Haulin Assets

License plates in the trucking industry have many different names: IRP, apportioned registration, etc. Navigating the registration process is not simple, so we’ll try to shed some light onto it.

In this episode I interview Ariel, Motor Carrier HQ’s resident expert on the International Registration Plan, often referred to as IRP or apportioned registration. We talk about what IRP is, who has to get apportioned plates, and some of the process to make it happen.

To learn more about the process, check out  What Is IRP or Apportioned Plates on Motor Carrier HQ’s site. It also has a link you can follow to get the contact info for the department in your state where you go to set it all up.

Let us know what you think about this episode by commenting at HaulinAssetsLLC.com and rating us on whatever platform you use to listen to the podcasts. We really appreciate the ratings!!

So far in this journey of starting a trucking company we have spent a lot of money, now it's time to switch gears and talk about saving money. In this episode we talk strategies for saving money on fuel, maintenance, repairs and some personal expenses. 

The top five expense for a trucking company, in order are:

1. Driver wages and benefits

As always, check out the full show notes at https://haulinassetsllc.com/episodes/

In the last episode we showed how much it cost us to start Haulin Assets, and we discussed how your situation might be similar or different. Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work by figuring out how to gather all the money you’ll need in order to get that truck moving down the road and making money!

For most people, coming up with the money to start their trucking company is the most challenging part of getting going. As the saying goes:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

Below is the list of ways to get money we talked about, and there are even more we didn’t talk about. Let’s start with the first one. Maybe you only have $500 in savings, well, that is a start.

Move to the next option and maybe you can sell $1,000 worth of stuff. You’re not there yet but getting closer, so keep moving down the list.

Maybe you can get a $3,000 loan from a bank. Now you’re up to $4,500. Just keep moving on down the list and you’ll eventually get there.

Once you have gone through the list and you still don’t have enough, start at the top and go through it again. It may take time, but one thing all successful business owners have in common is that they don’t give up easily.

Here is the list.

• Savings

We have a page on Motor Carrier HQ's website that provides some more insight and has some additional resources on how to finance your trucking company. I go into more detail about each one of the options I listed above. You can check it out here.

And be sure to check out other episodes and full show notes, as well as comment sections, at https://www.haulinassetsllc.com

"How much does it cost to start a trucking company?" is probably the most common question we get asked. In this episode we are going to answer this question with a real life example. When I started my trucking company a few months before writing this post, I took meticulous notes documenting each and every expense I made.

In this episode, I talk about each and every startup expense I made and tell you exactly how much it cost. Since every person’s situation is going to be different I also give a best case scenario and explain why I think your situation might be different than mine. I hope this discussion will help you start to get a clearer picture for how much your startup expenses will be. Additionally, my team and I have created some tools to help you figure out about what your costs will be.

Be sure to check out the Motor Carrier HQ Startup Cost Calculator here. You can use this helpful tool to calculate your own startup costs.

And get the full shownotes at haulinassetsllc.com

What’s the difference between driving as an owner operator or working for a company? We got a lot of questions about this topic, so we did an entire episode about it. Check it out!

 A couple of episodes ago, we started doing a question and answer piece at the end of each episode. Thanks to all of your questions, we decided to do an entire episode about a topic a lot of people were asking us about. Episode 10 is all about the pros and cons of being an owner operator vs. an employee driver.

 For a lot of people, it boils down to something like this:

 “I make $70K+ a year, why should I start my own company?”

 That’s definitely true for some truck drivers, but I don’t think trucking is really all about the money for everyone. In this episode I talk a lot about what being a business owner is all about. I think it really boils down to:

• Do you have the desire?

There's lots of material associated with this episode, so check out the full show notes at https://haulinassetsllc.com/episodes/

And find the tools you need to get started as an Owner Operator at https://www.motorcarrierhq.com/

Getting commercial insurance for your truck is an intimidating process. We hope listening to this episode will help you so you don't go into the process blind and can make the best, informed decision for you. To learn even more, check out our page on the same subject at Motor Carrier HQ.

In this episode we talk about how to purchase insurance for your truck. This will be one of the biggest purchases you make, so it's important to be smart about it. You'll learn a lot listening to this episode and reading the page on Motor Carrier HQ's website. Here is the order you should typically do things in.

1. Apply for your motor carrier authority so you have an MC number and USDOT number before you call.

Check out the full, detailed show notes at HaulinAssetsLLC.com.

Once you know where you are going to find your loads (see ep.7), you should be able to determine the type of trailer you are going to need to buy.

In this episode we talk about how to decide what type of trailer to buy and I give some tips for when you are actually shopping around.

Step one is to determine how you are going to find your loads, once you know that, it should point you in the direction for the type of trailer that is going to be best for you. We'll go over the pros and cons for each trailer type:

• Flatbeds

We'll also go over a few important buying tips, for when you're ready to go out and kick the tires.

Lastly, for our new Q&A segment, we had a couple of people ask about leasing on to a carrier as a method to purchase a truck. I talk about the pros and cons of that route. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions!!

As always, check out the full show notes at HaulinAssetsLLC.com.

Finding loads is probably one of the most important topics we are going to cover in our podcast. If you aren't finding enough loads or the right loads, your business is going to struggle.

In this episode on finding loads, we are going to cover the basics and not get into too much detail. We'll hit this topic several times as the year goes on and get into more and more detail each time we do.

What to Expect From Episode 7

We talk about the four main ways companies get loads:

• Directly from shippers

To read more about why we suggest that most new owner operators use a good dispatcher, and what makes a good dispatcher, check out the full show notes at HaulinAssetsLLC.com.

In this episode we talk about the different types of lenders and some of the things they look for. We also give you some tips to help give you the greatest chance of success. It all really boils down to finding the right lender who best matches up with your particular situation. You may be a square peg, and some lenders might be a round hole. You won’t get anywhere trying to get your square peg into their round hole. Look for that lender that loves square pegs, and you will have found your match.

Once you have found your lender, be prepared for the following:

• You will have to fill out an application with each lender you get serious with.

Good luck!! If you have any questions about the process or if you have found a trick we didn’t talk about, let us know in the comments under the full show notes, at http://haulinassetsllc.com/.

This is a fun episode. Who doesn’t get excited about buying the truck that they are going to use to make them money. Heck, you are probably going to live in this thing 24/7 for days, if not weeks at a time. If there is a decision you want to get right, this is it. Here are some of the things we are going to talk about:

• Buying new vs used

Head to http://haulinassetsllc.com/ for the full show notes.