How to Start a Trucking Business
Starting your own trucking business can be both beneficial and extremely hard to do. As with all the benefits of owning your own business, there is huge potential for income and expansion; but starting a business and having it succeed past the first two years is extremely hard. There are many versions of independent trucking companies. This article will walk you through starting and managing a multi-truck trucking business.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Write a complete business plan including what type of trucking company you are starting. The most common is a company that offers hauling or moving items for other companies.
-
2
Figure out where the start up money is going to come from. Do you have savings? Do you need a loan? This is the single most important step in starting a new business. You must also plan for operating expenses for the first three months.
-
-
3
Get all the appropriate business licenses and permits. These include Fuel Tax Reporting, USDOT numbers, 2290's, IRP tags, MC numbers and IFTA decals. Get the required insurance that you will need to operate your specific type of business.
-
4
Build relationships and start networking for clients. This should include cold calling, attending conferences and creating a great marketing plan.
-
5
Hire extremely qualified truck drivers. You may want to consider hiring owner-operators as this will cut down on your cost by not having to buy a fleet. Do extensive background checks on your drivers before hiring them. There will be nothing more detrimental to a new trucking business than a bad accident or any kind of incident with an unprofessional driver.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Research every legal area you need to cover carefully, so you don't forget a permit, license or registration fee anywhere. To make this easier, hire a business consultation company with experience in trucking to help with the process.
Resources
More Like This
Comments
-
thank u!
-
It's nothing like starting your own business, being your your own boss, spending much time as possible with your kids, enjoying the house you well deserve. Nevertheless or mention, taking nice professional vacation with your sweetie pie. LOL
-
anesa
Sep 01, 2010
Great info- thank you- -
buchanan94
Dec 22, 2009
Is there an age cause i am 16 and done with high school wanting to do this and have my dad and brothers drive for me
-
Driven4Profits
Oct 01, 2008
Starting a trucking business is far more challenging than most would think. Yes while all these steps are important. there are other considerations and concerns which need to be addressed. 1. You must develop a a niche and a specific lane or lanes of operation. 2. You must have an inbound load for every out bound load. 3. You must develop hauling rates which are based on your break-even point plus the required capital to grow. 4.These rates must be competitive in the market you serve. 5. You must have a deep understanding of the hours of service rules and be sure your dispatching is done within those rules. Keep in mind at todays fuel prices it costs around a dollar a mile just for the fuel, another 50 cents per mile for the driver and related employment expenses. Add to this the truck payment, insurance, licenses, maintenance, communications, office expenses and salary for
