hey all. been searching alot of net and doing some research and feel i really want to give o/d a shot but 1 big hurdle how do you afford to buy a tractor unit?? the cpc aint a problem as paying for that, then il look into O licence before going any further. so if some one out there started off from scratch like this can you please give me some help in following areas
1/ tractor unit
2/ how do you guys go about finding loads and back loads
dont mind the hard work and i know aint gona make me rich but will make me better off than i am lol just mainly job satisfaction from being my own boss
Well for a start you don’t buy a new one, so you don’t need 80-100k for it. Most people will start with something costing between 5k and perhaps 20k. The way they find that money is usually one or more of the following:
Savings.
Remortgage.
Inheritance.
Parental loan/gift.
Bank loan.
I’ve no doubt missed several options but that’s a good start.
I started 10 years ago with £2000 in the bank.Managed to take over the contract on a 1996 Magnum from a guy who was having problems.
Worked for the usual outfits subbing for em,LKW Walter,Solstor etc.Plenty of cash flow but not making any profit.Ended up after first year having 3 Magnums but still not making much of a profit.Stopped driving myself and devoted myself to finding direct work with a decent profit.Bought my first 3 new Dafs in 2001.Sold em last year to Russian,making a healthy profit.
We now have 8 New XF 105 460`s and 20 trailers.Its a hard hard business,but the only way to get ahead is to find your own work and dont take no crap from people.Give a good price and a good service and you should be ok.
I started from scratch with a 17 tonne boxvan.Don’t kid yourself you have to have a tractor unit to be an o/d,you can start with a van if you haven’t got much cash.Drive around your local Industrial/trading estates,see who’s manufacturing/distributing what,(if anything),and try to check out what kind of vehicle brings stuff in and out.Then just walk in to places,and offer your services.If you offer the right service,at the right price,you’ll get work.Everything goes by road at some point,and nobody does it for nothing.
Don’t stretch yourself financially,buy the best YOU CAN AFFORD
Remember that you ain’t gonna get paid for probably 60 days at least
Don’t work just for one Customer.If he goes pop you’re doomed,and you’re at their mercy if they decide not to pay the rate anymore
Try to get your own Customers:if you’re doing it for a third party,it’s them that will get the jam in the job.
Try not to buy from a Dealer,they’re only tacking their profit onto what you would have paid if you bought direct from the guy who owns the motor.And it’s easier to get the truth from the bloke whose been running the wagon,(Imho).
And finally,stick to having one truck:the moment you expand into more than one,you’re subject to “the law of diminishing returns”…
No doubt lots of people on here will disagree,we all have our own way of doing things,but the above have worked for me…
i started with 17 ton taut now got 20 tractors running 7 days and night.dont work now easy life.but was a ■■■■■ getting here hard work i mean hard work if dident work would have lost the lot big risks.good luck to you.
I started out 9 years ago and its never been easy, but you will only succed
if you put your heart and soul into it 100%. forget the truck for the moment
find work first, do your research, dont rely on subbie work find your own customers, as many as possible, do everything legally, keep your costs down
as much as possible, there are a million reasons for and against being an o/d
but if you are genuinely up for it then go for it but slowy and surely dont live the dream it dosent work that way.
started in 97 with a £5k business development loan from NatWest (swiftly paid back and I haven’t even met by bank manager for over 5 years) and now turn over more than that per day - but as others have said unless you’re completely commited then forget it IMHO
and yes, before anyone pipes up, i was told as a kid that any fool can turn over money in business - it’s profit that’s important
jj72:
started in 97 with a £5k business development loan from NatWest (swiftly paid back and I haven’t even met by bank manager for over 5 years) and now turn over more than that per day - but as others have said unless you’re completely commited then forget it IMHO
and yes, before anyone pipes up, i was told as a kid that any fool can turn over money in business - it’s profit that’s important
jj72 you are nowt but a show orf!! when are you gonna get a newer truck anyhow?
jj72:
started in 97 with a £5k business development loan from NatWest (swiftly paid back and I haven’t even met by bank manager for over 5 years) and now turn over more than that per day - but as others have said unless you’re completely commited then forget it IMHO
and yes, before anyone pipes up, i was told as a kid that any fool can turn over money in business - it’s profit that’s important
jj72 you are nowt but a show orf!! when are you gonna get a newer truck anyhow?
many a good tune played on an old fiddle - anyway i can’t be doing with these underpowered FH13 things
