The Challenges Of Running A Trucking Business

For aspiring business owners, the freight business has a lot of obvious appeal. This is a niche that’s never really going to disappear considering all the different businesses that depend on it, and there’s certainly a lot of potential for big returns. However, starting a trucking business is far from easy! If you’re thinking of pursuing this niche, here are some of the challenges of running a trucking business that you need to consider.

Maintenance and Servicing

Everyone who thinks about starting a trucking business knows that maintenance and servicing is going to come into play at some point. However, a lot of them manage to grossly underestimate just how much this is going to cost them. Heavy-duty trucks aren’t quite like your average vehicles. The cost of routine maintenance, along with replacing any damaged parts, can be a massive strain on investors. It doesn’t help when the company has to send their drivers out on treacherous roads and in bad weather. If you cheap out and send your trucks to quack mechanics, then it’s only going to come back to bite you, sometimes in the form of a lawsuit! As the head of a trucking company, you’re going to need to fork out for high-standard maintenance here and there, so make sure you’re prepared for this!

Cash Flow Management

A keen understanding of cash flow is important no matter what kind of business you’re running, and the trucking business has certain factors and distinctions which you may have never come across before. It’s not all that uncommon for a new, self-employed trucker to start off getting all their clients from load boards, not accounting for payment cycles, and then finding themselves in a position where there’s orders waiting, but they don’t have the money to refuel their vehicle! Before you jump in, you need to take some time to learn about how money changes hands in the freight business, typical practices with payment cycles, the role of trucking factoring companies, and other details. If you want your trucking company to be successful, then you’re going to need to do a lot of number-crunching. Make sure you’re prepared for this before making any big investments!

Finding Good Affiliate Contracts

When you first get started in the trucking business, you’re probably not going to have the start-up capital and other resources needed to challenge the biggest players in the business. This means that you’ll have to start off as an affiliate with a larger, more established company. There are a lot of traps to watch out for here. Sadly, there are a lot of companies out there who will go out of their way to take advantage of their affiliates, pushing them to sign agreements which only benefit the parent company and paying them grossly imbalanced commissions. Before you invest a penny in a vehicle, you need to do your research into companies that are taking affiliates, and finding the ones who are most reliable to work with. It’s also a good idea to seek out some legal counsel before you sign any contracts.