Do you want to start a truck company without driving? Trucking is one of the most vital and profitable industries in the US. More than three-fourths of the entire country’s goods are moved through large trucks. Trucking as the whole industry in America is around $1.1 trillion. And is expected to expand more in the coming years. So if you are looking to start a truck company without driving, you are at the right article.
You can start a truck company without driving by hiring trusted drivers and keeping them on a contract basis. This way, you’ll only need to worry about taking care of the administrative side of your company. You won’t have to drive trucks from one city to another. However, you must ensure that your drivers possess a legal CDL.
While you would not need a driving license to start a truck company, you will need much more than that. Just hiring drivers for your company won’t help you make it successful. You need to analyze other responsibilities and sort them out before you can start making a profit. The following details what you should contemplate before you start a truck company and how you can start one without a CDL.
What You Should Consider Before You Start a Truck Company
Just like other growing industries, trucking is quite competitive. It would be best to establish a proper business plan before starting your truck company. This helps you ensure you do not get lost in the crowd. If you have decided to start a truck company without driving, you will need to face extra challenges.
Here are a few things you should consider before starting a truck company.
- Start-Up Costs
If you decide to hire a licensed driver to help you out, you will need money to start a truck business. You’ll have to cover your driver’s pay until your client pays up and all the other overhead costs, like vehicle maintenance.
There are different ways you can finance your trucking company. You can take a business loan from a bank, look for a third-party investor, or invest your savings into your business. It would be best to be transparent with your finances no matter which one you choose.
- Obtaining the Permits
Like other businesses, there is a lot of paperwork involved when you are looking to start a truck company. You will need to register your company with the US Department of Transportation and obtain the required permits.
For instance, if you operate your trucks for interstate commerce, your company will be regulated under state and federal law. You will need to fill out various forms, including EIN and MC/DOT numbers.
Ensure you have all the documents ready and registered and have acquired all the permits before starting a truck company. You don’t want to waste your time and money settling a legal liability.
- Hiring an Employee
If you want to start a truck company without driving, you will hire truck drivers with a legal CDL. If you plan to start multiple trucks, you will need to employ numerous drivers. Their safety is your responsibility. This means you also have to pay for their insurance and the vehicle’s insurance.
There are two ways you can hire a truck driver. You can employ a qualified driver to driver for your business or connect with an independent contractor.
How to Start a Truck Company Without Driving?
Once you have decided to move forward with starting a truck company, you should follow a plan. This will help you move forward strategically, ensuring that your business does not go into loss.
Here is what you need to do to start a truck company without driving.
- Draw-Up Your Business Plan
It would be best to have a great business strategy and plan to convert a good idea into a successful business. To start a truck company, you need tons of permits and authorizations from all over the country. Without a proper plan, your company will get lost amidst the crowd and can even fall into a legal battle.
You also need to think about whether your business will focus on local or long-distance travel. This will help you calculate your costs and analyze whether you need permission just from your state or from multiple countries.
Since you don’t need to drive a truck for your company, you will hire multiple employees. You need to set up a proper interview process to hire the best ones out of the lot.
- Financing Your Truck and Getting Insurance
Once you have a business plan in place, it is time to act upon it. You’ll need some capital to finance your truck to start a truck company. You will also need money to cover employee salaries for the first few months.
If you want to buy a new truck, you can borrow from a bank or similar financing company. However, if you’re going to start small, you can even rent out a truck for your business. You should always start a truck company with just one truck. Once you have started earning money, you can expand your business.
Getting vehicle insurance and employee insurance is also necessary to start a truck company. The minimum requirement for a company is to get general liability insurance. This insurance card should always be with your driver if they need to use it at any point.
- Hire Drivers With CDL
Since you have decided to start a truck company without CDL, you need to hire drivers that already possess one. Most companies prefer to have a lead main truck driver and an extra one for emergencies. However, you can start with a single driver and expand your team as your business grows.
While hiring a driver, you can enroll them as your employee and have them fill up a W2 form. You can also hire them as contractors, where they will be self-employed, and you are just using their driving services. The latter option is preferred by companies new to the trucking industry.
- Manage Your Finances
Managing finances is crucial for any company to grow into a lucrative one. You may not be doing the driving, but you’ll still play a vital role in the success of your business. It would be best if you managed everything from regulation compliances, finding loads, and how to pay for gas and maintenance.
Maintain your books is crucial to analyzing whether your company is achieving its goals or not. You can choose to hire a professional to see to the bookkeeping or do it yourself. Either way, your priority should be getting your employees paid and maintaining the fleet.
Keeping your customers and clients happy is also essential for the sustainability of your business.
Conclusion
If you want to start a trucking company without driving, you might have a few additional hurdles to navigate. However, you’re bound to see success with proper business planning and strategy. You should first research the market and look for long-term clients when you start a truck company. You also need to ensure that the business has all the permits it needs.
The sustainability of your business will depend upon how great your hired drivers are and how well you can manage them.
