Caroline: [00:00:00] Welcome to this week in trucking, the podcast that tells you what you need to know about the trucking market for the week.

Caroline: My name is Caroline. If you own a trucking business and you’re looking for ways to improve your outcomes as a business owner, make sure you like this video and subscribe to our channel so you never miss out on one of these conversations. Now, the most common question I get from new trucking business owners is how can I get access to good paying loads?

Caroline: Where should I be looking? How should I be sourcing customers? So today we have Royce Arnold from Arnold dispatch to give us the lowdown on how to get loads for your trucking business, what you can learn from them and what to look out for if you are looking to get a dispatcher in today’s market. Thanks for being here, Royce.

Royce: Thank you, Caroline, for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Caroline: So tell me, how did you get into the trucking business?

Royce: Absolutely. I was a licensed manicurist for about 10 years. My cousin and I heard about freight [00:01:00] dispatching. We took the training together and just looking for a new opportunity. So we started as freight dispatchers and then I later took a training on compliance. I was able to grow from there to provide more value to the carriers that we were working with.

Caroline: So it’s a family business.

Royce: Yes.

Royce: Yes,

Caroline: That’s awesome. What kinds of challenges or differences are there from working with family versus? I don’t know, a friend or another business partner.

Royce: Definitely. I would say we work together pretty well, overall. So just having that management structure Chris is pretty much over everything, so he’s my go to person. But other than that, we work together pretty well.

Caroline: Yeah. I know that trucking is actually very over represented with family run businesses. Not just dispatching operations, but trucking operations themselves are often family run businesses, and I think it has to do with the stakes. What’s at risk, right? With [00:02:00] trucking businesses there’s a lot of assets, valuable assets in trucking.

Caroline: You want to make sure that you always have people that you can trust and recognize. Think that’s why people often default to hiring their cousins or building their businesses with their sons or daughters or moms, dads. It seems to be a pretty common occurrence in the industry.

Royce: I would agree with that, and just everybody having a vested interest in seeing the business succeed,

Royce: so having that motivation and also that accountability with it being your family has definitely helped.

Caroline: Yeah, definitely. So if I were to start a trucking business in 2025, what advice would you have for me?

Royce: Absolutely that’s a great question. Most of our clientele or carriers were box trucks owner operators. Their first time in the business they had left various industries. Could have been food service or working in a warehouse. Or [00:03:00] even we had a teacher one time who left teaching to start a business. What I would say is definitely controlling your expenses. Understanding how the market ebbs and flows, so the different seasons profitability, knowing that cost per mile as well as just learning how to control your expenses such as our self dispatch training, that’s something that we help.

Royce: When they come in, they can learn more about the negotiations building relationships with brokers, knowing the different markets and lanes. And just getting their feet wet, so if they do decide to hire a dispatcher, they have a better understanding of how the market operates, what to look for, and to make a better informed decision.

Caroline: always tell people when they’re starting a business. That we recommend you learn how to dispatch yourself, not necessarily because you’re always going to dispatch yourself, but because if you don’t know how to [00:04:00] do something, it’s going to be very difficult for you to know how to hire. Someone to do that thing.

Caroline: If I think about people getting taken advantage of at at a mechanic, for example, because they know absolutely nothing about their vehicle. It’s the same thing can happen with dispatching. Because if you don’t know how the job should be done, how can you evaluate someone to do that job?

Royce: That makes perfect sense. I agree with that. And just like you mentioned, learning the nuts and bolts of negotiations, because sometimes, I know from personal experience, it was managing the carrier’s expectations. We came in 2021 when it was like, the 2

Royce: dollar a mile was going everywhere and everyone, the carriers are hard pressed for that. And we were just trying to explain that not every lane is going to pay the 2 dollars a mile. But if we can. Understand your cost per mile. Maybe we can get 2. 50 going in and then maybe a 1. [00:05:00] 85 coming out just because of the way that markets work. So helping them understand that, as you mentioned, managing their expectations and then they’ll say, Oh, I know what this dispatcher my dispatcher is going through because I used to dispatch myself.

Royce: So they have a more realistic expectation. Yes,

Caroline: protect them from getting swindled. Because there’s all kinds of dispatchers out there that will promise you, I’ll never book you a lane under 2 a mile, or I’ll get you 3 a mile. And if you don’t know what’s realistic. In the market, then you might fall for that.

