Is there an agency who would sub to owner drivers?

[albion]

Franglais:

albion:

Lucas Schwarts:
But… you learn to think and use your head to overcome those challenges, and not buried in a repetitive and boring day to day activity. You meet different people and build relationships, you get to know the beautiful country where you live in, you got to enjoy the colours and shades year round with the ever changing seasons as you driving passed, you are doing a REAL job, you are feeding and dressing people by transporting food and clothes, or helping housing people if you deliver bricks, by being a driver you are part of a community that understand each other more than most that I know of in other professions, and every day is different and has something new to offer in some way.

I feel I should be making some snarky comment about romantic notions or philosophical twaddle…but that pretty much sums up why I do it .

Good luck Lucas, hope you enjoy the ride

Sshhh !
You youngsters are in danger of dropping the moaning, griping, and generally complaining average of TNUK.
Those of us who have been here longer than you two put together are really trying hard to stop newcomers. We don’t want to be put out to grass. So just stop looking at the bright side, OK?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk

Young■■? I’ll take the compliment, but not let the accuracy go…and as for ‘longer than you two put together’. Got in my first truck aged 3, ‘drove’ my first one age 6 (OK, so feet weren’t touching pedals, but lets not allow a technicality to get in the way… ).

[wheel_nut]

This thread is going to run and run

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[concretejim]

Theres plenty of guys you can sub for and probably start tomorrow.

Especially just before christmas.

Just depends what rates you expect to get. And if you dont like barron wood @£1.50 a mile then you might have a hard time trying to find traction only work better then that.

If its only a hobby to you, put them in at maritime with agency staff in the hot seat. You’ll know after a week how much you can loose in a week.

Il be doing, o-license, securing work, then buying a truck.

[beetlejuice]

Any business needs a plan to work .you had no plan other than buying a truck ,sorting the licences ,Truck storage etc ,Well done on that innitial preparation .

But now want an agency to find you work …From what basic advice I have read in here ,you need to at least find some work before even contemplating this kind of outlay …

I have never done od myself ,But have had businesses ,And can say from experience that you are already preparing to fail.

[franglais]

albion:

Franglais:

albion:

Lucas Schwarts:
But… you learn to think and use your head to overcome those challenges, and not buried in a repetitive and boring day to day activity. You meet different people and build relationships, you get to know the beautiful country where you live in, you got to enjoy the colours and shades year round with the ever changing seasons as you driving passed, you are doing a REAL job, you are feeding and dressing people by transporting food and clothes, or helping housing people if you deliver bricks, by being a driver you are part of a community that understand each other more than most that I know of in other professions, and every day is different and has something new to offer in some way.

I feel I should be making some snarky comment about romantic notions or philosophical twaddle…but that pretty much sums up why I do it .

Good luck Lucas, hope you enjoy the ride

Sshhh !
You youngsters are in danger of dropping the moaning, griping, and generally complaining average of TNUK.
Those of us who have been here longer than you two put together are really trying hard to stop newcomers. We don’t want to be put out to grass. So just stop looking at the bright side, OK?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk

Young■■? I’ll take the compliment, but not let the accuracy go…and as for ‘longer than you two put together’. Got in my first truck aged 3, ‘drove’ my first one age 6 (OK, so feet weren’t touching pedals, but lets not allow a technicality to get in the way… ).

It really is people like you destroying this forum!
What if all employers were like you?
Giving new drivers a start.
Paying properly.
Demanding your drivers obey laws.
Paying for training.
Thank God there’s still some companies out there worth moaning about.
I’m tempted to say you’re a figment of my imagination
If it was Dec 24th I could accuse you of being “undigested beef, or a piece of undercooked potato”.
And when you were reaching for the pedals I was doing deliveries with my own transport. On piecework. No guarantee of work. Gig economy stuff.
It was hard balancing on that bike with a sack of newspapers. See! I was an owner driver/rider before you. Alright you have overtaken me in the entrepreneurial stakes. But stop coming on here trying to make us old ■■■■■ and young starters feel good. Haven’t you said before “drivers are only happy when they’re moaning”? Well, stop upsetting us by upsetting us more. Clear?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk

[albion]

Franglais:
It really is people like you destroying this forum!
What if all employers were like you?
Giving new drivers a start.
Paying properly.
Demanding your drivers obey laws.
Paying for training.
Thank God there’s still some companies out there worth moaning about.
I’m tempted to say you’re a figment of my imagination
If it was Dec 24th I could accuse you of being “undigested beef, or a piece of undercooked potato”.
And when you were reaching for the pedals I was doing deliveries with my own transport. On piecework. No guarantee of work. Gig economy stuff.
It was hard balancing on that bike with a sack of newspapers. See! I was an owner driver/rider before you. Alright you have overtaken me in the entrepreneurial stakes. But stop coming on here trying to make us old ■■■■■ and young starters feel good. Haven’t you said before “drivers are only happy when they’re moaning”? Well, stop upsetting us by upsetting us more. Clear?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk

I’m sorry. I’ll try and do better, er worse. I’ll just type out a memo to the staff… Right lads, from now on, there’ll be none of this hotel business, it’s first dibs on the Company tent. No more training, we’ll print out a cardboard ADR card, it’s amazing what you can do with a half decent printer these days. No more paid breaks, whilst on the ferry, sitting in the passenger seat, even though that all forms 50% of your wages. And Xmas is cancelled.

Any problems. contact Franglais, c/o Trucknet

PS You must be 87?

[albion]

Beetlejuice:
Any business needs a plan to work .you had no plan other than buying a truck ,sorting the licences ,Truck storage etc ,Well done on that innitial preparation .

But now want an agency to find you work …From what basic advice I have read in here ,you need to at least find some work before even contemplating this kind of outlay …

I have never done od myself ,But have had businesses ,And can say from experience that you are already preparing to fail.

