weewulliewinkie:
ive been an o/d for 9 years and been through many hard times along the way. but like every other business go about it the right way and you will make a right few quid, but do it in a professional manner. dont be afraid to say no to jobs that arent worth it. subbing is okay to start but find your own customers and give them fair ppice and reliable service and they will keep comming back.
treat any failures as a lesson and learn from it. never stop looking for sources of income. stay legal ALWAYS. i worked for three years before i didnt feel guilty about taking a wage from my business (honestly). reinvest every penny back into your business, dont be afraid to fail it will work if you go about it slowly but
professionally, but find work first.
very good advice that.
would you be the same fella that did a cardiff load the other week up to alloa?
Andyroo:
I’m just an employed driver myself and not a greatly experienced one at that, but I often think I’d like to start up on my own one day…having read a lot on this forum and heard and seen things elsewhere the biggest stumbling block seems to be finding good, regular, profitable work and I’m rapidly forming the opinion that you need either contacts, a specialist niche you can fill or a lot of luck.
You’re right in one respect, the only thing in your favour is a shortage of reliable quality drivers in the industry. A lot of small well managed companies, will bend over backwards to help out Owner Drivers, my only advise would be to avoid becoming to tied to them, don’t let them supply diesel, maintenance or Operating centre, as they will then have a ‘hold’ on you.
Don’t be afraid to try, be economical with your choice of unit, and good luck.
Thanks for all the good advice you all sent. it has certainly given me a lot to think about. profit of £2000 from a £100000 turn over seems a bit unbeliveable as there would be no OD out there that would settle for that surely. i think i have thought about all the costs of running a vehicle after the initial purchase. insurance (GIT to CMR, Public liability, Vehicle), Depreciation, O Licence application, Tax, MOT, Maintenance inspections (6 Weekly), Tyres, Fuel (50% of costs), Accountant fees, phone bill, stationary, advertising. Are there any that i have missed out.
I have read on this site that the Daf XF can give gearbox problems, has anyone experienced this.
Rookie:
Thanks for all the good advice you all sent. it has certainly given me a lot to think about. profit of £2000 from a £100000 turn over seems a bit unbeliveable as there would be no OD out there that would settle for that surely. i think i have thought about all the costs of running a vehicle after the initial purchase. insurance (GIT to CMR, Public liability, Vehicle), Depreciation, O Licence application, Tax, MOT, Maintenance inspections (6 Weekly), Tyres, Fuel (50% of costs), Accountant fees, phone bill, stationary, advertising. Are there any that i have missed out.
I have read on this site that the Daf XF can give gearbox problems, has anyone experienced this.
I have with a CF, and I know a few with XFs who have.
Rookie:
Thanks for all the good advice you all sent. it has certainly given me a lot to think about. profit of £2000 from a £100000 turn over seems a bit unbeliveable as there would be no OD out there that would settle for that surely. i think i have thought about all the costs of running a vehicle after the initial purchase. insurance (GIT to CMR, Public liability, Vehicle), Depreciation, O Licence application, Tax, MOT, Maintenance inspections (6 Weekly), Tyres, Fuel (50% of costs), Accountant fees, phone bill, stationary, advertising. Are there any that i have missed out.
I have read on this site that the Daf XF can give gearbox problems, has anyone experienced this.
to be honest mate you can spend the next ten years working figures out on paper but it really does come down to what work your gona do and what it pays?
you’ll have already worked out that no matter what you do, a fair amount of those costs wil remain the same regardless of what your earning so you’ll know that the vast majority of work available and advertissed in the mags isn’t actually “viable” in the long term.
don’t want to sound to negative but the only way you can make the job pay i.e make a good wage plus some proffit is to have your own work but the down fall of many when chasing that work, is to end up doing a job for someone who in reality has no intension of paying them, least not when it’s due, you only need a couple of bad payers in the early days to put you in real bother and unfortunately theres a hell of a lot of chancers involved in this job! that said, it can be done, i do ok (although i don’t make the mega money that some seem to think i do) as do many others but it’s took me a long time to weed out all the dreamers, get away from garages who seemed to think of a figure and double it when writting my bill etc etc.
the general advice you’ll get off most on here is good advice, don’t plough everything you’ve got into the job, buy a cheap unit to get going with and see how it pans out.
good luck
paul.
