Getting my own authority....sick of this crap.

[preacherboy24]

Getting my own authority has become way more attractive. Right now I get 75% of the linehaul and 100% of the fuel surcharge. My company was just bought out by an investment firm and for the last three weeks I have had to fight for my pay. If I do next week the gloves come off.

I did the math. Last year the truck made $140,000. I give up 25% of that for what? Book work and liability insurance. Last year I gave up $35,000 for that. If liability insurance is $800 per month then I would have to pay an extra $9600 to gain $35,000. The math adds up.

My company as well as a lot of others I know have been gravitating to load boards to find freight. They literally dispatch in their PJ's! I dont see them developing relationships with shippers.....just looking at the computer and if they dont see anything they just blame the economy for their lack of work. Why not cut out the middle man....or men (plural) and keep the money. Facebook has introduced me to the way some of these folks live and they live better than I do....and all they do is make phone calls.

I have never met anyone who has their own authority say they regretted it. Most say they wish they made the decision years ago. I will be making my last truck payment in Nov. I will prolly make the leap.

[Kid Rock]

Well clearly you've put some thought into this and if you do pull the gloves off and trade them for some new hats and gloves then I wish you good luck. This is something I've been interested in to for a while but it's just not time yet for me.

I do love having the opportunity to market myself to local shippers and search freight out from more than one source. There's been many times I know there's freight around me but our brokers may not spend much focus on servicing that particular area. Internet truck stop is a pretty sophisticated load board as well, I met them at GATS last year and was pretty impressed.

This net30 and net45 and net90 stuff is what I'm pulling back for until the time is right. I don't like the idea of having to hunt down money that's owed to me, but maybe it's not always like that. But it seems like your in a situation that's now almost already like that.

[snailexpress]

There is what you missed.
Liability insurance for new MC will be higher up to1500.00
Not all brokers will work with new MC
Rate they will give you will be cheaper
Looking for freight and dispatching consumes time. Even you are in PJ's
After all night driving you have to do book and dispatch then drive without proper rest.
soon you will be exhausted and instead $140,000 you have only $100,000 or less in year.
The worst thing is you don't have anybody to put blame on/

[in2trux]

I agree with snailexpress, some good points on both replies.
The first year is the hardest.

You will have to go through the "new entrant" hoops, a DOT safety audit.
No big deal, the majority of it is just having all the paperwork done, dot the I's cross the T's.

I would highly recommend joining OOIDA. They are there for you and can get you in compliance with insurance and drug testig.
We have our insurance with them. $1mil liability, $150 cargo and it costs us about $1100/ month.
Hasn't changed much in the last 3 years.

The best part of being independent is you can be as picky as you want, negotiate your rate.
Untill you have a track record for being safe, reliable and on time the money will be a little weak.
No more getting stuck with crap loads more than once because the dispatcher sucks at pushing for the best rate, failing to ask all the important questions. If they have multiple trucks to find loads for, your going to get screwed or short changed.
25% is too high in my book unless it's their trailer and you have lots of value added services like fuel,tire discounts .
We where getting 88% but that was leased to a family member.

As for getting paid net 30, 60,90, most good brokers offer quick pay.
Essentially factoring, cost is avg 1.5% . Cash is king, go with who pays you fastest and don't let them get in your wallet for anymore than you can afford to lose. We have been paid for every single load, usually in 2-5 days. Invoices are scanned and submitted for payment same day when empty and clean signed bills are in hand. If you can afford to wait, track their average days to pay. 32- 35 is typical.
The checks never come when you need them the most. We try to not have more the $4-5k in receivables out on any one day.
Pay cash for fuel, nothing like getting a $5-6000 bill and waiting for a check to come late .

You do have to look for your own loads, constantly look 2-3 days ahead so you can sort through the junk loads. If you are organized, doing paperwork daily isn't too hard. Keep a calender.

If you have any questions, just ask.
"Independent " is something few can claim because it is more work. Nothing for nothing.
Not having to answer to a bonehead, PRICLESS!

