Base your pricing on your cost, not what the other guy charges.
Treat your owner operators like partners.
Pick a lane, any lane, and service the hell out of it.
Train your customers from day one to pay you on time.
Don't plan on getting rich. Your goal for the first years is to simply make a living.
Pay yourself based on profit, not what you think you are worth.
Put together a realistic budget with the help of a professional, and stick to it.
Make a long term plan to own assets. Even if only trailers. The bank will treat you better.
Make a longer term plan to own property. Even if just a parking area or small office. Some day it will be your retirement.
Plan to have some unpleasant surprises that will make you wonder why you are doing this.
If you are married, have plenty of long discussions warning of the potential danger ahead.
If you are not married, don't think about it for a while. You will not have the time to make both work.
Talk to as many successful owners as you can to determine what works.
Talk to as many unsuccessful owners as you can to determine what didn't.
Don't think of yourself as a "big shot" because your business card tells you so.
Listen to your gut.
Craig Nixon
K.C. Nixon & Associates Inc.
www.kcnixon.ca