Doing My Own Thing

Im leaving an O-O/independent contractor gig as a taxi driver to drive a company truck because I’m tired of all my overhead. Everything being said here is completely on point. The competition is through the roof. Many drivers are doing exactly what I’m doing. I almost got roped in to the owner operator route until I found this site.

The contributors here don’t mince words. They reminded me of my own trials & reasons why I found this site to begin with. I am looking for a way out of my present situation. Everything that was said here about the taxes is completely true. It’s not income!

What about when your equipment needs servicing & the parts aren’t available for weeks? How will you pay that months expenses. Example: Chevy has a huge issue with air conditioning condensers they use in their suburbans. There was a back log of 1 month for that part. Drivers in the NYC area couldn’t work for that entire month because it was mid summer & they couldn’t use their A/C’s. All the Freon leaked out through the condenser. How would you handle a hit like that on your budget. I was lucky, I was on a road trip on the west coast & was able to resolve my issue in LA, where there wasn’t a back log.

At the end of the day, it’s your choice. Never make a decision using the thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. Do you research. Ask many questions. Get as realistic a picture of what you will be facing going forward. I know what to expect because I’ve been reading the training diaries, the subjects in the general discussions here & im old enough to know myself a little better than when I was younger. At least I know I have a better than average chance of success in this industry directly because of the unfiltered words of wisdom being shared here freely. I’ll never stop thanking everyone here for that gift. God bless!

Why don't you tell us about all those taxes you are going to get back? I was in business thirty years - never once did I get anything back. The truth is I paid tens of thousands every year.

well if you didnt got back anything you prob had a sh**** accountant or you were not aware of how you can get that money .fell sorry for you.i have seen personally o/o who got all their taxes back.

Rookie The Cookie, the man was in business for 30 years!!! He obviously knew what he was doing. Do you really think you know more about being in business than someone who did it successfully for 30 years?? If so, then why aren't you living in a mansion up on a hill somewhere as the owner of a giant corporation?

Listen, we're not going to argue with you. We have a policy when it comes to dealing with know-it-alls like you and it's simple: we'll tell you what we know, you do with it what you like.

You're obviously the smartest guy in the room so I suggest you go out there and buy yourself some trucks and show us what being successful is all about. Quit wasting everyone's time with all of this arguing and go make yourself rich.

I see around 50% of the trucks on the road are o/o . i talk with owners at truck stops nd customers and they never regret doing what they are doing.the only part they regret about trucking is working as a company driver. every company started from a single o/o so i think its personal preference. some people cant handle the extra stress and extra dedication thats required to build a successful business.

some people cant handle the extra stress and extra dedication thats required to build a successful business.

I know. I've been running my own businesses for almost 15 years and you've already gotten advice from someone who ran a successful business for 30 years. You're the one who hasn't done it, am I right?

Like I said, we're wasting everyone's time here by arguing. Your mind is already made up and you're not going to listen to us, anyhow, so stop asking our opinion about it and go do it.

You will find good information about owning a truck at OOIDA - go check it out.

I'm not gonna waste a lot of my time with you since you sound completely hopeless at this point. But I will explain to you how I know you're headed off a cliff. Maybe you'll think about it.

You are trying to start a business with an employee's mentality. You are focused on getting money back. That's what happens to employees who paid too much in the first place. A business owner/operator wants to pay his fair share, but take every legal/ethical step he can to keep his taxes at a minimum.

When a business owner counts on getting money back from over estimating and over paying their taxes then they are the one who doesn't have a clue about accounting.

Getting money back indicates you are not making any money. After all it's your money you're getting back. Why would they be sending it back to you? Simply because you turned no profit and therefore owed no tax. (That's the definition of going broke)

I've tried to break it down for you "Barney style." I hope you'll consider how outrageous your logic is before jumping into the deep end of the pool while the lifeguard is off duty.

Rookie, I am going to ask a few simple questions. Then make some simple statements. If being an O/O is so lucrative then why are so many O/Os that were successful for YEARS going back to being company drivers? Better yet, IF being an O/O is such a good deal; then, why are there so many companies like Landstar, MyWay, etc.. out there to give O/Os a chance to band together to give them the benefits of economy of scale for a slice of their profits? Why are those companies continuing to grow and do well? There era of the pure O/O is long past and gone. That is the answer. If you don't belong to someone, you are gonna be swallowed by the sharks. This isn't the late 70s / early 80s. THAT was the time of the O/O. Immediately following deregulation before trucking companies started slitting each other's throats!

A couple things happened with deregulation.

1) businesses were free to choose to run whatever kind of freight they wanted. They no longer had "the man" telling them what kind of freight could be run based on the saturation of the market for a particular kind of freight.

2) companies were now free to set their own freight rates. No longer was "the man" telling what the minimum and maximum rate for a particular type of freight was.

I am well aware I am overly simplifying what happened with deregulation. But the events that followed has shaped today's economy. Things happened in steps. (Again I will be generalizing and over simplifying). First was over saturation. During the late 70s and early 80s every last person that could and wanted to "be there own man" did. After oversaturation happened then came the decline in freight rates. This is what truly spurred the coming of economy of scale. Every company started undercutting their competitors because there was more companies than freight. This phase was roughly late 80s/90s. As freight rate dropped you either grew big to use the economy of scale or you withered and died. I would say the all time low for the industry was the late 90s thru the 2000s. This was the time where a 3% profit margin was doing outstanding. Granted rates of freight have began to climb again. Now thru attrition of those who were unable to grow, be bought out, merge with another company, etc... the oversatirization caused by independent O/Os is finally starting to dwindle. Economy of scale is in place and not going anywhere. You either belong to a school of fish or be one of those fish that clean the under belly of the shark. If you are out by yourself you will get swallowed without a second thought.

Just my .02 in the matter.

Here’s another piece of the puzzle you’re not considering. In order to get a refund, you’re operating at a net loss. What about when it comes time for retirement. If your operating a a loss or making a slight profit to pay as little taxes as possible, then you’re not paying into your social security fund. Or paying very little, which may be a good idea when you’re young & healthy. God forbid you should suffer any unforeseen health crisis or disability. The grass is never greener on the other side! You always have to shovel manure to keep your patch of grass green & fertile! Get a balance source of idea with which to make your decisions, not just one side of the story. Some folks will give you ideas on steroids & others will give you rotten tomatoes. Ultimately, it’s your life & your happiness, hopefully your young enough to try a lil bit of everything & use your own experience & judgment to find what suits you. I wouldn’t dismiss what’s being served here outright though. Just my .02 cents also. (Pretty soon you’ll have a dollar & a dream)

Rookie the cookie states facts:

I see around 50% of the trucks on the road are o/o .

Ohhh! I love statistics!

The OOIDA says there are approximately 350,000 owner-operators in the United States.

The American Trucking Association estimated there were 3.5 million employed truck drivers in 2015

Math Department: 3,500,000 ÷ 350,000 = .1         or 10% of the drivers on their own.

Why don't you tell us about all those taxes you are going to get back? I was in business thirty years - never once did I get anything back. The truth is I paid tens of thousands every year.

well if you didnt got back anything you prob had a sh**** accountant or you were not aware of how you can get that money .fell sorry for you.i have seen personally o/o who got all their taxes back.

...OS had a successul business, and knowing how smart he is he probably found himself a good accountant. You probably don't have an accountant yet, good luck finding one that'll get you more than a company driver.