[ashdan2010]

What do you plan to haul when you get your own authority.van.reefer.flatbed? They all pay different and if you don't have a good relationship with a broker already. You will be hauling cheap freight and you can't make it out here hauling cheap freight. I've been doing this a long time and I have good months and bad months. You will go broke using load boards. You need to research and find small brokers they will pay more and also help you find back hauls. There is alot to having your own authority it's not as easy as some people may lead you to believe.

[in2trux]

(01-18-2017 )ashdan2010 Wrote:  What do you plan to haul when you get your own authority.van.reefer.flatbed? They all pay different and if you don't have a good relationship with a broker already. You will be hauling cheap freight and you can't make it out here hauling cheap freight. I've been doing this a long time and I have good months and bad months. You will go broke using load boards. You need to research and find small brokers they will pay more and also help you find back hauls. There is alot to having your own authority it's not as easy as some people may lead you to believe.

Preacherboy has a nice Wilson dropdeck if I remember right.

I agree with most of your reply, except going broke using load boards.
You have to start somewhere. There is a learning curve.

You've been doing this for a long time so the following is for everyone else's benefit.

Year one, CHR or JB will take most anyone as long as you have good insurance/MVR.
Don't avoid level 1 inspections, be ready. You're going to be on the hot list with DOT.
The more level 1 inspections you pass, the higher your SMS score.
Don't sweat the no point minor dings. NOBODY is perfect, if you are, hear me JESUS!

Don't model your business around them, use them the same way they use you! Branch out and focus on what you want to do and where you want to run. If anyone thinks their dispatcher at the carrier they're leased on to isn't using load boards, reality check! THEY ALL USE THEM! There is no such thing as a "back haul". It's all revenue miles. It's called the spot market.
Supply and demand. Friday can be your friend or enemy. Empty, looking for a load with 200 other trucks and clueless dispatchers? Tuesday through Thursday are the money making days,
don't tie yourself up with junk loads. $100/ hour target is attainable if you're tuned in.
Think about it, If they had to buy a truck, put a driver on, pay workman's comp, SSI, Capitalize the equipment, repairs and maintenance, staffing and logistics. ROI, AND a profit margin?
What is that worth? Answer, what someone is willing to do it for. Unfortunately, too many going down the road without a clue.
JUST SAY NO TO CHEAP FREIGHT! Ask the questions, "sorry, that doesn't work for me, I'll pass. Thank You, Goodbye".

Subscribe to DAT, Members Edge. Study the data for your lane and push for midrange average to start. Timing is everything. Know your bottom line and profit margin. Your going to have to take some crap once in a while, how much is up to you.

What works for us is just that, it works for us in our lanes. NJ,NY,PA,DE,MD,VA

There are allot of loads that never see the board. When you run the same lanes you will see those loads pop up from time to time for different reasons. Even the guys with the inside track run into problems covering the load, breakdown, additional loads, family emergency, complacency.

The biggest factor I can think of is the lanes you run, available loads and trucks available.
Anybody setting off on their own needs to do a carrier set up with each broker.

Many brokers have their own boards. The minute you allow one broker to be too dominate in your revenue they will start beating you down on the rate. That is why we dumped dedicated,
they start thinking they are doing you a favor and have too much control on your revenue.

We are mercenary, totally freelance. We play the ace in the hole, by that I mean the broker knows they can count on us to get it done. They like that! No news is good news, don't harass me! Some of them get it, others don't have a clue, learn how to feel them out.

Don't be a dick, it's business and a contract, nothing personal. Words mean things and unless it's in writing it means nothing in court. You are a businessman first!

When you have them by the balls, don' give them a BJ! Make them pay!
I have no problem charging $10/mile for a hot dry van load! That's inside baseball.

When you call on a load, ask all the questions! The first price they throw at you is low ball.
If you cant book it for 15 -20% more you're selling yourself short. Learn how to negotiate,
once you accept the confirmation, that's it! READ IT! IT IS A LEGAL CONTRACT. Deliver or spend lots of unproductive time fighting and arguing over it. You will lose one way or another.

