Are you about starting a truck owner operator business? If YES, here is a complete sample truck owner operator business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Although you would need certifications, licenses and college degrees to be able to launch some businesses, but the truth remains that there are also loads of businesses out there that you can launch with just what you have and one of such businesses is to start a truck owner operator business.
This is especially ideal for you if you already own your own truck. All you have to do is to ensure that you equip yourself with the required commercial driver’s license (CDL), business network and the right attitude.
Truck owner operators operates in the trucking industry and it is a known fact that the trucking industry plays a very important role in the economy of the world; they provide essential services to the united states economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, machines, equipment, dirt, rocks, building materials, and finished goods over land—typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers and from warehouses to construction sites.
As matter of fact, heavy duty trucks are indispensable in the construction industry. The trucking industry is responsible for the majority of freight movement over land, and they are a major stakeholder in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries in the United States of America and in other parts of the world.
In the United States, Large trucks and buses drivers require a commercial driver’s license (CDL) before they can be permitted to operate. The activities in the trucking industry is regulated by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
They ensure that drivers and trucking companies adhere to safety rules and regulations and also that potential truck drivers undergo special training on how to handle large vehicle before applying and obtaining their commercial driver’s license (CDL).
Statistics has it that food and food products, lumber or wood products, as well as petroleum or coal account for 34.8 percent of truck traffic in the United States and by volume, clay, glass, concrete and stone, farm products, as well as petroleum and coal account for 35.6 percent of truck traffic.
The advancement in technology in areas such as computers, satellite communication, and the internet, has contributed immensely to the growth of the industry. The advancement in technology is responsible for increase of productivity of trucking companies operations, it helps them effectively monitor their trucks and their drivers and it helps driver save time and effort.
The trucking industry is not restricted to trailers or large trucks hauling goods from destination to another via interstate highways, it also involves smaller trucks that help transport smaller quantity of goods from one destination within a city to another destination within same city. Trucking business is not only about transporting goods over a long distance.
As a matter of fact, in the U.S. about 66 percent of truck tonnage moves distances of 100 miles or less; local and regional hauls account for almost half of all truck revenues and are they are the preferred choice for private carriers. No doubt starting and operating a truck owner operator business can be challenging, but the truth is that it can be rewarding at the same time.
One good thing about the industry is that it is open for both big time investors who have the capacity to start the business with fleet of trucks and aspiring entrepreneurs who may one to start with just one truck operating as a truck owner getting deals from haulage companies and from big time trucking companies amongst others.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is a trucking services company that will operate for now as a truck owner operator company with just one standard 40Tons truck, the company will be based in 10548 SD Highway 32 Belle Fourche South Dakota.
We will provide daily freight services (trucking services, moving services & supplies, and bulk material sales & supplies) on one skid to full truckloads to and from South Dakota, North Dakota, Southern Illinois; St Louis, Missouri; Southeast Missouri; Evansville, IN; Nashville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee and Chicago land areas et al.
We will in the nearest future provide cross docking, warehousing, lift gate and specialized van service in South Dakota, North Dakota, Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. has been able to secure all relevant licenses and permits to operate throughout the United States and Canada. We will ensure that we abide by the rules and regulations of the trucking industry and when it is time for us to expand the business; we will only hire experienced and qualified drivers with valid commercial driver’s license (CDL).
Our customers and potential customers alike can be rest assured that they will get quality services at competitive rates. We will go the extra mile to ensure the safety of goods under our care and our customers get value for their money.
At Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. our goal is to provide excellent service to our customers and we pride ourselves on the integrity and competence of our company and our employees. Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. will ensure that all our deliveries are on time and we supersede the expectation of our customers.
We will only put trucks that are in top shape on the road, and all our drivers will be trained to be courteous, friendly and to abide by the rules and regulations of the industry. We will maintain and take proper care of our drivers as well as our trucks and equipment.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is a family business; it is owned by Robson Graham and his immediate family members. Robson Graham is a professional truck driver with a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL) with a diploma in Transport and Logistics Management and his has over 5 years of experience in the transportation industry.
Although the company is starting out as a truck owner operator business, but plans are in place to expand the business and operate a fulltime trucking company with more than a handful of fulltime commercial truck drivers.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is a company that looks forward to deliver excellent services in terms of helping our customers move goods and equipment from one destination to another destination. Even though we are starting out as a truck owner operator business, we want to be known as the trucking company that truly cares for her customers.