Thanks for the advice again. My thinking is that if i pay more for a unit i will have less to pay for the wear and tear that older units cost. Am i thinking on the right lines or am i being a bit niave.
As far as the type of work goes, i am still researching. I recieved an OD pack from Hanbury Davies a couple of days ago offering £1.09 a mile. The conditions attached seemed a bit crap to say the least. More or less being at their disposal all day every day without being allowed to do back loads etc. Fuel card, trailer hire etc. All the things that more or less everyone on this site advises against. Dont think i will be taking them up on their offer.
Teeside is to expand over the next couple of years, i will start to research freight forwarders and clearing houses in that area to start with.
Rookie:
More or less being at their disposal all day every day without being [b]allowed[/b] to do back loads etc. Fuel card, trailer hire etc.
Alarm bells ringing VERY LOUDLY! It’s your unit, you can do what you like with it. Yes, you want to keep them sweet but if you have work for your truck then you must be allowed to take it. IMHO, they are extracting the urine making demands like that.
Also, as others on here have said. Buying fuel and hiring trailers off em’ seems a bad move as you have all your eggs in one basket.
Keep looking at all the angles, even if you decide not to bother it can’t do you any harm, good luck.
Rookie:
i think i have thought about all the costs of running a vehicle after the initial purchase. insurance (GIT to CMR, Public liability, Vehicle), Depreciation, O Licence application, Tax, MOT, Maintenance inspections (6 Weekly), Tyres, Fuel (50% of costs), Accountant fees, phone bill, stationary, advertising. Are there any that i have missed out.
I have read on this site that the Daf XF can give gearbox problems, has anyone experienced this.
My Brother has had no probs with his XF, countless repairs with his former FH
Yes you have missed out:
Trailer hire ? Some charge some dont if you are subbying , but you will need one all the same otherwise its all a bit fruitless!
Parking fees
Cleaning Fees ( unless you never want to wash your vehicle)
Breakdowns ( they do happen)
Repairs ( exceedingly expensive whether you run an old truck or newer one)
Bank Charges
Book keeping ( this is not accountant charges, you accountant will charge you for your End of Year Tax returns and your Self assessment) it may be hard to do this yourself if you are away all week and may not want to spend your weekend doing it
Rookie:
Thanks for the advice again. My thinking is that if i pay more for a unit i will have less to pay for the wear and tear that older units cost. Am i thinking on the right lines or am i being a bit niave.
.
Hang on, it doesnt mean to say that if you spend £10,000 or £30,000 u wont have problems! I spent £28000 on a 4 year old truck, had it 3 weeks, nut worked lose on an oil pressure plate, dropped all its oil, result was a £9000 bill of Scania. Had to have a complete Engine rebuild
I never made that mnoney back from the work the wagon was doin.so I made a loss, a very heavy loss as the vehicle was off the road for several weeks, driver still wanted paying, id lost the load it was taking to France etc etc etc , you see where I am coming from now ? had to stump up the money before work began ( because I was a fairly new start)otherwise i couldnt get the truck back.
so buy carefully, a lot of these warranties arent worth the paper they are written on, they will do everythin to get out of payin!
£1.09 per mile, a joke, and you wil probably have to bust ya balls for that.
If ya cant get at least £1.50 per mile then forget it, you will be struggling before you even start if you take less, you need buckets of cash to get the thing of the ground,
Oh and you probably have to wait at least 30 days for payment? and then you only get paid for the first week ? so you are bank rolling some one else who incidentally will be financially better off than you.
However its your call and I wish you well if you decide to take the plunge
weewulliewinkie:
ive been an o/d for 9 years and been through many hard times along the way. but like every other business go about it the right way and you will make a right few quid, but do it in a professional manner. dont be afraid to say no to jobs that arent worth it. subbing is okay to start but find your own customers and give them fair ppice and reliable service and they will keep comming back.
treat any failures as a lesson and learn from it. never stop looking for sources of income. stay legal ALWAYS. i worked for three years before i didnt feel guilty about taking a wage from my business (honestly). reinvest every penny back into your business, dont be afraid to fail it will work if you go about it slowly but
professionally, but find work first.
very good advice that.
would you be the same fella that did a cardiff load the other week up to alloa?
no paul it was,nt me but we have probably crossed paths without knowing as
I have many customers and contacts in your area. ie sheffield, pennistone, rotherham, doncaster in particular candlelight in rotherham I take a lot of thier
scottish loads, good payers as well.