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HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL INDEPENDENT CARRIER.

To be a successful independent carrier, we must focus on what kind of success we are looking for, in this blog were going to talk about: Financial stability, Market knowledge, and business mindset. How to get more profits by taking better decisions.

It is important to take into account the type of market we are facing and for Motor carriers it’s a must to have the type of mentality that allows them to adapt and run where the money is, because the characteristic of an owner operator to be a successful independent motor carrier is based on the mindset, you have to be willing and able to go where the money is and where loads are hot in the Spot market because this changes on a daily, weekly and sometimes even an hourly bases.

So, for example, Dallas might be hot at 7 am, so in the morning you might have to point to load opportunities by, but at 9 o clock, the market goes down and the market has stayed dead for some time, this shows that every market has a season, and you must be willing to capitalize on your season. So, that is why is important to have the rule in mind “Follow the money” you must be willing to be a nomad.

In addition, you must have the ability to communicate effectively across all levels, being with the broker, being with the customer, being with shippers, being with drivers, being with executives, in all levels the ability to effectively communicate will make a difference in your life and your business, and to have this level of communication it is important to have the characteristic of understanding, understanding the practical markets, understanding your money, understanding what it cost you to run your business, understanding the relationship between the trucking industry and the USA economy, understanding the relationship between supply chain and the gross national product, understanding what interest rates do and in the end have a broad knowledge of business in general outside of driving, driving is a small component and the value component to the supply chain model. Drivers are looked at as a leaf of the tree of the supply chain, they come, they go, they fall off. That’s how it is viewed from a broker or shipper mentality.

So, your goal as an owner-operator is to fill the tree up with his many leaves as possible, and how you go about doing that, is based on the moment you start your business on day one, and that means you need to have the full perspective before start running your business.

You need to consider the following questions:

Am I going to do it LLC? Or am I going to be a corporation?

Am I going to take an ownership draw or am I going to take a salary?

• Am I going to pay taxes or am I going to be 1099?

• What kind of truck I’m going to buy versus what kind of trailer I’m going to buy?

• Which one is more important? Is it the truck or is it the trailer?

So, starting with a business mindset will be useful to grow consistently and will be the key during bad times.

One of the points to highlight in that contrary belief is that the trailer has more value than the truck and the reason why the trailer has more value than the truck is because this is going to dictate what you can load and unload, and what kind of rate you’re going to get. for example, a dry van ill always make less than a reefer, and a reefer will always make less than a removable gooseneck because the type of product that goes on that truck, so the trailer is going to dictate the rate that you’re going to get and is going to dictate the urgency of what the load is going, that is the key component of starting the trucking business, is understanding the actual trailer and not the truck.

Another important component of this business is understanding that “Doing the things right, costs less”, in other blogs I was talking about the importance of having the right allies in your business, and how new owners-operators can have sufficient criteria to choose the right ones.

In this order of ideas, please choose an experienced dispatch service company, your partner, your sister, or your friend, who like you are new to the industry, are NOT the right one to dispatch you, is not only pick a profitable load, is a matter that you will not have the adequate vision of a fleet manager with experience in the market, many companies are experienced in this, so for that and before deciding to hire a dispatch solution, I share 3 Reasons Why You Need To Have A Dispatching Agent.

Not only the dispatch of your loads will be crucial once you have all these components that I described, but also to choose the correct factoring company, try to select a company that not only collects your payments but can also provide and guide you in your business, offering you understanding, timely solutions and being an essential part of growth and financial sustainability. I just shared in this article 3 Tips You Need to Consider Before Choosing the Best Factoring Company. 

In conclusion, this is an extensive topic to discuss and part 2 will surely come, where I will share more data that allows you to have sustainability and growth in this industry that sometimes turns out to be very challenging.

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Go Rock in your trucking business!