This was from March of ‘07 Overdrive Magazine, they had an article that came from their survey of owner operators, trying to find out what the successful owner ops have in common. It’s probably more important now than it was then. Their definition of a successful owner -

Creatures of Habit
by Todd Dills
…and especially those whose net income ranks in
the top 25 percent — reveals highlights on the road to success. The
typical high-earning owner-operator is a little more than 50 years old
and has been in business as an owner-operator since he was 30. He makes more than $70,000 a year after expenses and is three times as likely to be leased as independent.

The top 25% have these seven practices in common -

Work for percentage of gross

I was always hesitant about working for a percentage, because you’re never sure about where the carrier is drawing their 100% mark and what they tell you is the gross number. I get a copy of the same confirmation from the broker that is sent to my carrier. Plus, I’m able to talk about price at any time with anyone. If a broker tells you he can’t say how much he’s paying, something’s wrong. You have to be with a carrier you trust.

Buy your own trailer

If your company doesn’t force you to do a lot of drop and hook, then you should be able to find a good deal on a trailer. If you’re working for a percentage, the increase may even cover the extra payment.

Invest in an APU - According to the Behavior Report, a third of owner-operators have APUs and average $7,000 more in income than those who don’t.

With all the APU’s on the market now, there’s no excuse to idle away your fuel money. Even buying a used truck, you can get an APU put on and included with the financing for the rest of the truck.

Maintain a sizable savings fund

Between maintenance, taxes and all of those other things that happen and the possibility of pay checks may start being smaller and more time between paychecks, this one might be tough.

Do regular oil analysis

Every oil change may not be necessary, but you need a benchmark of when things are running good so you know when things are starting to degrade.

Buy new equipment

On both of my used trucks, between the payment and extra maintenance and breaking down, I was paying the equivalent of a new truck payment. Now with a new truck we don’t have the downtime and major work is probably under warranty.

I’m not sure that’s 100% true and is going to be the same in all cases. You’ve got to have a truck you can afford and be able to have some leftover. But if you’re spending everything on repairs and downtime, that’s not good either.

Keep detailed records -This is perhaps the key characteristic of high
earners, Brady says. Making money comes from an awareness of every
piece of the puzzle, from whether a shipper’s paid the fuel surcharge
you asked for, to the fuel economy you’re getting after that in-frame
overhaul, to what the level of metals in your oil means.

I made my own spreadsheet, I know what I make and spend per mile and per day for most everything related to the truck. With all of the computer programs out there we’ve talked about, Nautilus InCab and Driver’s Daily Log (it does income and expenses too), there’s no excuse not to keep records.

I would add a couple more -

Surround yourself with the best. Probably the most important thing I like about the company I’m with, is that everything is out in the open. Because of that and the attitude and vision of the owner, this company has attracted some of the best people that bring their customers with them and are able to get more great customers. They get the customers and we keep the customers with premium hands-on white-glove dependable service.

And with people you trust Whether you’re leased or independent you have to be able to trust the people you work with, brokers, dispatchers, bookkeepers, whoever, you can’t succeed if people around you don’t care if you survive or not.

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