He’s got a plan. Get a truck, hope for some work.

I can detail the albion business plan in Feb '91. Get a van, scratch round for some work. Get some work, get another van… wake up one morning and think might ahve enough work for a 7.5. Check plan, keep saying yes to customer. Say yes to opening another depot. Say yes to a tractor unit. Wake up one morning and decide to get another tractor unit.

nsmith is the polar opposite of me, seemingly planning down to the nth degree. I couldn’t have worked like that, but it suits him and he seems to be doing well. I know the general advice is to get the work first, I’ve said it myself and it is the safer route, but on the other hand I do think that people can over think sometimes. All through the nearly 27 years in business, I’ve had this quote on my wall from Sir John Harvey Jones:

Planning is an unnatural process; it is much more fun to do something. The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression

Works for me, not for everyone and you can only work to your own way of doing things.

[wheel_nut]

I am thinking about opening a shop, would you get the stock now or would you find the building first?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[big_truck]

albion:

Beetlejuice:
Any business needs a plan to work .you had no plan other than buying a truck ,sorting the licences ,Truck storage etc ,Well done on that innitial preparation .

But now want an agency to find you work …From what basic advice I have read in here ,you need to at least find some work before even contemplating this kind of outlay …

I have never done od myself ,But have had businesses ,And can say from experience that you are already preparing to fail.

He’s got a plan. Get a truck, hope for some work.

I can detail the albion business plan in Feb '91. Get a van, scratch round for some work. Get some work, get another van… wake up one morning and think might ahve enough work for a 7.5. Check plan, keep saying yes to customer. Say yes to opening another depot. Say yes to a tractor unit. Wake up one morning and decide to get another tractor unit.

nsmith is the polar opposite of me, seemingly planning down to the nth degree. I couldn’t have worked like that, but it suits him and he seems to be doing well. I know the general advice is to get the work first, I’ve said it myself and it is the safer route, but on the other hand I do think that people can over think sometimes. All through the nearly 27 years in business, I’ve had this quote on my wall from Sir John Harvey Jones:

Planning is an unnatural process; it is much more fun to do something. The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression

Works for me, not for everyone and you can only work to your own way of doing things.

Was the start up van/capital £45k Albion
(Or it’s monetary equivalent all those yrs ago)!!![emoji50]

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

[albion]

No, much less

My point was that some people will just not work like nsmith ( for whom I have a great deal of respect). As long as he is prepared to lose a chunk of that, then it’s his choice. My only proviso, is that you never not pay your suppliers, that’s a red line I don’t cross.

[stanley_mitchell]

albion:
No, much less

My point was that some people will just not work like nsmith ( for whom I have a great deal of respect). As long as he is prepared to lose a chunk of that, then it’s his choice. My only proviso, is that you never not pay your suppliers, that’s a red line I don’t cross.[/qu
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

TBF, £45/50k gives him some breathing space early doors…

He needs to keep his suppliers onside, my redline as well

Having the work lined up would have been preferable, but, that`s all in the past now, he just needs to get this hobby up and running…

[beetlejuice]

Yes i have winged a few business ventures in the past ,Hense why im now working driving lorries ,Looking back a few good plans may have gotten me through ,This guys lorry is sat doing nothing Albion ,Nothing like you winging it etc …Sounds like a recipe for disaster in 2017 .
It’s not the 80’s or 90’s now ,we are all competing with the whole of Europe not Just the UK .

[albion]

Beetlejuice:
Yes i have winged a few business ventures in the past ,Hense why im now working driving lorries ,Looking back a few good plans may have gotten me through ,This guys lorry is sat doing nothing Albion ,Nothing like you winging it etc …Sounds like a recipe for disaster in 2017 .
It’s not the 80’s or 90’s now ,we are all competing with the whole of Europe not Just the UK .

Maybe, who knows. What he needs is good luck. I’ve always said I made it through a combination of f’ing hard graft and when an opportunity passed by, getting hold of it and hanging onto it for dear life, aka good luck. Best laid plans of mice and men are scuppered by bad luck.

As I said, I’ve previously said get the work first, but can’t tell someone not to do what Lucas is doing. He’s in a decent place to pick up some subbying, no reason why it might not work.

And maybe he took to heart the maxim of how to be a millionaire in haulage - start with 2 million

[beetlejuice]

[muckles]

Beetlejuice:
Yes i have winged a few business ventures in the past ,Hense why im now working driving lorries ,Looking back a few good plans may have gotten me through ,This guys lorry is sat doing nothing Albion ,Nothing like you winging it etc …Sounds like a recipe for disaster in 2017 .
It’s not the 80’s or 90’s now ,we are all competing with the whole of Europe not Just the UK .

Apparently Lucas has a 63 plate Renault Premium and £45k as start-up money, so I should think he could sit for a while before finding work, depending what his personal out goings are.
But does seem strange to start-up without knowing how much he’d get for doing the job, but then if it’s a hobby it probably doesn’t matter and running truck as a hobby is probably a faction of the cost that some people I’ve worked for spent on their hobby

[franglais]

I’m no expert but Lucas should get out there NOW. This is the busy time for most in transport now. January is mostly quieter. Get someone out the crap now and they may be your buddy in the new year. If you look for that lucky break now? Who knows?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk

[country_joe]

Wheel Nut:
This thread is going to run and run

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think we definitely need Robk back on this forum.

[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!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chaversdad]

Wheel Nut:
I am thinking about opening a shop, would you get the stock now or would you find the building first?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I.d find the shop first but i would know what i was going to sell when i opened it

[lucas_schwarts]

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!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Looooo,

Thank you for sharing your own experience and the advice you gave.

Kind regards,

Lucas