How to Start a Trucking Business With These Unique Resources

Tips, Insights, and Resources for Starting a Trucking Business

You’ll find a lot of resources related to starting and running a trucking business.

I won’t get into the details of how to start your business because you’ll find those steps in the resources.

Instead, I will focus on important issues you’ll want to consider before you get started.

Points to Consider Before Starting a Trucking Business

Pros and Cons

Every business has pros and cons. Let’s go over a few for a trucking business.

PROS:

This business can be very profitable with the right contracts.
The business is expandable.
If you have a fleet, you make money while you sleep.
Cash flow for this type of business is high.
Sometimes there is an opportunity to make money on return loads known as a Backhaul.

CONS:

Spending a lot of time in a truck cab.
Always on the road.
You can only drive so many hours a day.
Depending on where you deliver, there are many transportation-related permits.
You’re always pressed for time. You need to load, depart, and unload, on time, and you don’t have full control over these issues.
Stress during traffic jams.
High competition for the best runs.
Purchasing trucks are expensive.
You need to have work. If not, your making payments on a truck with no income.

Are You Suited for This Opportunity?

There are thousands of business ideas to consider. From my experience, it’s important to get into a business that you’re interested in.

Creating a successful business takes time. It may take you 3 to 30 years to get the level of success you want. It’s important to consider that it may take you that long. Can you see yourself in this business for the next 30 years? If you’re answer is no, then what do you see yourself doing? Should you be focusing on that, instead?

Having passion and determination towards your business will give you the drive to succeed. When you are determined and have passion, you’ll find creative solutions when problems appear. Without passion, you’ll look for an exit strategy as soon as a problem peaks around the corner.

For more see, Passion – An Important Key You Need to Succeed in Business.

Do you have The Necessary Skills?

Do you have the skills to run a business? Do you have the skills to operate a truck? I’m a strong believer that if you do everything yourself or hire people, you must know every aspect of how your business operates from a-z.

The good news is if you can learn the skills you’ll need. Some skills you’ll need before you start, and others can be learned as you go.

For example, if you’re an experienced trucker but lack business skills. In the beginning, get business advice from someone with experience that you can trust. For more, How to Run a Business – A Quick Look Into Skills You’ll Need

Will You Do All the Work Yourself or Hire Employees?

Have you considered if you will operate your business all on your own, or will you hire a crew? Depending on your plan and startup fund, this type of business can be started by yourself, and you expand when the opportunity exists.

Another plan is you can hire owner operators where you can act as a broker. For more see, The Pros and Cons of Running a One-Person Business.

Is There a Demand for Trucking in Your Area?

With any business you’re going to start, you’ll need to identify the demand for what you have to offer. When there is a demand, you have a chance to succeed.

One thing to keep in mind is, even if there is demand, it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed success. Many factors determine success in a business.

On the other hand, if there are too many trucking companies in the area, you could be dealing with a saturated market. To compete in a saturated market, you have to bring something new to the market that customers want or improve the current services. For more on this topic, see, What Is the Demand for Your Products and Services?

Your Location

There are a few options to consider in terms of your location. Here are a few.

Home: You can run this business from home if you’re planning to start your business as a one-truck operation where you’re doing everything yourself. For more see, The Pros and Cons of Starting a Business From Home.

Commercial Location: If you’re looking to run a fleet of trucks, you’ll want to operate from a commercial location. You may even want to have a warehouse and an area to repair and maintain trucks.

What Type of Company Structure Will You Setup?

There are different types of ways to structure a business. It comes down to liability, taxes, and perceived value.

Starting out as a sole proprietorship is the easiest to establish but has the most liability. For example, if there is a lawsuit against your business, you and the business are considered the same. Therefore you could lose your personal assets.

If you set up a corporation, and a lawsuit is filed against your business, your personal assets are protected. A corporation is a separate entity. For more details on this important step, see How to Register Your Business.

Startup Cost

To determine your startup cost, you need to decide on the following:

Will you run the business on your own, or will you hire staff?
Where will you operate from home or a commercial location?
Will you buy or lease trucks, and how many will you need?

All of the above will affect your startup costs. Without solid answers to the above, you won’t be able to determine your startup costs.

For more, see Estimating Startup Costs: Are You Missing Anything?

Insurance

Insurance is a critical part of this business. Tractor-trailer accidents cause a great deal of damage. Without the right cover, one accident can put you out of business.

You need to have sufficient coverage for your trucks. You need to have more than enough cargo coverage. You’ll find expert tips and companies that deal with insurance for a trucking business in the resources further down the page.

Your Trucks

You’ll need to focus on the trucks you’ll need. And some of the questions you’ll have to answer are as follows:

Will you purchase your trucks?
Will you lease tucks with a maintenance plan included?
Will you purchase used trucks?
Will you run your business without trucks and depend on owner-operators?

Spend some time on the section for buying a truck in the resources below for more.

Getting the Word Out and Getting Customers

Have you considered how you will get loads? Will you be advertising? Or will you use a broker and pay a percentage on each load?

If you can advertise effectively, your acquisition cost can be lower than paying a broker a large percentage of the load.

If you’re starting out, you may want to use a broker to get some customers. Once you’re up and running, you may want to gain some experience in marketing your company to make more profit per load. See the section in the resources below for marketing a trucking business.

Getting Inside Information

The best advice you can get in business is from people that have experience in the same business you’re considering. There are various ways to speak with people that are experienced in the trucking business. Have a look at An Inside Look Into The Business You’re Considering for the details.

Now To The Resources

You have now reached the resource section of the post. You’ll find a unique collection of handpicked articles that will give you a strong overview of the trucking business. Since there are many resources, you can come back anytime to use any of the sections.

Good luck with your business.