Western Express Lease Purchase - Advice for Lease

by The Tennessean
(Tennessee )

I wanted to write a blog about leasing trucks and the how to's of being an independent contractor. Today there are how to blogs about everything else and so what the hell.

The basics of owning or leasing a truck is the responsibility of the equipment and a well laid plan of attack. Too many people think it's just about driving more miles and the money just rolls in for driving. Actually just the opposite occurs, you want to focus more on the money management side and less on the miles so at the end of the week you actually make more than a company driver would.... Otherwise what's the point!

First, Western has a very simple method to ignore rates and miles and focus on revenue per day..... Or income per day. Simply it means if I make between $500 and $600 per day, does it matter how many miles it took to make it? NO! I would actually rather drive less miles, burn less fuel for a higher rate per mile which works out more often than not, and quit just focusing on miles per week.

Secondly is the fueling. The most important rule for any independent contractor is to run a low fuel reserve method...... Or as David at Western calls it "empty tanks = full wallets". Calculate the average mpg your truck is getting and buy your fuel accordingly. Do not over fuel, and don't hold fuel reserves when payroll is about to run. Buy only what you need for the load or loads.

Next, use the apps he give you on where to buy fuel. They are simple to use and helps save you a lot of money and hassle. Learn where the best fuel prices are the night before. Seriously it takes 10 minutes to double your income from not over spending at the pump. Too many guys are lazy when it comes to researching the best fuel stops because they already have the places they like and know...... Even when they are 10 - 30 cents more per gallon.

Learn and prepare that every week is not going to be perfect..... Most of them are not anywhere you go. A perfect week is the one that no accidents occurred, money was made and home is just around the corner. Something that is absolute as an independent contractor is the reality of unpredictable weeks and incomes. I might take home $89,000 to $94,000 this year, but I will probably have 8 to 10 weeks without a check or very small ones. That's just a matter of how the loads fall. I will also have 12 to 15 exceptionally large checks..... Again, that's just how it works sometimes. Prepare for the small checks by not spending every penny of the large ones.

Stop thinking like an employee with a part time job!!! If you want to own a business then actually OWN it. Too many people in this industry treat trucking like a part time job with very few people staying in one place for more than a few months. The ones that stay are the ones the receive all the benefits of being an owner.

Western's fleet has an exceptionally low turnover because of the ownership planning that's done on the front end, and the part time job mentality fades away once you realize that the truck and opportunity is yours to have or to give away.

They are watching the balance on their truck shrink each week and continue to watch their income roll in week after week instead of attending orientation after orientation. Think each time you attend orientation you lose nearly $2700 of your annual income, so make your next move count!

I will be adding to this blog weekly with tips and information about ownership and fuel management. If you have comments or questions please leave them! BUT remember, I didn't start this blog for people to complain about their company and how bad they were treated.....

Only YOU have the power to make your life better, complaining about the company is like saying I can't do it myself, so I want others to fail at it also.