When you decide to start a fleet business, you may be overwhelmed by all of the choices that you have to make. However, one of the biggest is who should you hire. You have a couple of choices, depending on your wants, needs, and business goals.
Independent owner-operators. Many fleet owners, especially when they are first starting out, decide to hire independent owner-operators. These drivers have their own trucks (and possibly trailers) which can lead to less capital required to get started. They will also be in charge of their own expenses. They will be the ones who have to maintain their truck and trailer, make any necessary repairs, and pay for their own insurance.
One of the downsides of hiring owner-operators is that you are going to have to pay them more, because of all of their costs. You also will have less control over these independent contractors. Though you may have plenty of work for them, they may pick and choose what they want to do. You can’t just tell them what needs to be done, like you would if you hired an employee.
Employees. You could also decide to buy a few trucks and trailers to get your fleet started. At that point, you would be hiring employees instead of independent contractors. You are going to be the one who decides when they are working and where they go.
You are also in control of the vehicles in your fleet. You can make sure that they are getting the maintenance needed so that they can continue to work as hard as they possibly can. You are going to be the one who has to pay for any repairs, fuel, insurance, and other expenses that may occur. That being said, many fleet owners believe that you have a better chance of having bigger profit margins when you own and control your own fleet.
As a fleet owner, you may be struggling with all of the choices that you have to make. Are you going to hire independent owner-operators so you don’t have to worry about leasing or buying trucks and trailers? Or would you rather have more control and hire employees? You could even do both. You may want to buy one or two trucks and hire one or two owner-operators until you are able to buy more commercial vehicles.
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