We are in the trucking industry to make profits and also to give our customers value for their money. We will ensure that we do all that is permitted by the law in the United States of America to accomplish our business goal and objective. Our business offerings are listed below;
Our Business Structure
Despite the fact that we are starting out with just one 40Tons truck as a truck owner operator company, we will still go ahead to put business structure in place that will accommodate the kind of standard trucking company that we want to build. Our business structure will be designed in such a way that it can accommodate both full – time employees and part – time / contract staff; those who just want to take some time off to generate additional incomes.
We make provision to engage full time employees (truck drivers, professional material handlers / yard spotters and back office staff) and some of the available driving roles will be handled by qualified contract drivers when the business fully kick off as a standard trucking company.
But for now, all the available roles will be played / occupied by the owner Robson Graham, except for some roles that can be contracted out as our sources of income increases. For now, we will contract the maintenance of our truck to service provider, we don’t intend to maintain a very any overhead due to the nature of the business.
But as soon as the business grow and stabilize, we will assemble our own in – house maintenance team. Below is the business structure and the roles that will be available at Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc.;
Chief Operating Officer (Owner):
Transport and Logistics Manager
Admin and HR Manager
Marketing and Sales Executives (Business Developers)
Accountant
Commercial Truck Driver
Material Handlers / Yard Spotters / Forklift Operators
Customer Service Officer
Going by our vision, our mission and the kind of business we want to set – up, we don’t have any other option than to follow due process. Following due process involves hiring business consultant to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our business.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. hired the services of a seasoned business consultant with bias in start – ups in the U.S. to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to guide us in formulating other business strategies that will help us grow our business and favorable compete in Trucking industry.
As a company, we look forward to maximizing our strength and opportunities and also to work around our weaknesses and threats. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc.;
Our area of strengths as a truck owner operator business are reliability, honesty, adequate experience, cost advantages, customer loyalty and strong reputation amongst domestic and industry players and our transportation network serves some of the largest population centers in the U.S. Basically, our business is centrally located in a densely populated industrial and residential estate in South Dakota; our location is in fact one of our major strength.
Our weakness could be lack of finance, high debt burden, cost structure, lack of scale compared to our peers who have already gained ground in the industry. As a new truck owner operator business, which is owned by an individual (family) with just one truck, we may not have the financial muscle to sustain the kind of publicity we want to give our business. We are also aware that it will take time for us to build trust with our clients.
The opportunities that are available to us as a truck owner operator business in the United States are online market, new services, new technology, and of course the opening of new markets. We are centrally located in one of the busiest industrial area in South Dakota and we are open to all the available opportunities that the city has to offer.
Our business concept also positioned us to be the preferred choice in South Dakota. The truth is that there are no standard and well – equipped truck owner operator companies within the area where ours is going to be located; the closest truck owner operator company to our proposed location is about 15 miles away. In a nutshell, we do not have any direct competition within our target market area.
Some of the threats that we are likely going to face are mature markets, bad economy (economy downturn), stiff competition, volatile costs, and rising fuel prices.
Other threats that are likely going to confront Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. are unfavorable government policies, seasonal fluctuations, demographic / social factors, downturn in the economy which is likely going to affect consumers spending and of course emergence of new competitors within the same location where ours is located.
The market trends as it involves the trucking industry especially in the United States and Canada, is indeed dynamic and at the same time challenging.
But one thing is certain, once a truck owner operator can gain credibility, it will be much easier for the company to secure permanent deals / contracts with big time merchants, haulage companies and warehouse operators who are involved in moving goods and materials from one location to another on a regular basis
The demand for the services of truck owner operator companies is highly correlated with consumer spending. With the advancement of technology and the sole need for every individual to live in a comfortable house, the trucking industry keeps souring high, and as home sellers, buyers and renters prepare for season, hiring professional movers is likely to be on their moving checklists.
It is anticipated that the five below trends will be prevalent in the trucking industry. No doubt some of the major factors that count positively in this line of business are competence, trust, honesty, robust network, good relationship management and of course timely and safe pick – ups and deliveries.
Our target market is basically every one (organizations and individual as well who have cause to move goods and materials from one location to another. In other words, our target market is the whole of the United States of America and below is a list of the people and organizations that we have plans to do business with;
Our competitive advantage
Surviving in the business world as a truck owner operator requires more than your expertise, knowing how to deliver on time but also how to network with key people that matters; decision makers that can decide who will get a haulage contract.
