Harry Monk:
What would your best advice on finding work? Oh, might sage.
Well, when I started, I was hoping to be able to pick up exhibition and roadshow work, something I had a lot of experience of doing. And I had subcontracting in place to fill in the gaps. Bread and butter with some jam.
About the time I put in my O licence application, I spoke to a long-standing friend who was doing this type of work. He said “At the moment it’s still all British trucks doing it, but the first time anyone uses eastern Europeans, they’ll all start doing it”.
Well, guess what? In the time it took my O licence to come through, he did an exhibition in Amsterdam and said “There are eight Polish trucks here”, and at the next one he said “half of the trucks here are eastern European”, and within another month he was virtually the only British driver left on the job. Then my O licence came through.
So I did the subbing for four years, but there wasn’t enough more in it to make it any more financially rewarding than working as an agency driver, with a lot more aggravation. VATman, bank manager, accountant, VOSA blah blah blah. Every Saturday morning a mountain of mail to open and deal with. As I’ve said before, I don’t regret running my own truck and I learnt a lot from it, I just decided it was time to move on to a new chapter, which has been the ever-evolving story of my life really.
I don’t know what advice I could give you about sourcing highly paid work, because if I knew that, then I would be doing it myself, but I will wish you the best of luck with your venture and whatever you decide to do. I will honestly try to answer any question you have, but I can only repeat that the long-held answer to the question “How do you make a small fortune in haulage?” is “Start with a large one”.
Best of luck.
Good morning.
Apologize in advance for such a welcome 1st post but something need to be clear out here straight away. Regardless of the date of the OT - Poland its not, never been, and never will be an Eastern European Country !!! Compare Poland to Romania or Poland to Slovakia its like compare Scania to Isuzu, or Volvo to DAF. There is and always be a gap betweeen their Countrys. It is offence, and I did feel offended 
Btw I hope its time to re-fresh topics like this as the situation we live in has changed.
Most of the freelances went back to their origin, Poles back to Poland etc.
Not cuz of Brexit, all because Sterling as an Currency is weak !
Polish driver earning £500-£700 a week was something to consider back in days, when the £1k give them 7k zlotys.
Now when UK wages been frozen for last 15 yrs that 500-700 a week give the Polish bloke same wages as he can get back with Family same £1k only gives him £4,5 k right now
Anyway, back to the OT. One think Im not actually used to its your response, advice, recomendation, general dissbelieve etc.
Im on the stage of getting O licence and rental truck (no trailer).
I may will fall, but without a fall none of us will ever get up !!!