As owner operators, carriers are faced with a complicated issue: They must play the roles of both business owners and employees, and somehow do both with enough grace to generate profit.
Not only do owner operators manage the books, buy the trucks, and balance the accounts, but they must also keep the rubber on the road. This undertaking can be daunting when so many responsibilities are necessary for a successful trucking business, and frankly, and is sometimes impossible.
In an effort to help owner operators identify where they may be missing, here are the most common, and arguably some of the most critical, mistakes by owner operators–and tips for owner operators to keep going.
Not Cutting Operating Costs
Good business is mitigating expenses and maximizing revenue—but for truckers, there are a LOT of volatile, costly, and complicated expenses to manage.
Before delving into expense mitigation, it may be valuable to first consider this: How are you tracking your expenses? Are you automating your bookkeeping? It’s incredibly difficult to trim your expenses when you don’t know where or what they are.
Once you have a reliable system of bookkeeping, take a look at some of your larger expenses. Need to save on fuel? Consider using a fuel card. Are tires getting pricy? Look for discounts.
This infographic from Freightwaves shows how expensive trucking can be.
Nearly every expense has an opportunity for savings. England Carrier Services offers a suite of discounts for truckers, so you could start here.
Inefficient Route Planning
Going the extra mile is typically a helpful idiom, but in trucking, you may want to be careful about any additional travel that results in deadhead miles.
If you aren’t familiar, deadhead miles refer to wasted travel without cargo. Essentially, these are miles with all the expenses and none of the profit.
For example, if you’re on a return route and you don’t have any cargo planned, you risk losing out on potential profit. Or if you don’t plan your fuel stops and are forced to go out of your way, you could be losing revenue.
Aside from efficient route planning, you should also be strategic in your route selection. Avoid the common mistake to decline perfectly good routes in hopes of something better. Michael Jordan said it best: “You miss 100% of the routes you don’t take.” Or something like that.
Cash Flow Hiccups
The 2nd worst thing to not getting paid is not getting paid on time. Not only is it inconvenient, but in trucking, it can be fatal to your business if you can’t turn loads fast enough.
Fortunately, carrier factoring services completely solve this issue. Put simply, factoring companies pay carriers for their loads immediately in exchange for a small fee. Some may be tempted to think that they will lose money in paying these fees, but they don’t account for the new ability to take on more loads.
Another infographic from Freightwaves explains the factoring process.
Factoring allows you to get paid quicker, run more loads, and turn more of a profit.
For more info on factoring, check out our guide here.
We’re in the business of carrier success. A high tide raises all trucks (another favorite by Michael Jordan). By cutting operating costs, exercising strategic route planning, and utilizing a factoring service, you can cultivate a thriving business by following these tips for owner operators.
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The England Carrier Services (ECS) division offers various services for carriers ranging from maintenance to support. As ECS members, carriers have access to nationwide discounts on fuel and tires from dedicated team members committed to finding the best price. ECS also provides factoring services with benefits such as same-day funding to a bank account or fuel card. These options allow carriers the freedom to focus on growing their business while saving time and money.