Spend a few years driving for different companies. Get as much experience as you can. Interest yourself in other aspects of the job, other than just driving the truck.
Trying to start out from scratch is very tough, but not impossible. However, trucks are a large money pit, generally only second to light aircraft in their capacity to eat money. You need to equip yourself with the knowledge first and worry about everything else afterwards.
Have you got a list of customers yet? Do you know where you are getting the customers from? And what you’ll do when they don’t pay on time and you’ve got serious cash flow issues…?
Being successful as an OD is certainly possible, as is earning £15 per hour as a S/E driver. You need a lot of nous though,the facts of which are beyond many on here. Have a nosey at the OD section of this forum, and get out there and learn. I fear for your bank balance and probably sanity too if you don’t think very carefully about how you intend to make this pay before setting out on the rocky road!
Truckulent:
Spend a few years driving for different companies. Get as much experience as you can. Interest yourself in other aspects of the job, other than just driving the truck.
Trying to start out from scratch is very tough, but not impossible. However, trucks are a large money pit, generally only second to light aircraft in their capacity to eat money. You need to equip yourself with the knowledge first and worry about everything else afterwards.
Have you got a list of customers yet? Do you know where you are getting the customers from? And what you’ll do when they don’t pay on time and you’ve got serious cash flow issues…?
Being successful as an OD is certainly possible, as is earning £15 per hour as a S/E driver. You need a lot of nous though,the facts of which are beyond many on here. Have a nosey at the OD section of this forum, and get out there and learn. I fear for your bank balance and probably sanity too if you don’t think very carefully about how you intend to make this pay before setting out on the rocky road!
Driving is my intention for a while along with planning within a small company as I could see a lot more of what goes on. I don’t have any intention of rolling out a new truck tomorrow but I also feel I am not a million miles away another 12 months and I’ll be there in both aspects driving and the business side.
I have a idea of customers I would like to target in different sectors. Wood recycling I think would be my first, Amgen or cherk i am talking to lidl with one of their distribution centres in Bridgend but I think this isn’t enough and would love some more information or even company’s though would be worth talking to. As for cash flow and payment deadlines that’s something that will be factored in. I have another company and the idea is it will subsidies this with cash injection from time to time until it stands alone.
mrginge:
South Wales woods, Alan price, Tony m rees, smiths, etc probably have the wood loads all ■■■■■■■ round your neck of the woods, pun intended.
Also be prepared for plenty of tyre maintenance as your driving around places littered with nails.
Thanks for the advice. In your personal experience what advice can you give into what market will be better for start up of just subbing until I’ve found my feet?
I’m also looking for cms’s and some that will be low cost but effective in start up I don’t know what systems people use and don’t have a clue who to contact about this as of yet.
Some times being a little green behind the ears can be an advantage, One of the largest British garment carriers of the nineties & noughties was started by a man who was given an oppurtuinity & he took it, previous to this he had never been a driver or been involved in road transport, he built a very successful company before selling it & throughout his thirty odd years of growing his company, he never ever drove a lorry on the road or even held an hgv licence.
albion:
Mebbe I haven’t been in this job long enough, what is a cms■■?
Sorry its because of my stupid automatic spell check ha it’s a QMS Quality management system ■■
I use QMS UK, norwich.
Wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for customers occasionally asking for a certificate; I class it as even more pointless* than WTD. Probably about as cheap as you can get it done and they don’t make it more painful than it needs to be.
pointless because so much of what we do is already covered by legislation, drivers hours, maintenance being the primary ones that come to mind. What isn’t covered by legislation is entirely based on service level and no bit of paper can tell you about that, only customers that come back to year after year can tell you that.
