We all know truckers who don’t make it past the first year.  How to run a successful trucking company wasn’t part of the training when they learned how to drive.  They make mistakes that cost them their trucks, their finances, and maybe even hurts their families.

It’s hard to watch when a newbie doesn’t know how to run a successful trucking company and ends up in worse shape than when they started.

For a lot of new truckers, this is their chance.  Trucking is without a doubt one of the best ways to become a business owner.  But if this new owner-operator doesn’t know business basics, it will be a long time before they’re successful.

How to run a successful trucking company

Knowing how to run a successful trucking company comes down to these important facts.

Nothing beats working on the road as a company driver or dispatcher long enough to get your feet wet.  Learn the ropes of trucking with experience.  Talk to truckers with a million miles under them and learn their secrets.  It’s not just about knowing how to haul a load – it’s about driving your truck long-term.

We have to understand business basics.  There are many ways to learn the fundamentals of accounting, management, and marketing.  With the ready availability of training online, take a class on bookkeeping and accounting.  But you’ll probably never hear about the IFTA or IRP.

To make it as an owner-operator or freight broker, you have to understand how those business basics apply to trucking.  The trucking industry has several special reports and taxes you must pay.  You need to know a lot more about trucking accounting than you might learn in a class.   Management rules apply to all businesses.  Managing a truck stop might look different than managing an owner-operator business, but the fundamentals are the same.

You have to understand how the industry works. You need to know what your future customers want and how to take care of them better than your competitors. How do you find those customers who will give you lanes for repeat business and what you need to do to keep them?  Do you want to depend on load boards?  Or do you want to lease on to a big trucking company?

Being in business for yourself requires understanding the difference between revenue and profit. It means that you subtract your expenses before putting money in your pocket.  You have to set funds aside for a rainy day. It means staying on the up-and-up with state and federal tax authorities. It also helps to have basic writing and people skills.

The most basic asset is a keen understanding of the trucking business.

You can gain these abilities by taking classes or simply by reading books and watching free educational videos online.  Find out what books are worth your time and listen to them while you’re on the road.  You don’t have to waste your downtime on watching stupid tv reruns on your laptop.  The Internet has a lot of good information for you.  You’ll find the right software tools that all truckers must use now – the trucking industry is too complicated not to use computers.  You have to track more details and more data than ever before.

This is what separates the owner-operator from the company driver.

When you’re just a driver, the details don’t matter.  When you’re the owner-operator, it all matters.

Knowing how to run a successful trucking company means having the right software in your corner. That’s where TruckingOffice trucking software comes into the picture. Our product helps you to streamline everyday tasks while enhancing your bottom line.  We track the details for you and make using the data easy and fast.

Find out for yourself how good TruckingOffice is by taking it for a free test drive starting today. Having this fundamental tool at your fingertips is a vital part of knowing how to run a successful trucking company.