Looooo:
As you know it would have been prudent to have lined the work up before now!That said, I can understand the “build it and they will come” approach. Like you say it is hard to get any one to take you seriously if all you can say is that you are thinking/planning to get a lorry on the road.
As far as an agency for OD work goes, no, not really. The closest is return load type sites and they are not going to pay enough to keep you going. Generally the easier things are made for you the less profitable it is going to be. If you are being spoon fed the person holding the spoon is making the money. The only way you are going to find decent work is getting out there and sorting it yourself.
What kind of utilisation/mileage have you planned for? I’m not involved in traction so it is not my area. I do day work and started last year. I had budgeted for 150 days. First year fell short. I had work all set, but for various reasons it just wasn’t as busy as my ex boss and I had hoped.
A truck gathering dust is a worrying place to be!
I have 4-5 customers, places I’ve worked before as a driver and a couple of fresh ones I cold called. Biggest problem as a one man band is feast or famine. One week no one needs you. Next week you get a full week booked with one and the other 2 ring with a truck down/driver walked off and need cover for the next couple of days. Painful saying no in those situations.
I sent emails to every co. I could find that might use my services and did the odd job off the internet when I was really quiet.
One of those jobs led to the collection point taking my details and they now send me regular work.
One of the emails called me back and a few months of regular, not sporadic weeks has lead to them having me in basically full time. They are now factoring me in to their arrangements for next year.
There is also talk of putting a second truck on it which is great. Starts the worrying process off all over again. The main one being finding a driver I would trust… either with my truck or my reputation!This year I am on target to go well over my 150 days and get those standing costs divided by a bigger number thank goodness!
Point is, congratulations getting yourself to this point. Now you need to do the next slog and get yourself in front of customers. Be professional, punctual, conscientious and better than others and you’ll find yourself getting called back more and more often, eventually leading to some good decent work. Same as being a driver really.
Oh and I agree, overcoming all the day to day challenges etc. are what keeps it interesting and FUN!
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Hi Looooo,
Thank you for sharing your own experience and the advice you gave.
Kind regards,
Lucas