Is it possible?

[PugVan]

A little about me and my situation....

-I am a COMPLETE newb to the trucking/expediter/delivery/transportation industry. I have only had jobs where I stay in one place like in a cubicle and have little to no mechanic skills
-I currently live in Western Iowa, but am willing to move anywhere to get a delivery job
-I have no family or other commitments
-I don't currently own a van/truck, but may be willing to buy/lease one (less than 500 in monthly payments), but have no savings so can't spend a lot (do currently have low paying full time job I can leave quickly)
-I don't currently have a CDL, but in talking to a few people some delivery vehicles don't require them
-I do not want to drive a semi 18 wheeler or other large vehicle...thinking more along the lines of a sprinter van
-I also don't want to to do a bunch of small stops in one city...thinking more long haul over the road or at least a few hundred miles a day or less than 10 stops a day
-I am willing to drive long hours and want to work as much as possible to make as much as possible

My goal is to have 3K or more in my pocket after all expenses (including taxes) every month. My question is this....is this possible in a two month timeframe? if so, tell me what I need to do....get my cdl, get a vehicle, apply for company xyz, work as owner/operator, move here/there, etc.?

Rather than me start out by asking a bunch of questions about the industry, I figure it is better for you to tell me to do to achieve this so just ask if you need more information of what I want

 

[FlyingVan]

In this day and age, 3k after expenses is pretty hard to do even for a seasoned expediter in a van/sprinter.

My advice: forget about the sprinter. There are too many of them out there. Get your cdl and drive a straight for an owner for a while.

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[Moot]

-I don't currently own a van/truck, but may be willing to buy/lease one (less than 500 in monthly payments), but have no savings so can't spend a lot (do currently have low paying full time job I can leave quickly)

No savings is a killer. How do you expect to start up a business without any seed money and reserve money? You will be leaving a low paying full time job for another low paying more than full time job. If you want to drive you really should start out as an employee in a company vehicle doing courier work for a year. Save some money and do some research on expediting.

Where in western Iowa do you live. I think Speedy Delivery, St. Cloud, Minnesota operates out of Sioux City.

My question is this....is this possible in a two month timeframe?

Why the two month time frame? What's your hurry? Two months will put you on the road in late November or early December. Just in time for the Christmas/New Year holidays slowdown, shutdowns.

 

[ATeam]

My goal is to have 3K or more in my pocket after all expenses (including taxes) every month. My question is this....is this possible in a two month timeframe? if so, tell me what I need to do....get my cdl, get a vehicle, apply for company xyz, work as owner/operator, move here/there, etc.?

You might want to refine the question you are asking. What van drivers now earn $3,000 per month after all expenses and what exactly are they doing to achieve that? Once you know those answers, you can ask yourself if you have what it takes and if you are willing to pay the price.

You might also want to be very, very careful as you listen to any van driver who claims to make $3,000 per month after all expenses. How do you know they are telling the truth? How do THEY know they are telling the truth? I've seen it happen many times that an expediter proudly states his or her earnings prowess but after certain questions are answered, it becomes evident that the person is either lying to impress others or is unintentionally deluding his/her self.

 

[davekc]

Undercapitalization is one of the primary reasons people fail at any business. The odds are not in your favor based on your information. As mentioned, take your time and save your money. Even running for a fleet owner will require a reserve of money for the slow times or a bad week or two.

 

[xiggi]

I see the van market alot like the landscape business now days. What a few once did and made decent money at now many do and make less money. To come right out of the box or cubicle in your case and clear 3 grand after expenses is gonna be tough plain and simple. Most of us have been with two or more companies until we found one that fits. The companies that Driver x does well at Driver y might struggle, it's just the way it works out here.

If you have a low paying job now why the sudden need to have something that pays better if everything works right or odds are could pay worse? If you really want to drive and live out of a walk in closet for weeks or months on end go test the waters with a fleet owner for 6 months and see if it's even remotely what you thought it was. You could probably make 4 or 5 a week without investment other than your time. After that if your still as crazy as the rest of us and for some reason actually like it you'll actually have some idea of what your getting yourself into.

Ps. Bring plenty of stuff to keep yourself occupied while you sit waiting for a load.

 

[PugVan]

is 3K net/month really that much....that is only like 45k gross per year for the average 9-5. And remember i am willing to work 60-80hrs/week to achieve this. I want job with independence

 

[jjoerger]

Being willing to work and having the work available are two different things. There is not always a load available to you. Sometimes you have to wait several days for one.

