Unemployment is increasing especially since a year courtesy Covid 19 and becoming self-employed has become a more alluring idea. If you are thinking of starting your own trucking business, now is a good time for that! Reading this article shall give you a fair idea of how to start a trucking business.
When you start your own trucking company, life becomes easier as you are no longer answerable to an employer and have flexible working hours.
How to Start A Trucking Business with Easy Ways
Start with a trucking business checklist. We shall provide here a list that enumerates what is needed to start a trucking business.
- Choose a niche
- Decide your business model
- Roadmap your business
- Attain trucking authority
- Purchase your trucks and trailers
- Get insurance for your trucks
- Run a helpful and efficient back office
- Hire and maintain experienced drivers
- Track your expenses; open a bank account
- Vigilantly lookout for orders and provide customer satisfaction
As per statistics, the trucking industry is considered responsible for transporting various types of products and services. The Danish company is the largest trucking business worldwide and has a market value of $47.7 billion.
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1. CHOOSE A NICHE
In every business, standing out amongst the competitors is very important. Customers have a wide variety of choices, and they tend to make wise decisions when spending money.
So it would be best if you let your customers know in a subtle way why they should choose you. They don’t owe you anything. You have to put in the efforts yourself to allure them to your services.
Choose a catchy niche that shall automatically grab their attention and stir curiosity in them. Think it out carefully, discuss, research, and then select a niche before you begin to plan on how to start a trucking business.
2. DECIDE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL
Once the niche has been selected comes your next major decision on what your business model will be. Your aim is customer satisfaction. When it comes to hiring a service, specialty takes precedence over generality.
Your business model should be such that it gives customers the pleasure that their requirements shall be met properly and concerns addressed. Currently, there are five types of models present in the trucking industry.
When researching how to start a trucking business, study these five models properly and choose which one of them you would like to go with. Don’t try to gain customers by going haywire and selecting various models. Specialize in one. The types are
- Ready for hire truckload carriers
- The private fleet
- LTL (less than truckload freight)
- Household stuff movers
- Inter-modal
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3. ROADMAP A PLAN
When researching how to start a trucking business, the most important part is to make a roadmap. Plan everything. Starting from the niche to the number of trucks that you want to have.
Rather, think of a backup plan if your niche doesn’t attract customers, or you bought more trucks than you are getting work. Also, you need to bear in mind the costs that come when opening a trucking business. The costs can be categorized as
- Trucking company startup costs
- Operating costs which include electricity, taxes, employee wages, and so on
- Cost of repair and maintenance
4. ATTAIN TRUCKING AUTHORITY
When planning on starting a trucking business, you will need an operating authority permit or a USDOT number that needs to be compliant with the Federal Motor Carrier Authority package.
5. PURCHASE A TRUCK
Once you have the permit issue sorted out when you start your own trucking company, you need to purchase the trucks and trailers. There are two methods to acquire a truck.
- Lease-purchase program with a carrier in which one doesn’t own the truck but makes monthly payments until the contract ends. After the warranty expires, one may continue with the same page or go for a different one according to the experience. In this program, when you are opening a trucking business, you can get benefits like fuel at discounted prices and maintenance of the trucks. This would also reduce the cost of starting a trucking business.
- Buying a truck from a company that finances trucks. Through this arrangement, you gradually keep paying for the truck till it comes into your ownership.
6. INSURE YOUR TRUCKING BUSINESS
Lines of coverage a trucking company needs to insure for are the following
- auto liability
- physical damage
- freight
- general liability
- coverage for property damages
- physical injury liability
7. BACK OFFICE
What you need to start a trucking company is a back office as well. It should have helpful and polite employees ready to help customers 24/7. The back office should monitor all the orders, supervise the drivers, check on the maintenance and handle all the expenses and profits.
It should be vigilant enough to notice any issues regarding the cargo service and swiftly take action if there are complaints from customers. Unnoticed or badly handled complaints lead to a company’s downfall.
8. HIRE AND MAINTAIN THE BEST DRIVERS
Planning how to start a trucking business also makes it incumbent upon the owner to hire the best and most responsible drivers. There can’t be any compromise on that.
These drivers have to be taken care of according to whatever agreement draft has been made to make sure no competitor can steal them away. They need to be given some benefits and good salaries.
Once they prove to be efficient, there should be bonuses and pay raises to encourage them. But one needs to be careful when hiring such drivers. Interview a lot of people before choosing, preferably the ones with former truck driving experience.
You may also train the newbie drivers according to your satisfaction. Check their id cards and driving licenses to avoid scams and then hire.
In 2020, in a survey conducted, 89% of trucking company owners stated that the costs related to hiring drivers are one of the greatest challenges.
9. TRACK YOUR EXPENSES AND PROFITS
Keeping a firm check on the expenses and profits right from the trucking company startup is vital to prevent any losses or badmouth between employers and employees.
It also contains any risk of mistrust between the company workers and customers. One may need to open a business account for that purpose.
That has to be checked and done as soon as you start a trucking company business plan. Do the correct paperwork for it, work on all the formalities and open up your account in a reliable bank after research and discussion.
10. GAIN AND MAINTAIN CUSTOMERS
Now the process of finding the customers in the market starts. Advertise your business, find customers and deliver to their satisfaction. Immediately look into any complaints they may have and act on the remedial steps.
Pre-plan any mishaps that you can think about and plan through the corrective actions. Competition is very high these days. You may also try to create an online presence. Make a portfolio describing your services, your fool-proof payment methods, and flaunt your impeccable drivers to make an impression.
CONCLUSION
If you are wondering about how to start a trucking business, this article is the one that gives the entire guidance for it. When executed correctly and in a planned manner, no business can go wrong.
Once you have started your own trucking company, the only challenge left behind is to advertise properly, make, and maintain customers. Quality assurance is a must! Reading through these concise and thorough steps would enable you to start your own trucking business.