Royce: we have seen that where it’s like, Oh I had a dispatcher call me and they told me they could guarantee me 2. I’m like if you’re coming out of Louisiana and a box truck or Florida and a box truck, that’s not possible. So we built our business on being upfront and helping the owner operator understand their [00:06:00] business as well as the marketplace.

Royce: So that was what set us apart. Way back in 2021 when we started, so it was just a different approach and our carriers came to trust us because they knew I may not agree with you, but at least I understand what you told me, because if we said, hey, we can’t find anything for a good rate coming out of here.

Royce: Here’s the best that this. Lane will offer to get you out of this area. So they might call or get on the load board themselves out of frustration and say, okay, Royce I understand. So I can trust you now because the broker told me the same thing, or they might have offered them 200 less for that same load.

Royce: So

Royce: just building that trust and helping them understand the nuts and bolts of

Royce: Dispatching.

Caroline: When you are working with box truck businesses, how do you identify what lanes are going to be the best? What markets are going to be the best? Is that something that a carrier comes to you with to say, Hey, I want to run these particular lanes, or I want to go in these different zones. [00:07:00] Or do you have the, all the information then you tell them here are the lanes that I suggest you’ve run.

Royce: Yeah, that’s a great question. So a part of our onboarding process is really getting an understanding of where they want to run and then comparing that to what the market will offer. If they say, I only want to run be out on the road 2 weeks. Okay. Where would you like to run? Intercity New York is a pain point because of the narrow streets. A lot of trucks have gotten damaged there, so they’ll say I’ll only do upstate New York.

Royce: If you get me in Florida, make sure you can get me out. I don’t want to go past Colorado because of like the mountains and then in California, there can be, different tolls, the cost of fuel and things like that. With our onboarding process, we get an idea of where they want to run and we try to basically build like a triangle. So if they say, Hey, I’ll go as far as Orlando, I’ll go far West is Dallas up to Colorado and then maybe. New York and then [00:08:00] we built their lanes within that. So we know that the Midwest from experience has better pricing.

Royce: We know that Dallas, Fort Worth is pretty good, but when you get down to the border, we’ve realized on Laredo or Brownsville that they usually want teams running out of there. So if you’re one man or one woman in a box truck, we typically won’t send you down that far. But if you do have a TWIC card, we may. Open up the opportunity to go to Miami because that’s a port and there’s freight coming in where you can put yourself in a good position to get out of there and possibly find a dedicated opportunity coming out of a port city.

Caroline: Tell me about a TWIC card. What is that for people who aren’t familiar and what kind of opportunities can it open?

Royce: Sure. So a TWIC card is a Transportation Worker Identification Card. It’s issued by the government, and it’s basically a special clearance that requires a background check that helps the box truck owner operator put themselves in a better position to get loads, because if it’s just, 25, 26 foot box trucks with a [00:09:00] lift gate in an area, but they have a package that’s going to the airport, and it requires TWIC, then that TWIC card credential can put that Box truck owner operator in a better position to get that load, be awarded that load because of that credential.

Caroline: I see. And how do you get that? What’s the process to get signed up with a TWIC card?

Royce: Yeah, so it’s a website that the by the government that the carrier would apply and then they would go in, I think take a fingerprinting and then once they passed all of that, they’ll come back and take their picture and get their TWIC card. So it’s just a simple application process.

Caroline: Nice. Do you help your customers get things like that for compliance issues?

Royce: Yes, we do help with compliance so the TWIC cards, driver qualification files, pretty much anything that the Department of Transportation or the DOT requires, we have added that to our portfolio to help our customers so they don’t, our carriers, so they don’t have to go to two or three different places.

Royce: They can get most of what they need from us, [00:10:00] and if not, we’ll find another resource for them.

Caroline: That’s awesome. Do you have a service for overweight or oversized loads and the compliance involved with that?

Royce: Yeah, that’s another good question. We have worked with power only units. I haven’t seen the overweight for the box trucks because

Royce: box trucks are either CDL or non CDL. If they’re 26, 000 pounds or less, And they’re non CDL, but once they go over that, even by one pound, then they would be considered a CDL box truck.