Our major competitive advantage is the vast industry experience and solid reputation of the owner of the business Robson Graham. Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. no doubt is a new truck owner operating company, which is why we took our time to do a thorough homework before launching the business.
We were able to highlight some factors that will give us competitive advantage in the marketplace; some of the factors reliability, honesty, adequate experience, cost advantages, customer loyalty and strong reputation amongst domestic and industry players and our transportation network serves some of the largest population centers in the U.S.
Basically, our business is centrally located in a densely populated industrial and residential estate in South Dakota; our location is in fact one of our major strength.
Another competitive advantage that we are bringing to the industry is the fact that we have designed our business in such a way that we can comfortably work with both individuals who may want to make use of small trucks and also big conglomerates who are involved in massive movement of goods and materials from one locations to another on a regular basis.
Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups truck owner operator companies in the United States) in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. will ensure that we leverage on our strength and the opportunities available to us in the U.S. market to generate enough income that will help us drive the business to stability (from a one-man business to a standard trucking company with loads of fulltime employees).
We will go all the way to explore every available source of income in the trucking industry. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc.;
One thing is certain, there would always be corporate organization, government agencies, households and individual who would need the services of truck owner operator companies from time to time.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in the U.S. and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first month or operations and grow the business and clientele beyond South Dakota to other states in the U.S. and Canada
We have been able to critically examine the trucking industry and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we were able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in the United States of America.
Below are the sales projections for Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc., it is based on the location of our business and our competitive advantage;
N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same truck owner operator services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
The marketing strategy for Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is going to be driven basically by professionalism, excellent customer service, honesty and quality service delivery. We will ensure that we build a loyal customer base. We want to drive sales via the output of our jobs and via referral from our satisfied customers. We are quite aware of how satisfied customers drive business growth especially businesses like moving and storage services.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is a business that is strategically located and we are going to maximize the opportunities that is available which is why we spend more to locate the business in a location that will be visible and enable us to access our target market.
In future when we expand the business from truck owner operator business to standard trucking company, our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc.
Our goal is to grow Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. from a one-man business (truck owner operator business) to become the trucking company in South Dakota which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with in the Trucking industry.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;
Any business that wants to grow beyond the corner of the street they are operating must be ready and willing to utilize every available means (conventional and non – conventional means) to advertise and promote the business. We intend growing our business beyond South Dakota which is why we have perfected plans to build our brand via every available means.
We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.
We are set to become the number one choice for both corporate clients and households in the whole of South Dakota and beyond which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our truck owner operator business.
Below are the platforms Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. intend leveraging on to promote and advertise our trucking business;
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. has a lease arrangement with car / truck dealership shop and the company’s pricing is going to be based on miles per thousands of tons of goods and materials transported. We have perfected our plans to charge competitive rates since we have minimal overhead compared to our competition in the industry.
We will ensure that we leverage on price to win over customers; our prices will be affordable and negotiable. The fact that our business door is open to both individuals and corporate organizations means that we will have different price range for different category of clients.
We are aware that there are some one – off jobs or government contracts which are always lucrative, we will ensure that we abide by the pricing model that is expected from contractors or organizations that bid for such contracts. As the business grows, we will continue to review our pricing system to accommodate a wide range of clientele.
The payment policy adopted by Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. will make available to her clients;
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for our services without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for our services.
In setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.
This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The tools and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.
As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a truck owner operator business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to start Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. in the United of America;
Going by the report from our market research and feasibility studies, we will need about $70,000 to set up a truck owner operator business in South Dakota.
Generating Funds / Startup Capital for Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is set to start as a private business that will be solely owned and managed by Robson Graham and his immediate family members. They will be the sole financial of the company but may likely welcome other business partners when need for expansion arises.
These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;
N.B: We have been able to generate about $20,000 (Personal savings $15,000 and soft loan from family members 5,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $50,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.
Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is a business that was established with the aim of covering the whole of South Dakota and other cities in the United States of America.
We have invested a whole lot of money in the business and we would not want to see our investment go down the drain which is why we hired a core business structuring professional to help us put strategies and structure in place that will help us grow the business from a one man business to a standard trucking company.
One of our major goals of starting Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.
We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our trucking services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.
At Robson Graham® Truck Service Inc., we will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List / Milestone
