Starting a Haulage company??

[barneydher]

Me and the old man are thinkin about starting a haulage company, does anyone have any advice, good pointers etc, wer workin on it but thot maybe u guys mite no a few heads, cheers

 

[Boydie]

pm andy_ollie off here or jon44

his dad owns oliver transport and he is up the ranks sumwhere

mite be able to help

 

[barneydher]

cheers, maybe these guys will be reluctant to help me out, more competition for them in the long run, lol

 

[Gobsheene]

get a few big trucks and plenty of advertisments!

Fleet insurance too Landed!

 

[Cormac]

Dont think you just start a company, more buy one truck and start from there, theres alot of competition out there and i know a few big companys in Derry struggling in a price war with other companys..

Do sum market research first before you go for it..

Good Luck

 

[Terry]

I'd do a bit of research on the Web too. Not the easiest thing to start if it's just going to be yourself and your dad, as C-S_Cormac says, your best to start small and keep overheads low etc

Good luck to yourself - and don't forget the likes of Invest NI for help with funding.

 

[casper-ac]

draw upa good business plan and invest NI etc will help you out a bit but starting small is always advisable that way if things go wrong ur stuck with one lorry and not a fleet of 10.
low low prices and good service to friends etc will help spread ur business buy word of mouth!
eg people here are always looking things brought back and forth to england.
if you could provide a good service and for good price it would help for future.
just make a tiny bit on ur costs...but as long as you cover ur expenses it would be ok.

 

[Terry]

Yep - and pay yourself a set wage - not taking more if you have a good week etc, keep it constant and then it's easier to do the likes of cash flow forecasts for accounts.

 

[barneydher]

yeh cheers for the advice, if we go for it its gona be a gradual thing, like start with one lorry, see how it goes from there. Cheers for the advice

 

[loud n low]

Haulage is VERY cut-throat.My dad exports live shell fish,bait for fishing boats etc.. all over the uk and europe.We always have had our own lorries,but to tell you the truth we have started to sub contract the haulage out because it was cheaper than drivein it ourselves.

The only way to make cash driveing is to do long haul europe,and believe me your social/quaility of life is gone,simple as that,plus in our case theres always the risk of stuff dyeing on ya.

Dont mean to piss on your parade,but its better for ya to know the facts from someone whos in the buisness.We have a very sturdy renault ridged for sale,shes refrigerated and in very good order for sale if you ARE lookin to start of with a cheap lorry to test the water.Pm me if you want a price.

 

[RickyB]

My advice is dont!!! Know to many local small time guys who have went bust because they were priced out. The big boys have the market cornered.

 

[djlee_dj]

get decent lorries - scania, R seris

we'l sort you out in road trucks

 

[Lexx]

All the boys I know that currently work in the haulage game are looking out, as scooby says the big boys have it covered you'd have to operate at a loss for quite a while to make a dent in their customer base.

You could look at specialised delivery, target a specific area, but I suppose if you want my 2p's worth id say give it a miss, too much outlay to take the risk with.

 

[paddymcc]

There's defnitely an opening for transporting cars between the mainland and here, because im ******* sick having to travel over and drive back. If you had a little cash behind you too you could always gobble up some cheap diesel cars while over there and sell them here at a profit.

 

[Rocko]

barney i will give you 5 english pounds to transport the focus to and from dublin next weekend