owner operator make big bucks in trucking

Making the Big Bucks: Becoming an Owner Operator

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Whether you’ve been on the road for years or just starting your career as a truck driver, you must have spent some time thinking about your own business. Putting in the long hours on the road and flexing your muscles when loading the vehicle might be fun.  But won’t it be even more exciting if the profits were higher? If you have the dream, the guts, and the money (or a way to get it), you can consider becoming an owner operator.

  1. Find Your Niche

If you are not completely new to the trucking business, you know that there are plenty of different niches. Trying to earn money in a niche with too much competition, when you are just starting out, is complicated. Consider a niche that requires more workforce but perhaps pays less. It can help you earn some cash while getting experience and building a reputation.

  1. Get the Cash

Obviously, any business endeavor starts with the money. You need to invest some of your bucks into a truck. While trucks are far from being cheap, in reality, you just need to find some money for the down payment.

Don’t go for the old equipment even if it seems cheap. You’ll spend more time under the hood than behind the wheel. Do your research and get a fairly new model for your niche. Leave some cash for other expenses, such as insurance, maintenance, and meals.

  1. Be Ready to Work Overtime

Anyone who ever started a business knows that you need to forget about weekends and vacations for at least a year. You can’t get a good reputation as an owner operator unless you put in the hours.

Understanding that you might need to settle for lower paying gigs in order to get the higher pay in the future, can save you plenty of nerves.

  1. Get Family Support

Truck drivers often have trouble keeping their families together due to long hours spent on the road. If you don’t have your family’s support for whatever business you are planning, one of them is bound to fail. So if you don’t want this to happen, make sure to deal with your loved ones beforehand to prepare them for the hardships to come.

  1. Plan for Slow Times

Since you are not getting a salary, you have to be ready for the slow time. You won’t always be getting enough contracts to keep yourself busy. There will be down times that you have to plan for. At first, be prepared to spend about 30 % of your time on the side of the road. Plan for the slow times when the money is coming in.

  1. Get Advice

If you are an experienced truck driver, you know how important the good advice is. This goes for all the aspects of the business, including accounting and legal advice. Find people who are good at their jobs instead of trying to deal with everything on your own.

 

 

find best paying truck loads

6 Tips To Help You Find the Best Loads

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Being in the trucking business is profitable when you know how to find the best loads. The trucking industry profits are on the rise and getting a piece of this tasty pie is on every trucking’s company wish list. Here are a few simple tips that can make load finding simpler and more cost-effective.

  1. Work With a Good Dispatcher

Dispatchers play a big role in finding the right loads. They are an important connection between the freight service and the shippers. Knowing how to talk to the freight brokers and how to get the best deals comes with experience. A professional dispatcher with excellent communication skills can get you the best job with the highest pay. But the sad part is that a majority of the brokers in this field are not good dispatchers or good brokers for the fact. Only thing they care about is to fill their pocket as much as possible drinking off the hard working people’s blood.

  1. Pay Attention to Your Customer Service

Customer service is one of the most important departments in any company, including a trucking business. Polite, professional, and fast-reacting customer service employees are the best way to work with the right brokers. The reputation of the company relies heavily on the small things that are dealt with by the customer service department.

  1. Pay For Good Insurance

Insuring your business is one of the first steps toward success without losses. Insuring the load can keep you out of trouble and allow you to find better deals in the future. Plenty of things can go awry with the truckers and the cargo. The damages are literally waiting around every corner. They include accidents, turned over load, fire, theft, as well as health hazards to the truck driver. Make sure that both the load and the driver are properly insured.

  1. Don’t Forget the Government

We are not talking about paying taxes here, which you’ll doubtfully forget. Moving loads for the US government can be a great high paying job. The government contracts are worth the time and effort, which you need to put in to get them. Regular work and impressive payments can help your company prosper.

  1. Care for Your Safety Rating

A good safety rating can help you find better paying contracts and allow your company to develop faster. Fulfill the requirements of the below areas to have a proper safety rating. While it might take some time and expenses, a good rating can help you in the future.

  • Driver Safety Evaluation – Hiring drivers with clean crash records is the only way to go.
  • Vehicle Safety Evaluation – Keeping the vehicles in good condition and doing the inspections on time is necessary for a good company reputation.
  • Accident Safety Evaluation – Avoiding accidents is compulsory to have a good rating.
  • Safety Management Safety Evaluation -High crash rates can lead to fewer contracts and lower rates.

 

  1. Schedule The Right Routes

Delivering the loads on time while using the least amount of fuel and avoiding bad roads is important for developing a good company reputation. You can take advantage of trucking software to plan the most effective routes.

Web based trucking dispatch software

What Is Waiting For You Down the Road?

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When newbie truckers are making their first runs, they have a full bag of fears and anxieties traveling in the truck with them. That’s what sometimes makes them better drivers than experienced truckers.

Being careful on the road is essential to a successful run as well as a long and healthy life. Sometimes such high-tech benefits as Web based trucking dispatch software can help you avoid problems on the road.

However, no matter how experienced you are and how well you can use Web based trucking dispatch software, you can’t relax even for a minute. Below you can find a list of the most common fears new truck drivers have. They do a great job keeping you on your toes every time you get behind the wheel.

  1. Snow

Snow can be rather scary since it substantially hinders your view of the roads. In most cases, regular drivers stay home during the snowstorms. However, truck drivers often have to overlook the conditions and keep going relying on Web based trucking dispatch software to show them the best course.

Every driver must overcome the fear of snow. The only way you can get rid of the fear is to make a few runs in the snow. But if it’s snowing heavily, stay home. You don’t just risk an accident, you might get stuck. Use Web based trucking dispatch software to plan the trip around the small roads that might not be as clean from the snow as the big ones.

  1. Black Ice

Another scary winter hazard is black ice. It usually occurs just when the winter is starting and before it’s over. The road warms up during the day and then freezes during the night. Sliding off a road is one of the biggest newbie truck drivers’ fears. Slow and careful driving is a simple approach to avoiding black ice accidents.

Always make sure you have proper tires for winter driving. Web based trucking dispatch software can remind you when the tires need to be changed. But relying solely on Web based trucking dispatch software is a mistake. You still have to check your tires on a regular basis.

  1. Tight Corners

When you are behind the wheel of a huge machine, tight corners are outright scary. Even Web based trucking dispatch software can’t plan your way to avoid ALL such corners on your run. The only way to battle this fear is to practice, practice, and practice. Start slowly and soon you can conquer even the tightest spots.

  1. Fuel Efficiency

While this is not exactly a full-time newbie fear, many truckers are afraid of wasting fuel since it can affect their pay. Web based trucking dispatch software can help you create a fuel-efficient route. However, if you are an inexperienced driver, you might waste fuel unnecessary. Read a few tips on how to keep up the efficiency on the road with or without the Web based trucking dispatch software.

  1. Night Driving

Even a newbie driver knows that night driving is complicated. The acuity of the vision during the night is much lower while your body keeps telling you that it’s time to sleep. Night driving is an essential part of every trucker’s lifestyle. It takes some getting used to. You can use Web based trucking dispatch software to plan your route to avoid as much night driving as possible.