What do you know now that you wish you would have known when you started your trucking business?

May 11, 2023 at 03:05 PM CST + 12 - 2
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. - Looking back on your business journey, what key lessons have you learned that you wish you had known earlier? - If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice about running a business, what would you say? - What are some insights you've gained through experience that you think would have been helpful when starting your business?

Replied on Thu, May 11, 2023 at 09:20 PM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. I wish i had known more about the paperwork side of things. You have to be part rocket scientist and part accountant. The truckin side of the business is the easy part.

Replied on Fri, May 12, 2023 at 06:59 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Paperwork. The DOT doesnt f around, nor does the government. Cheap tires dont get you by, nor do they pay.

Replied on Fri, May 12, 2023 at 07:53 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. FMCSA regulations, do your homework on them because it can cost you big time if you don't play by the book.

Replied on Fri, May 12, 2023 at 10:06 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Develop a solid business plan based on hard data. Start tracking your expenses on day one. Track your revenue and expenses per mile and adjust your rates accordingly. Pursue prime hauls, you'll never make it depending on brokers.

Replied on Fri, May 12, 2023 at 01:51 PM CST + 1 - 1
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. That they would change the rules of the game any time they noticed you were winning, and that the day would come when I wouldn’t want to play the game anymore. For those of you that don’t truck let me put it in perspective for you, you go to a job interview on Friday and reach a agreement on what’s expected from both parties, compensation, weekends, vacation, etc then after a period of time the other side started taking stuff away they agreed to, and doesn’t honor their commitment..... How long would you tolerate it? Maybe you moved clear to the other side of country away from family based on the lies they fed you, would you continue to smile? Would you ever feel the same after that about you industry?

Replied on Fri, May 12, 2023 at 01:51 PM CST

+ 1 - 1

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

That they would change the rules of the game any time they noticed you were winning, and that the day would come when I wouldn’t want to play the game anymore. For those of you that don’t truck let me put it in perspective for you, you go to a job interview on Friday and reach a agreement on what’s expected from both parties, compensation, weekends, vacation, etc then after a period of time the other side started taking stuff away they agreed to, and doesn’t honor their commitment..... How long would you tolerate it? Maybe you moved clear to the other side of country away from family based on the lies they fed you, would you continue to smile? Would you ever feel the same after that about you industry?

Replied on Sat, May 13, 2023 at 09:49 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. When it comes to my trucking business I wouldn't change anything. It happened in its own time. I graduated high school and left home for Army basic training a week later. I traveled the world for Uncle Sam, so traveling the country and living the OTR life isn't much of a change for me. When I came home from military service I started a small farm from scratch. It was farming that taught me basic mechanical skills that prove useful as a truck driver. I married a smart gal that's also a college grad that takes care of the book work i.e the hard stuff for me. My biggest regret is not becoming a baptized Christian man earlier in life. Making up my own rules as a young man led to a lot of heartache.

Replied on Sat, May 13, 2023 at 09:49 PM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

When it comes to my trucking business I wouldn't change anything. It happened in its own time.

I graduated high school and left home for Army basic training a week later. I traveled the world for Uncle Sam, so traveling the country and living the OTR life isn't much of a change for me.

When I came home from military service I started a small farm from scratch. It was farming that taught me basic mechanical skills that prove useful as a truck driver.

I married a smart gal that's also a college grad that takes care of the book work i.e the hard stuff for me.

My biggest regret is not becoming a baptized Christian man earlier in life. Making up my own rules as a young man led to a lot of heartache.

Replied on Sun, May 14, 2023 at 09:45 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. No wishes. No Regrets. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I will say Uncle Sam is probably a bigger moron today than when I started. And I'm thirty five years wiser.

Replied on Sun, May 14, 2023 at 04:24 PM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. I should have listened to the Old Timer. That tried talking me out of it 24 years ago . He said the industry was in the toilet then . Now it’s in the septic system .

Replied on Mon, May 15, 2023 at 08:54 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. Gross vs net profit and everybody related to the business thinks you're taking home that gross and are trying to take a piece of your "pie" Broker, shipper, mechanic, truck and trailer dealers, parts, government, tolls, dot oh and fellow truckers that don't know their operating costs, and what a load should be paying or setting themselves up for failure with too much debt, taking whatever truckers say with a grain of salt they love bragging about best case scenario stuff or half truths

Replied on Mon, May 15, 2023 at 08:54 AM CST

Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.

Gross vs net profit and everybody related to the business thinks you're taking home that gross and are trying to take a piece of your "pie" Broker, shipper, mechanic, truck and trailer dealers, parts, government, tolls, dot oh and fellow truckers that don't know their operating costs, and what a load should be paying or setting themselves up for failure with too much debt, taking whatever truckers say with a grain of salt they love bragging about best case scenario stuff or half truths

Replied on Thu, May 18, 2023 at 06:48 AM CST
Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member.	Posted by a private FlatLoads.com member. I'm glad the old heads from 25 years ago told me "don't rush into anything". That was the best advise I ever got. Take your time. Think it over and ask for help. Make sure you pay for a good accountant. And know your total operating cost that includes the taxes you must pay.

What do you know now that you wish you would have known when you started your trucking business?

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