, and I would also like to know a money amount I should consider for the same.

 

Gman and others would be better to say exact start-up costs as for licensing but I have been thinking on this for a bit now that I have been out here for about 6 months.

I have concluded that I have no idea how anyone gets into this without some type of financial backup. Right off the bat say you get a long load and you need to fill up 3 times that's about a grand.

I mean I guess it's possible, they give out advances and you could factor your first load and get the money right away but if you have to factor every load that will get costly. Also I'm not sure it's so easy to get set up with a factor. I could be wrong, but I pulled my business credit and the factor was there. They did some state filing, I forget what it was. So they might be checking credit. Don't quote me on that; I could be wrong.

But all of this implies that you know how to run credit and have a factor set up. I didn't when I got started.

The best thing would be to get a credit card with 0% interest where you can get fuel and pay for things and not have to pay the balance off each month or pay obscene interest fees.

I have not even mentioned money set aside for repairs. I think it was within the first month my fan hub motor (I forget the name) went; it was under warranty but if I had bought an older truck which is advocated here a lot and it wasn't under warranty that would have hurt.

In short I don't think you can quantify an exact figure you need to start off with but it is a business after all and you are going to need capital and the more the better.