Truck to Success course includes details on business planning

Creating a business plan is one of the core topics covered in OOIDA’s Truck to Success course planned for Oct. 26-28.

The Truck to Success course is designed to inform professional drivers considering the jump to being owner-operators. The three-day course covers a variety of topics following a logical transition from a company driver to an independent contractor.

The No. 1 goal at OOIDA is to help drivers be more successful and more profitable in their business, and that is the driving force for this course, said OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh.

“There are many overwhelming statistics that show how many small businesses fail in the first three years,” Pugh said. “Don’t be a statistic! Truck to Success is a chance to arm yourself with the knowledge you will need to apply to your business to become successful and not be a statistic.”

Prioritize objectives

Statistics show that 60% of new businesses in the transportation and warehousing sector fail within five years, said Andrew King, research analyst for OOIDA. He is scheduled to lead instruction on creating a business plan.

The most common reasons that small business fail are:

• Lack of capital.
• Inadequate management.
• Poor business planning.

Business plans are important to allow a motor carrier to lay out its goals and keep themselves on track going forward. A business plan addresses marketing, financial and operational aspects of the business.

“The process of writing a business plan will help the owner-operator to develop and prioritize objectives which will assist them in forming a successful business,” King said.

It is important for drivers thinking about becoming owner-operators to know their costs and to continually search for ways to reduce or control those costs, King said.
Though business plans are important, they don’t have to be extensive and exhaustive. In fact, the best business plans are simple, understandable and realistic, he said.

The goal of the Truck to Success course is to give drivers the ideas and tools they need to succeed, and creating a business plan is an integral part of a trucking business. 

Other Truck to Success course topics:

• Buying a new or used truck.
• Equipment financing.
• Insurance.
• Running under your own authority or leasing on to a carrier.
• New entrant safety audits and compliance reviews.
• Drug and alcohol testing requirements.
• Permits and licensing.
• Taxes and business structures.
• Brokers and factoring.

Registering for Truck to Success

The 2020 Truck to Success course will be offered via Zoom web conferencing. It is scheduled for Oct. 26-28. Tuition will be $250, which is about half the in-person course cost last year, and there won’t be travel expenses.

There are a limited number of logins available for the course. If more than one person wants to view the course from one computer with one login, they are welcome to do so. If a guest needs their own login, there is an additional guest charge of $150.

Attendees will be asked to indicate whether they would like to receive a physical copy of the Truck to Success course materials or an electronic copy.

For more information, click here.

To go directly to the registration form, click here.

Here is a rundown of some of the topics covered during the first day of the 2019 Truck to Success course.