If you are thinking of starting up a transportation business of any kind, you might find yourself surprised at just how many little things there are to deal with. While there are also some more difficult types of business to run, it is still true that running a transportation company requires a variety of different skills, abilities and focuses on different areas.
In fact, there are a number of aspects which the owners of this kind of business routinely overlook, and it is worth knowing what those are if you are about to start such an organization yourself. With that in mind, let’s look to the most commonly overlooked aspects to running a transportation business.
Costs
Although it is obviously clear that there are always costs to running a business of any kind, many entrepreneurs run into the problem of forgetting about one or two vital costs. Even forgetting about a couple of these costs can be enough to put your business in a bad situation for the future, so it is a good idea to acquaint yourself as best as you can with the many costs you might need to face now or later on.
A huge one is fuel – usually, diesel will be the best option here, but even so it might cost you a lot. Similarly, you’ll need to consider the occasional maintenance of your vehicles, as this can rack up pretty quick. And let’s not forget the cost of labor too – you need to pay your people well, otherwise they will work elsewhere.
Regulations
There are a surprising number of regulations which you will need to consider if you want to stay legal and keep in business, and many of them often catch business owners out early on. An example of a regulation which you will need to remember is the ELD mandate – this states that every truck you own will have to have a specific electronic logging device installed in order to fit with the compliance.
You might be surprised at how hard it can be to ensure that you have done it right, but fortunately Fleet Trax makes ELD mandate compliance easy. There is always help to be had, so whenever you are curious about regulations, be sure to seek out the help you need.
Administration
It’s not just about the drivers themselves – you also need to think about the office side of the business. Without a proper administrative side to things, your business is much less likely to succeed in the long run. It is worth spending as much time finding this kind of staff as the drivers, as without them your business won’t get very far at all. The more organization you have going on on a daily basis, the more likely it is that you will be able to take your business far into the future – which is exactly what you should be aiming for.
Take these aspects into consideration, and you will be off to a very strong start indeed. Then it is just a matter of keeping it up as long as you can.
Hi Ben, Thanks for this post. I work with a variety of start-up companies including some in the shipping/transportation business. This is great advice that I will be happy to pass on to my clients!