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[xiggi]

is 3K net/month really that much....that is only like 45k gross per year for the average 9-5. And remember i am willing to work 60-80hrs/week to achieve this. I want job with independence

For a newbie with 0 experience after expenses, yes it is a lot. Odds are your going to sit more hours than you run.

 

[PugVan]

when you say 4-5 a week...u talking about 4-5 hundred for net pay of 2k a month and this is after I spend the time/money to get cdl? doesn't seem worth it.

 

[xiggi]

I'm talking in a van you may or may not need a CDL. 4 or 5 per week gross before you buy one thing.

 

[Mailer]

is 3K net/month really that much....that is only like 45k gross per year for the average 9-5. And remember i am willing to work 60-80hrs/week to achieve this. I want job with independence

In general, cargo van owner operators used the rule of thirds formula to break down the projected annual gross into the income and expenses.

One third is for the income and the other two thirds are for all business related expenses.

So for an example, to net 3K a month, the owner operators would have to bring in the annual gross of approx 108K.

Something like that.

 

[brokcanadian]

it becomes evident that the person is either lying to impress others or is unintentionally deluding his/her self.

Deluding oneself is a necessary skill in expediting

 

[Turtle]

Being willing to work and having the work available are two different things. There is not always a load available to you. Sometimes you have to wait several days for one.

http://expeditenow.com/truckingblogs/391-where-is-your-money-going.html

Everybody out here is willing to work 60-80 a week. It would be great if we all got a 500-600 mile run every day, 7 days a week. The reality is you are doing good if you can average 1500 miles a week. You will do some 3000 mile weeks, but you're doing good if you can so that 8 or 10 times a year. A lot of weeks will be less than 1000 miles. At 1500 miles a week, and assuming a dollar per mile (it'll be less than that, tho), you're looking at $1500 a week, and the Rule of Thirds say that roughly $500 of that will go operating expenses, $500 will go to the truck, and $500 will go to the driver. If you work 50 weeks a year, you're looking at $25,000 a year takehome. After 6 months or a year experience will teach you how to bump that up to $575 or even $600 a week, for a takehome of $30,000.

Expediting in a cargo van, especially in a Sprinter, is not the quick and easy gobs of money that people think it is. It never has been. The lower the barrier to entry, the lower the risk involved, the lower the opportunities and the lower the financial reward. There are simply more vans out here than there are loads to support them.

Expediting is mostly emergency freight. You sit and wait for an emergency to occur near where you are sitting. It doesn't matter if you're ready, willing and able to drive today, if no emergency happens you're gonna sit. And even if one does happen, there are 24 other vans (a made up number) sitting within 25 miles of you that all want that same load. So you might or might not get it. If you don't get it, you sit.

 

[Ragman]

http://expeditenow.com/truckingblogs/391-where-is-your-money-going.html

To the OP.....
Read what this Ken Slaughter dude wrote. He has a unique way of explaining things like nobody else....

We could use a guy like that here on EO.....

 

[Mailer]

it becomes evident that the person is either lying to impress others or is unintentionally deluding his/her self.

Deluding oneself is a necessary skill in expediting

Lol....Deluding, in the cargo van sector of expediting, it's more like a symptom of insanity.

Good news, it's temporary and curable. All one has to do is step out from the cargo van and permanently park it.

 

[ATeam]

At a 40 hour week and an eight hour work day, $30,000 per year is about $14.50 per hour. If it takes you 80 hours a week to net the same amount out of an expediting business, it is $7.25 an hour, which happens to be the federal minimum wage rate now (higher in some states).

You will get the independence you desire if you become a van expediter but note that the seasoned van drivers responding in this thread are saying experience must be gained before $30.000 net is a realistic expectation. And if you enter the business with no capital (financial reserves), you could easily get wiped out by the first dry streak, traffic accident or breakdown.

The way to work your way out of the cubicle you mention is to improve your education and skills and apply your willingness to work 60-80 hours a week.

The way to work your way into an expediting business is also to improve your education and skills (business skills) and apply your willingness to work 60-80 hours a week. The difference with expediting (and any other business where you are the self-employed entrepreneur) is capital is needed too.

I like how you are fishing around, looking for new and better opportunities. People who improve their lots in life do exactly that. The ones who cross the line from wishful thinking to actual results are perpetual students who strive every day to improve themselves or their businesses in some fashion. To get out of that cubical and gain the independence you seek, you will need to become a different person than the person you were when you got into it.