Pjjj,
When you imply wages, it is a fix costs which is alright to think that way but unrealistic in the long run because of the flexibility needed in this business. The employee factor seems to come in as a carry over from working for someone else and that gets people into trouble, it is better to strive for a profit and make it a living profit.
I concern myself with the pre-tax net, then I can play even more with the numbers once I reach that goal. Top OTR rates plus 20% for my pre-tax net floor coupled with the limitation of DH at 27% for the month seems to work for me.
By no means does this mean I am not making more than $1.55 a mile or what ever. It seems from the info I got from FedEx drivers and actual offers, I am grossing 33 to 40% more overall and have more flexibility to deal with individual runs without the FedEx fear factor being involved.
About the incorporation thing, it does not protect the owner from a liability when they are also operators. See the thing is if you are being neglectful (not strapping that load down on the flat bed) or running illegal (dual log books or out of hours), you are fully liable. When you get sued, you don't get sued as just the corporation but as the member of the corporation (president, treasurer, whatever) and your assets are on the line. The only thing they can't touch is retirement, 401ks and so on.