Load planning is everything! Shippers will always take more time than you planned, receivers will jerk you around at every opportunity, leave plenty of time between loads. Get detention time in writing, before you need it! FOOD is a four letter word.

The mega carriers have "load planners", most of them are clueless and have never done the job. Use what you know from your years of experience and beat them over and about the head. The only loads we will discount the rate are the ones that get us in and out in 1 hour, even then it has to be in our range. Pay attention to the beginning and end of the quarters. Jan1 - Mar31st -Jun 31, Sept.30. and the business day a load ships and delivers. Corporate America lives and dies by quarterly numbers to stay in budget. Corporate lackey's bonuses depend on doing things on time, use it to your advantage.

If the customer is pushing for the cheapest truck, that's what they're going to get. Know your costs, make your bid and move on. I can't tell you how many times we get a call back within the hour accepting our bid. You have to be firm, they can smell weakness.
You really have to dial into your lane and be able to read the tea leafs..

We are set up with 12+ brokers with good,consistent records of paying but tend to work with 2 or 3 and rotate through them. Follow the MONEY! Never let them think they own you!

60k miles last year, home almost ever night, maybe 1-2 nights layover because of HOS, $155k.
Not setting the world on fire but not running stupid miles, but plenty of downtime to do PM, paperwork and have a life. That's what it's all about isn't it?

[rgreen]

(01-18-2017 )in2trux Wrote:  I agree with snailexpress, some good points on both replies.
The first year is the hardest.

You will have to go through the "new entrant" hoops, a DOT safety audit.
No big deal, the majority of it is just having all the paperwork done, dot the I's cross the T's.

I would highly recommend joining OOIDA. They are there for you and can get you in compliance with insurance and drug testig.
We have our insurance with them. $1mil liability, $150 cargo and it costs us about $1100/ month.
Hasn't changed much in the last 3 years.

The best part of being independent is you can be as picky as you want, negotiate your rate.
Untill you have a track record for being safe, reliable and on time the money will be a little weak.
No more getting stuck with crap loads more than once because the dispatcher sucks at pushing for the best rate, failing to ask all the important questions. If they have multiple trucks to find loads for, your going to get screwed or short changed.
25% is too high in my book unless it's their trailer and you have lots of value added services like fuel,tire discounts .
We where getting 88% but that was leased to a family member.

As for getting paid net 30, 60,90, most good brokers offer quick pay.
Essentially factoring, cost is avg 1.5% . Cash is king, go with who pays you fastest and don't let them get in your wallet for anymore than you can afford to lose. We have been paid for every single load, usually in 2-5 days. Invoices are scanned and submitted for payment same day when empty and clean signed bills are in hand. If you can afford to wait, track their average days to pay. 32- 35 is typical.
The checks never come when you need them the most. We try to not have more the $4-5k in receivables out on any one day.
Pay cash for fuel, nothing like getting a $5-6000 bill and waiting for a check to come late .

You do have to look for your own loads, constantly look 2-3 days ahead so you can sort through the junk loads. If you are organized, doing paperwork daily isn't too hard. Keep a calender.

If you have any questions, just ask.
"Independent " is something few can claim because it is more work. Nothing for nothing.
Not having to answer to a bonehead, PRICLESS!

I can help with the DOT AUDIT and for OOIDA don't get their insurance go with National independence insurance .. there are about 15 major brokers company that will not accept OOIDA..

[rgreen]

Also there are a lot of broker that offer quick pay for about 3 to 5 percent of load...

[in2trux]

We've never had any problem with brokers accepting OOIDA. There are brokers like Landstar, Werner, JBI intermodal that aren't accepted but has no effect on us.
Once you've been in it awhile, there are cheaper rates but will they pay when it gets down to brass tacks? Do you get what you pay for?

3-5% on quick pay is no go, move on. 1 -1.5%, negotiate for more, take the money and run.