Royce: So we have dispatched CDL box trucks, but that’s for that overweight, but they still have to stay within the limit. Otherwise, they’re not operating safe. It could be too heavy. But for the power only, they can get an oversize as far as the dimensions so not the rate. So if there was a flatbed and it was wider, then they would have to have an escort and also a permit, and we could help them get that.

Royce: The proper permits to carry that freight.[00:11:00]

Caroline: In your experience with compliance, because this is an area, not, we don’t get a lot of questions about this, but I think we should get more questions about it than what we do. Most people are asking about how can I get better rates? How can I get more loads, better rates, more loads. But in my experience, a lot of the people that go out of business, it’s because.

Caroline: of compliance. They have dings on their record for their MC. Their insurance shoots up. All of a sudden they can’t pay for insurance and they have to either be on somebody else’s under somebody else’s authority, lease on, or become a company driver again and shut down their business because they can’t afford the insurance.

Caroline: So tell me about compliance specifically for box trucks. What are the top areas of compliance that you think box truck owners should be. Concerned about.

Royce: I definitely love that question. So for DOT compliance, a lot of times, in our experience, the carrier is so excited that they have [00:12:00] their authority and the truck, they got their markings on the truck and they’re ready, they got their straps and they’re ready to roll. Unfortunately, they may not have their compliance binder which is basically a portfolio of Different documents that a DOT officer, if they get pulled into a way station or pulled over on the side of the road for an inspection, they may ask for all of these documents and the carrier hasn’t even given it a second thought. So definitely having that DOT compliance binder with the insurance the rental agreement. And it’s just a bunch of different things that you need to have in there and we actually offer that on our Instagram page. It’s just a checklist of what they would need.

Royce: And then second would be the supplies. A lot of them didn’t know they needed, for example, the fire extinguisher or the hazard triangles to put down in case the truck breaks down or flares or even having a first aid kit. So just, Basic supplies other than the straps and things like that. PPE equipment. So [00:13:00] we try to offer those resources in our onboarding just to make sure they’re actually road ready.

Royce: And as you mentioned, Caroline getting a DOT violation can affect their safety. The carrier safety score, which is reported to the FMCSA. And when the brokers check their MC and they see that they’ve had those violations, for example, not running their ELD properly. So not taking their 30 minute break,

Royce: not doing their 10 hour reset, not doing their 34 hour reset, all of that gets reported back.

Royce: So when the broker sees that the carrier’s prone to violations, they’re thinking if I load you with my freight. You might be running out of compliance and get shut down, and my shipment will be late, so I can’t use you. So actually being aware of compliance and following those DOT regulations can help them get better rates, get loaded more often, and get those, and build those relationships as a trustworthy carrier. And also having DOT inspections, so either passing them when they get pulled into the weigh station, or actually going and submitting themselves. to a DOT [00:14:00] inspection, especially the new authority, to be able to get that positive inspection on their CSA record, on their FMCSA record.

Caroline: That is a great

Royce: is very important.

Caroline: Yeah, that is a great point, especially for new business owners, right? That don’t have a lot of time on their authority. Let’s talk a little bit about that. When you have a brand new authority that comes in, do you work with brand new authorities? And if so, or even if not, how can people with brand new authorities running box trucks get loads?

Royce: That’s a good question. So yes, we do work with new authorities, and the biggest challenge is being new. So we all know that Total Quality Logistics, TQL, hate them or love them, they will load a new authority.

Royce: So we do have. A handful of brokers that we know will work with them, and we typically vouch for them because our onboarding process asks the question, looks over their insurance, and will say, hey we’ll be a reference for you, but

Royce: we need you to run this load, do it properly, be in compliance take the [00:15:00] pictures of the load, take the pictures of the BOL properly, get all the signatures.

Royce: So they’re building that relationship, and really in trucking, that is what everything is based on. We do work with the new authorities. We help them get in and get those two inspections. Help them be compliant, help them run the loads, and actually get the references they’ll need. And sometimes they can get an override if they say, I’m new, I’ve got two inspections, and I’ve worked with Broker A, Broker B, Broker C.

Royce: Here’s my list of references. This is my dispatcher. And typically we’ve worked with the broker before. We know somebody at the brokerage. We can say, hey, we can vouch for these guys. They’re new, but we can assure you that they’re responsible and they run a respectable business. Please give them a chance.

Royce: And that has worked out for us.

