Profile For Steve Marshall

It appears some folks just don't want to believe that's it's possible to succeed as an owner operator. Steve you have obviously thought this out, put together a business plan, have your goals and are actually reaching them! Some people are leaders and go getters in this business and some are happy just being a company driver (which is what I will do).

Even if you had a million dollars in that expense account, some would still say your are doing it wrong and will fail.

You have already had success in one career and I really believe that you are on your way to an even better 2nd.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Larry B.

Steve, I really am glad to see you doing well. It's just that some of the numbers you threw out are a little unsettling to me. Really glad to know about your hefty maintenance account - that is important. My concerns are that you keep telling us about what the loads pay, that is typical talk for Owner Operators. As a former business operator I was more focused on my costs. That is where most new business owners stump their toe.

If you don't really have a good accounting system set up yet I highly recommend that as a priority. It will help you to see things in a different perspective. A good accountant is also important, especially if you can find some one who is familiar with the trucking industry.

There are a lot of expenses that I would think you should have that you don't mention, but I'm not expecting you to give us the whole picture. I just don't want to see you get squashed or blind-sided unexpectedly. We wish you the best, but we try our best to keep folks from falling prey to some pit-falls we recognize. When we see someone coming in here saying they are making five or six times what they were as a company driver, we feel compelled to sound the alarm. It just doesn't happen like that, and if it did we would all be running our own trucks. But the sad part is, that if one person says something like that in here, then there are a couple of hundred hungry truck drivers wanting to get on board that train who are going to fall flat on their faces. That is why we start raising red flags.

I guess the whole picture is this. When I bought this Truck in December last year I only had about 2K in my maintainence account. In 9 months I'm a week away from having 40K in it. I have also paid myself 500 every single week this year. I have also paid 3000 towards my Truck 9 times this year. I have also paid my quarterly taxes 3 times so far at 7500 each time. I have also spent several thousand dollars on oil changes and misc. . Plus my federal (2290) highway tax. Plus insurance (which ain't cheap) and those other things I failed to mention. So I guess your probably right. I am falling. Sorry if I misled any body. There is no money to be made as an O/O

40k in maintenance account is awesome. It will get you through almost any major break down including truck replacement if needed.

just a word of advice. That 40k needs to stay in that account and not touched even when buying another truck.

The way I had my accounts setup was 40k in maintenance to cover most major issues that can come up (the bad stuff comes in 3's) and I had a separate fund specifically setup to cover tires. The two accounts were never borrowed against each other or used for anything but the truck they were were setup for.

My 2nd truck was setup the same way and had its own separate accounting set just for the 2nd account.

When getting a 2nd truck I know that setting that truck up would have a few startup cost off the bat. So I used the first truck to setup an entirely different account that I labeled 'MISC" and that account was used for the startup cost of the 2nd truck. The 2nd truck had its own maintenance and tire accounts that were not touched for the startup of the 2nd truck.

I know it seems like alot of steps and extra money just sitting there but I believe in more is better and giving myself the best safety net I can even if it means going "Over-Kill" on redundant accounts to ensure that you can battle through slow and bad times.

You seems to be doing well so far and I hope that continues but I threw this out as hopefully an idea that you may not have taken into account. Perhaps you can use all of it or even parts of it.

Guy, Thanks for the vote of support.... I don't intend to use my maintenance account for anything but expenses related to this truck only. I was going to use it for tires as well, but my intent is to get it to 50K and level it off there. and as expenses come about I will replenish it to that level and for each truck I own I will have a separate account as you suggested. I normally only pay myself $500.00 per week and everything else goes into the account. once I reach. 50K, I'll consider giving myself a raise :) Should be there in about 2 months or less.

Brett

You make a lot of good points. You have certainly been in this business a lot longer than I have and I have tried to take everything I have learned from this site and apply it to the way I do business. In the very beginning of this post I explained about my first tuck breaking down a lot. Trust me, I am no rookie to Break downs and the cost associated with it. I am not foolish enough to spend all my cash flow. I keep a sizeable maintenance account. (currently pushing 40K) to cover expenses to include paying my quarterly taxes too (which I do). I know there are risks and going to be ups and downs and I try to prepare myself for them as much as I can.

Old School

Thanks for your reply, and just to be clear. it was not my intent to mislead anybody. I can only relay the facts of what I make. when I was with Prime, I was averaging 650-700 per week. Using that as a base 5X650 = 3250. I make that on a regular basis after paying my fuel expenses and insurance. My checks have been as high as 4600 in a week but are regularly in the 3200+ range when I work a full week. Being an O/O has the benefit of taking off when I want to which I take advantage of. so obviously on those weeks I don't earn quite that much. I have a regular run to West Va to pick up lumber. it pays 1036.00 to the truck. fuel cost is around 225-275 depending on discounts . I can do it in a day, I don't typically do 5 a week but 3-4 per week and then something else the rest of the week. Hopefully that explains it. I realize that there are other factors to consider like my truck payment of 1600 per month, which I have sent 3000 per month since I bought it to get it paid off sooner.

Here is a pic of Steve's truck

Thanks for posting that Guy

I always have a spare key 🔑 in my wallet.

Has to be a way. Im sure if I keep this post on top long enough someone will post a pic.

I had an under cabinet mount that I used to mount a 22"flat screen. It was just high enough that opening the bunk was not a problem.

Daniel. I liked my LW so much when I was at Prime that's what I bought for myself. I don't have the skirts over the fuel tanks but otherwise it's the same truck. 2014 model. Had 100,000 miles on it when I got it . Paid 98,000. 9 months later I only owe 57,000. 😊 I'll try to post a picture if I can figure out how to.

Just because you already have your Class A CDL doesn't mean you won't have to go through training at Prime. You won't have to go through PSD which is about 3 weeks but you will still have to go through TNT training which you team drive with a trainer for at least 30,000 combined miles. That's 2-1/2 months ish. Depending on the loads you get and your paid 600 per week or. 12 per mile whichever is greater. Goes by quick though.