Is life better as a multi-truck operation or as a O/O?

[Giorgio]

They say the more money you make the more problems you have.

Is it true?

My life as an owner operator is pretty simple.

I work from about 10:30am til 4:30ish pm five or six days per week. Some nights.

I take a weeks vacation every year between Christmas and New Years day. I schedule time off anytime I please.

It's not a bad life. My worries are few.

How bout you multi-truck operators?

Is the grass greener in your yard?

Am I missing the boat by not putting more hussle into expanding my business?

 

[Bob Foster]

My opinion is this.

Do you like what you do?

Do you have enough money to have what you want?

Are you putting away enough money or investments for when you don't want to be in this business anymore?

Have you the reserves in money and manpower that if you personally could not physically work you would still do well?

If you answered yes to all the questions, you are ahead of most here and dialed in pretty good.

I figure Mike has just about the right sized company and structure of customers. Knowing what I know now, even if I was 20 years younger I would not go big. If I did go larger (and was younger) I would have to build restoration into my business.

There are lots of one and two truck outfits here with very happy and well off owners.

 

[Brian R]

To each his own.


Just be sure to safeguard yourself one way or the other.

Go big? Be insured.....Stay small? Be sure to have a backup plan.

 

[dgargan]

There are many benefits to being a O.O but just a few things to remember. If you were on a car accident tomorrow or God forbid get real sick and are unable to work for 6 to 12 months could you survive fiancially? I loved being an O.O. and swore I would never have employees. I used to own a restaurant and i was so sick of employees, 20 hour work days sometimes, only 2 days off a year. When I started cc and was making good money with no overhead,employees 5 day work days I was in Heaven. Then I hit 40. I had built up a great life but wondered what if I couldn't sling a wand for awhile. All I had would go away.

I choose to build my business with systems. It keeps the headaches away. My business runs without me except for some marketing and I don't miss the wand.

 

[Able 1]

There are many benefits to being a O.O but just a few things to remember. If you were on a car accident tomorrow or God forbid get real sick and are unable to work for 6 to 12 months could you survive fiancially? I loved being an O.O. and swore I would never have employees. I used to own a restaurant and i was so sick of employees, 20 hour work days sometimes, only 2 days off a year. When I started cc and was making good money with no overhead,employees 5 day work days I was in Heaven. Then I hit 40. I had built up a great life but wondered what if I couldn't sling a wand for awhile. All I had would go away.

I choose to build my business with systems. It keeps the headaches away. My business runs without me except for some marketing and I don't miss the wand.

Dan, how many vans do you have running?

AND what is your best advice on how to start running more vans?

Didn't your custy's miss you and only you doing the cleaning?

Did you ween them off or just say "Jon" will be there between 8:45-9:15?

Thanks...

 

[dealtimeman]

They are different lives altogether and it is a different strokes for different folks kind of thing. For a long time I made less money with multiple trucks and now it is starting to be more profitable with a little less headaches. Truth be told the most money I have ever made was as a o/o with an part time helper.

 

[Becker]

Wow you take the slowest week of a carpet cleaner off every year?

Yes, you have arrived!

 

[Ken Snow]

Hopefully life is great for everyone and unrelated to what you do for a living or how you do it. Interesting if you talk to many people in Europe or the middle east and ask them 'what they do" they will say things like I play the guitar, or I am interested in this or that. In America we tend to define ourselves by what we do for a living and although I do as well it saddens me when I think about it. I would much rather have my initial reaction to that be that I work with animals, love to read, play raquetball, sing, etc., instead of saying I own a Retail and Cleaning business. That is just what provides me the ability and resources to do those other things but does not define who I am.

Ken

 

[Brian R]

Hopefully life is great for everyone and unrelated to what you do for a living or how you do it. Interesting if you talk to many people in Europe or the middle east and ask them 'what they do" they will say things like I play the guitar, or I am interested in this or that. In America we tend to define ourselves by what we do for a living and although I do as well it saddens me when I think about it. I would much rather have my initial reaction to that be that I work with animals, love to read, play raquetball, sing, etc., instead of saying I own a Retail and Cleaning business. That is just what provides me the ability and resources to do those other things but does not define who I am.

Ken

Ken, I love ya man.....And you are an asset to his industry....But if it weren't for those people who worked their asses off day in and day out ......and proud of it..This country would be the crap hole that every other country in this pretty world is......I've only seen pictures. :mrgreen: But there is a reason we are fat tubolards....We work hard for that...We work hard for freedom.

Some things may be going down the crapper that's for sure....Still the greatest country on earth because of our work ethic and our pride of it.


Was this post a little too much?

 

[Chris A]

I was wondering the same thing everytime my tech fooks something up...

 

[Jtuseo]

This is how my operation works. I have two vans. One is set up for Carpet Cleaning and the other is set up for carpet cleaning and flood restoration. I have one full time employee on the carpet cleaning van and I am on the other. I wait for flood calls to come in or I do 1 Carpet Cleaning job a day, the rest of the day I use for marketing. My long term goal is to put one more van on the road, I would not go bigger that that.

 

[Loren Egland]

We just had a little discussion on this board about 3 weeks ago. Check out this page for some info: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51957&p=583989&hilit=Loren+Egland#p583989