The guy came on here looking for advice…lots of ■■■■ takers on here, mainly because theyre still tied to their mothers apron strings, and havnt got the guts to do it themselves. i say good luck to him, hes at least doing his homework…so the first step is the operators CPC…a very good start, all other paperwork is in place. You dont need a yard to start off with, or even the expense of a trailer on hire…you can ask around, and do some traction only work, thereby using the companies yard as your operating base ( with permission of course ) Then you can get a feel for the business, and profits that can be made, and you can advance from there. You may have the advantage of cheaper fuel on site, there is already an operating centre, so wouldnt be a problem for vosa. Look around for a good reliable unit that suits your budget, without a dozen spotlights on the front, and frilly curtains, ( they can come later lol ) get a maintenance contract in place, or someone who would do running repairs if you cant, and general servicing etc. It seems to me that your level headed, have planned this operation well, and are making steps to start your business. I wish you every success in what you are doing…stay in touch and let everyone know how your doing, and prove the negatives on here wrong…if it was up to them, no new businesses would get off the ground, and i bet they all voted to Stay in the Eu…for safety reasons…ha ha
truckyboy:
The guy came on here looking for advice…lots of ■■■■ takers on here, mainly because theyre still tied to their mothers apron strings, and havnt got the guts to do it themselves. i say good luck to him, hes at least doing his homework…so the first step is the operators CPC…a very good start, all other paperwork is in place. You dont need a yard to start off with, or even the expense of a trailer on hire…you can ask around, and do some traction only work, thereby using the companies yard as your operating base ( with permission of course ) Then you can get a feel for the business, and profits that can be made, and you can advance from there. You may have the advantage of cheaper fuel on site, there is already an operating centre, so wouldnt be a problem for vosa. Look around for a good reliable unit that suits your budget, without a dozen spotlights on the front, and frilly curtains, ( they can come later lol ) get a maintenance contract in place, or someone who would do running repairs if you cant, and general servicing etc. It seems to me that your level headed, have planned this operation well, and are making steps to start your business. I wish you every success in what you are doing…stay in touch and let everyone know how your doing, and prove the negatives on here wrong…if it was up to them, no new businesses would get off the ground, and i bet they all voted to Stay in the Eu…for safety reasons…ha ha
Some of us have been there, and done that. We learned the hard way. The o.p. started his first post on the forum with ‘I’ve just passed my test and going to be an od. Does anybody know where to get work?’ (I’m of course paraphrasing ). Some of us are a bit more dubious about first time posters posting potential ‘popcorn’ subjects, and are quite happy to play along. Trolls will either go away, or lose it, and serious posters will get past that stage, and will continue the post, which then tends to take a more structured course.
And I don’t think anybody has ‘taken the ■■■■ out of him’ so far. Yes, a fun replies poking a bit of fun to guage his reaction, but no ‘■■■■ taking’. And let’s face it, if he would only get a band of cheerleaders here, assuring him that it’s a great idea, and will be a success, without a healthy dose of realism, is not helping either.
I wish the op good luck, I know it can be done, but he comes across as having no experience or knowledge of the job. His best bet is a few years driving, in different jobs, to get an understanding of what is involved.
Matt4ew101:
I know it’s difficult and and I have picked up a lot over the years and I wouldn’t say that I’m a complete novice. And maybe I was naive thinking that a forum site would actually give someone advice. It’s crazy to think not one comment has been positive about the questions asked but more to my credibility on becoming an od.
The question of forgetting all about being an employed driver and just going for being an owner driver from the start is an admirable plan.I reached a similar conclusion when I started out having got fed up with all the pecking orders and experience rubbish that infests the job regarding new inexperienced drivers especially in the over subscribed more attractive sectors.
The problem which I found in the day which stopped me was start up capital.You’ll probably find now that trying to make the fuel costs v rates figures balance,after covering all the overheads,is an even bigger headache to the point where it’s not just difficult for a new start owner driver operation,but now almost impossible.
So firstly sort out your CPC and get all that finished and confirmed.Then look for the work you intend to do and check out if there’s enough of it and if the rates offered are enough,to make a viable business plan ( doubtful as fuel costs stand at present ).If so can you raise the required start up capital to satisfy the O licence conditions and to obtain and maintain a truck.Only after confirming all that do you need to even think about somewhere to park/base a truck let alone obtaining a truck.
