How To Start A Business?

[Scorp]

I've been a company driver for my entire career and I've made the decision to purchase a truck and lease it on to my current company. I've done all the research and have the majority of the process figured out. I do have a few questions though.

1. When I go to ABC Trucks (just an example) and buy a truck, do I register it in my name and let the company plate it? Or how exactly do I get my name on the title but their baseplates?

2. Do I need a "business license"? I live in TX is that helps any...

3. Do I have to get incorporated or become an llc or any of those right away? Any benefit to doing it right away or later on?

4. I read somewhere about registering a trade name. If I want to call myself "ABC Transportation"(example again) is that ok to just do or do I have to file something with some agency?

5. What do I need to do with regards to the IRS? I don't know anything about being self employed on the tax end, other than the higher taxes I've heard about.

6. Do I need to get a federal tax id number?

7. How much paperwork/time/money am I looking at in the forming on my own business.

8. Is the business name ect even necessary or can I just buy a truck and lease it on and pay self employment taxes?

9. Seeing what questions I have, is their anything glaringly obvious that I'm overlooking?

I realize some of those might be stupid or whatever else, but I gotta ask cause I don't know!

 

[TruckerTrash]

scorp, you have probably already thought of this, but i would bet flatbedpete could answer alot of your questions....good luck and i hope ya make it work.

 

[Scorp]

scorp, you have probably already thought of this, but i would bet flatbedpete could answer alot of your questions....good luck and i hope ya make it work.

Thanks, and ya I thought about him and the other o/o's here. That's why I just put it out in the open forums to (maybe) get a mix of responses and figure out what's right for me.

 

[Flatbedpete]

Well I will help you out, when I started, I chose to have my own authority and this puts me in the drivers seat. You will need a business name, physical address for the business, and like I did, it is best to hire a licensing company to take care of everything, including taxes. You will appreciate this in the long run, especially when you get audited.

If you have your own authority, you can pick and choose what you want, no force nothing there. If you lease on, you are assigned a dispatcher, and if you pull rank and say I am not going there, they can either leave you sit with no loads, or ask you to mail the plates in or both.

I would say at the very least, you need 100G to start with cash on your own.
My first truck was a cheap truck, but I owned it outright same with the trailer. If you have to take a loan on a new one, save yourself the agony of loosing it and going broke. If you lease with option to buy, run away and save yourself the agony of loosing the truck and what you have left to cover the lease.

You can get a dependable truck for 25G and less, trailer 7500 and less. Pay cash. own it. You will need a minimum of 550 for HHUT ( heavy highway use tax, about 2G for plates to start and 2G down for insurance to start for 3 months up front and what ever the balance of payment for 9 months.

Now you need work, do you sign up on load boards, go direct with people you know. What kind of work are you going to do. Flat, van, refer, dump, drop, or specialized. That will make the difference in cost of your equipment.

Then you go out and bust your ass day and night to make it work, and get ready to get screwed often, but you will learn fast how easy it is for other people to cheat you or just plain spend your money for you.

After many years of this, some good most so so and some horrible, you can become a complete ass like I am.

 

[Flatbedpete]

As far as LLC and incorporated, that's your choice, I have a legal representative who can walk right through that in about a year. If you have a reputable insurance company, and good coverage, you will be fine.

When you apply for plates you will have to get a Federal Tax ID # before you get either, get the licensing company to get it done. That's what they are for, your job will be to deliver product and make money to pay for services you need.

 

[Scorp]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not really confident enough to get my own authority and strike out on my own all together yet. I'd like to lease on where I'm at for awhile and learn a little more about running my own truck.

 

[Racer X 69]

As far as leasing on to the company you are at goes, ask around the owner ops that are there, feel things out and see what they think. find out what they are doing for insurance, licensing, etc.

I think about doing the same thing with the company I drive for now every once and a while, but I am not ready to take the plunge just yet.

 

[Nova]

I am going through the same thing right now. My husband is O/O and is leased to his friend's company. But now we are opening our own company. As far as choosing a business structure for your business go to this web site Business Structures and read what advantages and disadvantages are of having different busines structures. I chose not to incorporate and go with LLC because it's a little easier to operate. Talk to an accountant and try to understand how you will be taxed, it's really imporant and confusing. Try to find a good accountant to do your business taxes.