Transportation is one of the largest industries in the world. While letter mail may be dwindling, the demand for shipped goods is only growing. It isn’t just big corporations shipping items or small businesses using their national mail system, either. People need items transported for so many reasons. Perhaps they are moving. Perhaps they’ve bought a large piece of furniture off of the second-hand market and need it moved.
There are so many reasons why people need items shipped, both professionally and personally. What this means for you as a truck owner is that you can make it on your own. You can even grow your business and then start up your own fleet! To do that, of course, you need to take your first baby step, and that’s to follow this guide:
Start Your Company
First things first, you’ll need to start your company. This means starting up a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation. You’ll also need to have a truck, insurance (both for your vehicle and the goods you’ll carry), and essential branding. Branding is a great way to advertise your business on the go and assures communities (as opposed to driving around with an unmarked vehicle).
Get Your License And Permits
Once you have the essentials of your company established, it’s time to get all your legal ducks in a row. What you need will ultimately depend on where you are based. The rules will change based on your state, country, or city. For example, you may need a different license to transport goods between cities and will definitely need them to take goods across state or country lines.
Finding Work
Once you have all the paperwork signed, sealed, and delivered to the relevant authorities and have the legal right to work, it’s time to find your first job. While yes, it would be great if you start with clients calling you direct, that isn’t the case for most businesses. Even established businesses will want a diverse client pool.
A great place to start is with online platforms. These are great because you can use filters to find the jobs that work for you and start to build up a good reputation for shipping work from there. Keep in mind you’ll also want to work on building up repeat business and a local reputation so that you get calls coming in from those job sites and direct.
Growing Your Business
Every job is a great opportunity to grow your business. An easy way to do this is to either have happy customers save your business as a favorite or to get in touch with your business directly. As time passes, you can hire other drivers to give yourself days off, and then you can go further and add to your fleet. When adding to your fleet, know you can buy used or lease your vehicle to help manage your overhead while you get on your feet and strengthen your brand.