truckyboy:
The guy came on here looking for advice…lots of ■■■■ takers on here, mainly because theyre still tied to their mothers apron strings, and havnt got the guts to do it themselves. i say good luck to him, hes at least doing his homework…so the first step is the operators CPC…a very good start, all other paperwork is in place. You dont need a yard to start off with, or even the expense of a trailer on hire…you can ask around, and do some traction only work, thereby using the companies yard as your operating base ( with permission of course ) Then you can get a feel for the business, and profits that can be made, and you can advance from there. You may have the advantage of cheaper fuel on site, there is already an operating centre, so wouldnt be a problem for vosa. Look around for a good reliable unit that suits your budget, without a dozen spotlights on the front, and frilly curtains, ( they can come later lol ) get a maintenance contract in place, or someone who would do running repairs if you cant, and general servicing etc. It seems to me that your level headed, have planned this operation well, and are making steps to start your business. I wish you every success in what you are doing…stay in touch and let everyone know how your doing, and prove the negatives on here wrong…if it was up to them, no new businesses would get off the ground, and i bet they all voted to Stay in the Eu…for safety reasons…ha ha
^
This x100
Many are so wrapped in cotton wool with their paye job they wouldnt even dare think about being an O/D for fear of hard work, instead plod along safely in a minimum wage job while their boss rakes it in.
I started out with a budget of £8K, bought an old F7 and tri axle flat and slowly, very slowly worked my way up. Ive always bought within budget without relying on finance and even after 20+ years this year will be the first of buying a brand new truck, again no finance. The first two years or so were very hard going with net earnings of below £10k pa but the last few years net has been well north of 70k eur pa with the easiest work ive ever had. Determination is what its about and if you have that you;ll succeed in running a succesful outfit…
My '‘Lamb to the slaughter’ post was not so much a ■■■■ take, more an opinion based on the evident blind naivety of the o/p. (in my opinion btw)
The world of transport is awash with wolves and sharks, a vastly inexperienced young keen wide owner driver would be (and usually is) a target for these guys…they are ■■■■ ruthless.
Case in point, how many owner drivers are there on the road compared with say the 80s when owner drivers were widespread and much more common…there is a good teason for that.
In my case when I had my own truck (and it was much easier then to start up than what it is now) there were about 15 or more of us in a small town catchment area, today there are 2 left.
If it was so lucrative the motorway would be full of owner drivers, but could you compete with the likes of Stobarts who has (allegedlly) ■■■■ ed more owner drivers than Big blonde Marie Claire in Monty’s bar in Zeebrugge.
Owning your own truck is a fast way to lose money unless you have good and/or direct work, you never become a millionaire pulling somebody else’s trailers less percentage.
If the guy wants to listen to some of the more constructive advice or not is up to him, I aint fussed, but if I was him I would not rush into things now, get a bit of experience, suss the job out then decide later on if it is a good move…or not.
My '‘Lamb to the slaughter’ post was not so much a ■■■■ take, more an opinion based on the evident blind naivety of the o/p. (in my opinion btw)
The world of transport is awash with wolves and sharks, a vastly inexperienced young keen wide owner driver would be (and usually is) a target for these guys…they are [zb] ruthless.
Case in point, how many owner drivers are there on the road compared with say the 80s when owner drivers were widespread and much more common…there is a good teason for that.
In my case when I had my own truck (and it was much easier then to start up than what it is now) there were about 15 or more of us in a small town catchment area, today there are 2 left.
If it was so lucrative the motorway would be full of owner drivers, but could you compete with the likes of Stobarts who has (allegedlly) [zb] ed more owner drivers than Big blonde Marie Claire in Monty’s bar in Zeebrugge.
Owning your own truck is a fast way to lose money unless you have good and/or direct work, you never become a millionaire pulling somebody else’s trailers less percentage.
If the guy wants to listen to some of the more constructive advice or not is up to him, I aint fussed, but if I was him I would not rush into things now, get a bit of experience, suss the job out then decide later on if it is a good move…or not.
Shouldn’t you just stick to advice about haberdashery?
Agree on the experience first, i had two years before becoming an O/D.
To those that say running a truck re overall costs v rates wont work,theyre forgetting one thing… if the very employer they work for can make it pay then so can you… and… if there is no profit in it they’d be no jobs out there…
All newcomers and startups make mistakes. Work for someone else first to learn the basics and let them pay the bills for your lessons. Then you may see the opportunity for your own company.
This is not a new industry with open new fields of new work. People have been moving goods for donkey’s years. You can make a living at it but you need to be very savvy, or just maybe, you do have a truly new angle? If you do have that next big idea you’re better off on Dragon’s Den than here!
