Start your Hotshot business right way.
If you are starting a Hotshot business, I hope this information will help you to reduce your learning curve. We want to share with you information, ideas and recommendations that will help you start your trucking business the right way.
Company documents
IRS
State filing
Bank account
MC / USDOT NUMBERS:
Letter of authorization
You will have to decide if you are going to run your trucks intrastate or interstate
IRP Account ( taxes ) / IFTA Account ( decals for your truck ) In order to avoid both IFTA and IRP one would have to make sure they scale (truck and hotshot trailer ) under 26001 combined, and make sure the register the tractor or truck at a max of 26000.
DMV ( registration and plates )
Insurance policy for commercial vehicles
Auto liability or general liability for at least 1 million usd
Cargo for at least $100,000.00 usd (always check with your insurance agent what exclusions of commodities you have and share it with your dispatch service so you can be sure that you can haul all everything that is common to move with your hotshot )
Damage coverage for your truck and trailer
States permits KYU, NY HUT, NM and OR weight if you are going to be running with:
Your vehicle has 3 or more axles
Your vehicle has a gross vehicle or registered weight over 26,000 lbs
Factoring company ( it will help you with your business cash flow and they fully responsible for your receivables ) you will need to check different options but our recommendation is not only the fee per load they charge to you also check if you are going to be forced to sign a term agreement, account management, collection teams, communication, but the most important thing is that are big factoring companies that have a bigger list of approved brokers for hotshots loads.
Selecting your pickup truck, hotshot trailer and secure equipment for your business is a game changer for your revenue and profit .
Pickup truck decide what is the best option you can get in : power engine, warranty and maintenance cost, fuel efficiency and what is the GROSS WGT OF THE TRUCK ( We recommend that you look to have a 48000 pounds of GWGT pickup truck ) Hotshot or Gooseneck Trailer you have to look for a trailer that gives your business
Hotshot or Gooseneck Trailer you have to look for a trailer that gives your business more capacity . More capacity means more load options and more revenue for your business. With our experience what type of trailer is giving our carriers more options and revenue. The best specifications that we can recommend 102" x 40' Tandem Dual Wheel Gooseneck (Straight) with mega ramps and GVWR of 24000 pounds.
Secure equipment for the loads is very important because you never know what is going to be the next load requirements so be sure you have a complete inventory of straps, chains, binders, drop tarps ( 4,6 and 8 ft ), edge protectors , dunnage ( 4X4), etc.
If you are an owner operator or you are going to hire a company driver try to get your CDL class A license or hire a CDL driver. This will allow you to use the max weight capacity of your truck and trailer, and it will help us as a dispatch service to have more load options available for your truck and better rates or revenue for your business. Also consider for your truck that team drivers are a good option because they can drive per week over 5000 miles and hotshots loads normally are more flexible for shipping and delivery hours. Important if you are going to hire or plan how you are going to run, consider being out home at least for 2 weeks to maximize your revenue.
Selecting a Dispatch service is not only the dispatch fee.
You will need to know that the company has experience dispatching hotshots, understanding market conditions and so they can help you to make the easy and difficult decisions. Also consider the customer service to you, your driver and your brokers. Look for a dispatch service that provides all in one service helping you in all your requirements with a complete operations team and systems operations support ( TMS, CRM, Market Intelligence, etc ) so you can grow the business in control.
