[GMAN]

I think what he is looking for is some affirmation about whether he can at least earn enough to make his expenses and still take care of the home bills with the down economy. I am not sure that he has set his sights so low, he just wants to make sure that he can buy a truck and still pay the bills.

One thing that is difficult for new people to understand is why we cannot give exact costs for their particular operation. Like most businesses everyone operates differently and things such as the type of equipment you buy and use along with the amount of payments have a dramatic impact on your cost of operations. For instance, if one owner has big payments and another has none then their operational costs can be significantly different.

[RostyC]

Originally Posted by Auggiedoggy

Thanks for the replies. I do understand that "my paycheck" will depend on the rates that i haul for. But why would you think mike3fan that i would haul for 60 cents a mile, please give me some credit. It seems that too many of the members on this forum are quick to jump to the conclusion that newer or want to be o/o are stupid and do not really have a clue. That is why i asked the question about how much i could pay myself a week. I understand that i don't know all about becoming an o/o but i DO know how much money i need to take home a week to meet my obligations at home. Also chris1 i didn't set my sights low, I need that much (little) every week to make my payments at home. As i said in my post, the good weeks would be used as extra money for repairs, maintenace, truck replacement, etc. Again thanks for the replies.

Try not to get too defensive. There's a lot of knowledge on this board but you have to be able to take the responses you get without emotion. It's business. The way I read Mike's post was not an attack but he was making a point to you, that's all. You have to think about what people tell you/ask you and not be defensive. Same thing with Chris's post.

Good luck in your endeavor, it can be a struggle. LOADIT was also correct in that there might be weeks when you can't take a paycheck. (repairs) I know this first hand. :lol:

[SickRick]

The main factors would be miles, rate, and overhead.

If you're a single O/O - it's less a matter of "paying yourself", in the beginning - than it is making your nut and keeping your truck running.

If you're not "leased on" to a carrier, then you're NOT getting a weekly settlement check - you're getting paid Net 30/60 or whatever agreement you have in your CONTRACT for each particular load. Want to get paid FASTER? Then either you're using your brokers "quick pay", or using a "factor" and paying a percentage of gross invoice to settle the invoice NOW - versus LATER (and if the billable party doesn't pay the FACTOR - it goes back to YOU for COLLECTIONS an you have to pay the FACTOR BACK). That's just the BILLING END of the business as an independent O/O.

Which means you can expect to need at least 30-90 Days of OPERATING EXPENSES to "front" your trucking business - until you accounts receivables pipelines is filled up and flowing to the point where you ARE making regular deposits into your operating account - keeping in mind that for the most part (unless you're factoring and giving up a %-age)

"Fleece Operators" get a decent portion of their weekly settlement set aside for a MAINTENANCE ESCROW ACCOUNT. While most folks whine about this, if properly managed (ie: they actually give you the unused portion BACK when you give the truck back), they really are doing YOU a favor. How'd ya like to blow both tires on a tandem side, and not have the $800-1,000 handy to have someone come out and replace them? Most folks factor maintenance into their calculations for OPERATING EXPENSES - but HOW MANY actually PUT THEM ASIDE for when (not IF) they have a mechanical emergency OTR? Personally - I'm PLANNING to open a separate bank account (Operating & Maintenance) and funding up to 10% of my WEEKLY GROSS into my MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT until I have about $10K in there - JUST IN CASE. A BROKEN TRUCK earns NO $$ - not having $$ to FIX A BROKEN TRUCK is just plain STUPID.

Pay a SALARY to myself? To pull this off (especially in the CURRENT ECONOMY) I hope to put the contents of my (soon to be finally foreclosed on) house in STORAGE or rent a room from a friend - and I'll be happy to be able to FEED MYSELF, pay my PERSONAL NECESSITIES (cell phone, wireless internet) the occasional massage (w/happy ending of course) and get a NEW BUSINESS OFF THE GROUND at the same time.

I DO NOT EXPECT to be able to support a wife, kids, household as a new O/O (OR COMPANY DRIVER) - unless living at POVERTY LEVEL is what my expectations look like. I DO EXPECT however, with HARD WORK, ATTENTION TO DETAIL, a GOOD ATTITUDE and SAFE/ECONOMICAL DRIVING HABITS - to have a BUSINESS OF MY OWN after a couple of years tat will PAY FOR ITSELF and kick me enough to be comfortable on the road, and to put away a few hundred a month towards getting a place of my own after a few years.

Rick

Expectation is the MOTHER OF RESENTMENT.

[Auggiedoggy]

I didn't mean to sound defensive, GMAN is correct, i would like to know if $700+ per week is a realistic amount to make a week. I can now work from that figure to see if it a doable option for me right now. As much as i hate to say it i will probably stay where i am for now, and put the thought of owning my own truck out of my mind. I know that the economy is not going to recover this year, or next. I don't think it will get back to "normal" for 5 to 10 years. But i will take ALL of the advice that i have been given and thank you all for it.

[chris1]

When you work with minimum numbers you have no room to adjust for downward trends.

[GMAN]

Your income could have wide swings from one week to the next until the economy turns around. I think it is good business to over estimate operating expenses and under estimate profit. Even in a down economy it is possible to earn a decent living. You may just need to work harder to achieve the same level of income as in a strong economy.