Caroline: And that’s where the carrier packet comes in, right? You have to have everything ready. You have to know everything about your equipment, make sure you’re presenting yourself as professionally as possible, and having those references in your carrier packet that you can send to a new broker that might want to work with you or who has [00:16:00] questions about working with you.

Caroline: Putting together and having everything really well prepared can set you apart.

Royce: Absolutely, because sometimes just what’s on paper is not an accurate description. The carrier may have worked at a trucking company for 10 years

Royce: and decided to strike out on their own. So we try to add that in that. Hey, they have experience. With trucking, their authority is new, but they are trustworthy, they are reliable, and they are a good carrier to work with.

Caroline: What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see carriers making when they’re trying to source loads?

Royce: Okay. Where do I begin? I would say one is calling back to renegotiate the rate. Brokers typically do not like that. The verbal agreement really is the precursor to the rate con, which is the actual Contract booking the load. So I’d say calling back to renegotiate the rate.

Caroline: So you say one thing on the phone, you get the ratecon, [00:17:00] and then you go actually I might need another 200, please.

Royce: Now, if there hasn’t

Royce: been any change in weight, there hasn’t been any change in the distance. Then it’s just bad business to go back and do that just because you thought about it or you watch the video and Decided that this lane paid someone else, your friend text you I got whatever extra money on it So calling back to renegotiate the rate Number two trying to cancel a load in that interim between where your dispatcher has booked the load You’ve agreed to it and now you’re waiting.

Royce: We’ve had them say oh, I didn’t sign the rate con I’m like, but you gave your word and that’s pretty much, the same. So

Royce: you don’t want them to take the broker to take time setting your company up in their system and getting the load ready, taking it off the load board so that someone else is enabled to book the load.

Royce: And then you say, Oh, I found something else and I haven’t signed the recon yet. So how do you think they’re going to feel the next time you call in to try to get a [00:18:00] load? Number three, I’d say not. Paying attention to their ELD misusing personal conveyance to try to get extra time, or not taking their 34 hour reset each week. I would say, misuse of the LD is probably the top three. So

Royce: burning those bridges with brokers. You and then number four using multiple dispatchers. Too many chefs spoiled a pot. If you want a dispatcher to be dedicated to you, or you want them to stay a day ahead of your truck, that’s difficult to do.

Royce: If you have. If you have three or four different dispatchers trying to send you three or four different places, then it’s harder to find a strategy and to find lanes for you to run. And I know sometimes it’s I need to make the most money that I can. But we just take the approach that you have to build the relationships, you have to know your costs, and then you need to try to reach your weekly goal so that you can build your strategy.

Royce: And if you have a team in place to help [00:19:00] you do that makes sense. But it can’t just, everything can’t be seen as like a one off. It’s hard to build a business with that type of mentality.

Caroline: And that’s, you don’t want to be tied to the load boards forever. You want to build a business where you don’t actually have to book every single load individually from a load board. That’s going to be really exhausting, and it might have worked in the height of the pandemic or post pandemic freight market, but these days, and most of the time, your goal should be getting off of those load boards.

Royce: I agree. That’s the end goal. It really should be for every carrier. It’s definitely a starting point as a new authority, getting out there, pardon me, and getting your name known, getting that safety score up, getting some inspections under your belt getting some references. Definitely the load board is excellent for that because it actually streamlines the process.

Royce: Instead of having to go to the shipping area in your city, [00:20:00] you can go to the load board and start there to source. Brokers, but as you mentioned, Caroline, the goal is to get off of the load board. And another thing I wanted to say was Not securing freight. I want to circle back to not securing freight properly And

Royce: not taking pictures of the loads when they get loaded and also when they get empty because sometimes a claim can come back three or six months, and if you don’t have that documentation, that low documentation, that may result in a claim. I know I had a carrier who the box was dented and there were a bunch of little units inside. And I said if they’re going to try to hit you with a claim, because I just wrote scribbled damaged on the BOL when he sent it to me, I said let’s open up the box, slow down. And let’s go through and count each one.

Royce: I think it was like lipstick or lotion and only one unit was actually damaged. So she was like, I’m not the shippers, like other receivers, like I’m not even going to worry about that. But they actually could have had a claim for the whole shipment if we hadn’t took the time to go through. [00:21:00] So securing the freight properly. And having that low documentation can definitely pay off.

