I started in 1978.
I’ve never had my name on the door. Never had alloys. Never had Kelsa bars. Never had a new truck.
If I’ve had success, it’s been by tackling the difficult and dirty or smelly jobs that the shiny boys turn their noses up at. If you’re prepared to do the unpopular jobs you quite soon become the go to guy and the customers come to trust you, and often don’t even ask how much the job will cost. Providing you don’t rip the p- -s out of them, they are grateful for what you do, and your phone keeps ringing. I think this is the only viable road for an owner driver to go down, as simple sub contracting for big operators seldom , but not always, ends well. In short, if you can’t identify a niche which you can cater for, then it’s going to be difficult.
This week, I did 1087 miles and grossed £3730 net of vat. I’m quite happy with that.