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Here’s What Some Owner Operators Face …
Most of my clients are owner operators or they are connected in some way to a trucking company. After all, an owner operator can scale his business nicely by adding a brokerage.
Here is something to keep in mind …
Some owner operators want to gradually scale into using their brokerage. Let me explain.
They, perhaps, have been getting loads off the load boards from brokers and they’d like to continue doing that until their brokerage ramps up a bit.
This is perfectly fine.
However, when a trucker opens his brokerage (which would be a separate business), he will not go to the load boards (as a freight broker) for loads. Why? This would be “double-brokering” and is not allowed (but it’s sometimes done behind people’s backs).
As I mentioned above, some owner operators still want to get some loads from the load boards even though this OO has their own brokerage. These loads would go on this owner operator’s truck.
Again, this is okay but the truck owner will approach the broker on the load boards as a “trucking” company, not a brokerage. Again, the reason is to avoid double-brokering.
So, a trucker with a brokerage should go directly to shippers for loads … and this trucker can do this all the while approaching other brokers on load boards and getting loads as a “trucker”.
The trucker then, going to shippers as a freight broker, cuts out the middle man they’ve been using (and saves money in the process). Understand that the OO will approach shippers as a “freight broker” and then give the loads to either their truck or to any qualified truck in the country.
The owner operator wears two hats, one at a time. It’s a great combination.
The first thing my owner operator clients do is to set up a separate company for the brokerage. Do not comingle the brokerage with the trucking company. The OO”s trucking company might be named something like “Snappy Trucking” and the brokerage might be named something like “Snappy Freight Brokerage”.
In my freight broker training, I’ll work with you hand-in-hand to do all the necessary applications.
As DOT numbers are given out sequentially, it’s better to get a number sooner rather than later so as to have your number “age” quicker. Some carriers will not work with new freight brokers. This is a story for another time and it’s an issue we deal with in the training.
Lastly, I may be limiting my training to those that have three years of related experience in logistics. This is in line with an older regulation that FMCSA is going to be enforcing, starting January, 2025. There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding this and, to be honest, it’s been difficult for me to really dig into it. I just get overwhelmed at times, especially trying to do all the research I’d like to do.
This is December 1, 2024 as this is being written.
But I’m here and ready to schedule anyone desiring to begin this exciting journey. There are good things happening now in logistics and they should continue into the year and beyond. Go below to contact me.
Finally, I’m planning to do a Power Point presentation on Rates, starting with Contract loads versus Spot loads. Rates are dynamic and brokers need to work quickly and accurately in order to beat the competition. Keep tuned in for this.