Caroline: That’s great advice. Tell me about another time when someone either made the mistake of not getting that documentation and they had to pay for it or another of what you just said of when they came across an issue, because we know that in this industry, Shit happens. Every single day,

Royce: a better word.

Caroline: This is what happens in logistics, right?

Caroline: There, there’s a reason that there’s really smart people doing this work because there are problems that come up. They have to be solved quickly. They can be complex. So tell me about another time when you had, when you helped somebody get through a problem like that.

Royce: I can think of two examples right off. So one. Unfortunately, it was a multiple stop. It was a new carrier. It was a multiple stop load and I think, I’m not sure if he was in a hurry to get home or the weather had turned and he just didn’t [00:22:00] feel like being on the road anymore. So he had got to, I think it was the second stop and he decided to just. Leave the freight outside and take a picture. There’s no signature for that.

Royce: So he finished the other two or three stops, but they’re saying, but then the broker is saying where’s the signature for my other stop? And he didn’t have it. And then he’s clear across to the, wherever it was, the next side of the state or the next state. And it’s you don’t have the signature, so you’re not going to get paid. So it’s just, it’s a hard lesson

Royce: learned. But. It’s a lesson learned that the signature is very necessary, and that’s another thing that we say in our onboarding is that, we have a step, a five step process that you take the picture, you get the signature, you get the printed name, the signature, and the date, because if the signature isn’t legible,

Royce: you are not going to get paid, and I’m sure you don’t want to drive 200 miles or try to follow up with a person that you don’t even know who to ask for in the shipping and receiving dock, so [00:23:00] just taking that time to slow down is very important. Dot your I’s, cross your T’s, or as we say, CYA, so you can get paid for the load. The other example I can think of is, A detention pay situation

Royce: where the broker, for whatever reason, didn’t have the information that the receiver would be closed. So our carrier had to lay over for two days

Royce: until they reopened on Monday. So we did have to follow up for, I would say, probably two or three days to get the detention pay. But we were committed to making sure, because it was a broker mistake that our carrier was able to be compensated for that because their time is valuable.

Caroline: How does that work? When you have something that’s, clearly the brokers issue that they didn’t communicate that something would be closed, or they didn’t know that a place would be closed. How do you get compensated for that? If I come through that as a new carrier, I might not really know who to go to.

Caroline: Do I go to the shipper? Do I go back to the broker? How do I [00:24:00] make that case? Thanks.

Royce: Yeah, that’s another great question. So I would say there’s probably a couple. Definitely the email thread.

Royce: I try not to do things verbally. Of course, initially when calling about the load, that’s usually a verbal agreement, but then those details are contained in the RACON, which requires a signature. But everything after that is pretty much an email. So when my carrier is scanning in their BOL and they’re having to wait, putting their time in. Putting their time out. So the email thread says, Hey, you told me this was the shipper was open from let’s just say eight to four. But because it was a holiday that, we didn’t pay attention to. I don’t know, someday that we didn’t pay attention to and they closed early. So now they’re closing at noon. My shipper, my carrier is there at three, he had till four, so now he has to stay over the weekend. I know it’s unfortunate and you only had a budget for this amount, but he’s going to have to be [00:25:00] compensated.

Royce: So we really push hard to make sure that our carriers get what they deserve, but the email thread first, and then there’s always management. And then from there, it may have to escalate to, the FMCSA if it comes to that.

Caroline: And how,

Royce: their bond.

Caroline: yeah. So is that would be the next step then if you can’t get a broker to agree to something, then you go ahead and file on their bond. How much should a box truck owner operator be asking for if they are held over overnight, let’s say, or over a weekend, how much in detention compensation do you think is reasonable?

Royce: Yeah, so that’s a great question. Each case really varies and it comes down to the fine print and the rate con, but let’s

Royce: just say that it’s not printed for the detention pay. We typically ask for about a hundred to a hundred and fifty per night for their lodging and also for their meal for each night that they had to [00:26:00] wait.

Caroline: And that’s. Even that, it doesn’t really account for what opportunities they might be losing out on. Let’s say on Monday, they’re far from home, they had another load scheduled for Monday, now they can’t do it because they’re stuck. With your load over the weekend somewhere else, that’s only covering the cost, let’s say, of staying somewhere.

Caroline: It’s not even covering they might have lost in terms of opportunities. So

Royce: The opportunity cost.

Caroline: It seems like a pretty raw deal.

Royce: Yeah, it is. And that’s why we try to get the best information that we can, from the broker at the time of booking and the brokers are doing the best they can,

Royce: I don’t want to feel like I’m coming down on them.

Royce: They have a lot of

Caroline: Should be rare.

Royce: and a lot of communication, but just making sure that, the email and the chain of communication is easy for everyone to access.

Royce: So they were all on the same page, but if a mistake is made, the person who has been shorted or short [00:27:00] sighted needs to be compensated. So that’s our goal.

Caroline: absolutely. So you talked about trying to identify good lanes for your customers. How do you identify those hot markets for box trucks specifically? Because I see a lot of tools out there for dry van, reefer, flatbed, but I don’t see a lot of information about box truck markets specifically. So how do you find that information?

Royce: So for the box truck on the spot market, I would say now it’s basically from experience. I know that Dallas, Fort Worth that surrounding area has been good for us. Chicago within 100 miles of there has been pretty good. Indiana, Ohio, different places there. They’re okay. New York actually has a lot of freight moving out of there as well as I would say. Probably Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has been pretty good. And then on the east coast, [00:28:00] I’m trying to think. Sometimes Charlotte. Charlotte, North Carolina. And then, but that freight may be going into Florida. Between New

Royce: York and Florida, so that’s the trade off, but we have had carriers in New York that are taking freight down to Florida and carriers in Florida that are taking freight up to New York for trade shows and things like that.

Royce: We have noticed there’s a lot of freight moving between New York and Florida, but definitely Dallas up to the Midwest and then back down to the South. So that could be Georgia. Florida, those areas like that, staying in that triangle,

Caroline: And talk to me about the seasonality of trucking. I know just generally in the freight market, Q1, usually pretty low. So that’s January, February, March. Then you start getting into produce season. Although that may or may not really be super valuable information for someone running a box truck because box trucks don’t do a lot of produce.

Caroline: Then you have Q3 is. Supposedly peak season [00:29:00] and then Q4 you’ve got holidays and then December is usually pretty low. Is that similar seasonality in trucking for box trucks specifically? Or are there more maybe micro seasons or differences in the seasons for box trucks?

Royce: know, the box truck market post pandemic has just been unpredictable. I would say definitely from March to, I would say November, because what we were seeing is that a lot of the stores already have freight that’s been in storage and didn’t move as the retailers thought it would be. So that uptick in freight just. What isn’t there every year because sometimes they’re trying to get out what’s already in the back stock. But definitely March through November. So if the carrier can plan for that, instead of thinking they’re going to be out 52 weeks in the year because of course the truck will need to be serviced. There’s births and other family events that they may have to take [00:30:00] off, or even for their own health. When we’re putting together their cost analysis for the year, we’re looking at about maybe 40 to 45 weeks. Of actual trucking

Royce: because there can be inclement weather and you know the other situations I mentioned so just looking at that and then planning accordingly to know that freight is going to slow down family events, inclement weather, as well as you wanting to take time off for yourself as an independent owner operator.

Caroline: Sure. Walk me through the process of how you put together somebody’s annual plan. That’s interesting and not something that I’ve heard of a lot of people doing in this

Royce: Yeah, so we just asked them about family events, so if they know that somebody’s going to have a baby or a family member may be graduating from high school or college, and then just looking at when they would like to take vacation with their family. So we just sit down and put that together, and then looking at their expenses, so we put together their cost per mile, too, [00:31:00] with the tool that we have, and then once we see how much they want to pay themselves to cover their expenses, leaving, The job that they had before or starting this business, what it would actually take and then also looking at how many miles they would need to be traveling and typically it’s between five and six hundred miles a day, five or six days a week, and then shutting down for that thirty four hour reset. So then understanding not to look at it. As an hourly wage, but more like a percentage of what they’re bringing in. So that’s how we basically put it together and then looking at that 40 to 45 weeks instead of 52.

Caroline: And so at the end of the year, how would you, how much would you expect if I’m starting a new, brand new box truck business in January, 2025, how much would you expect I would be able to make in revenue for my business in the first year?

Royce: That’s an excellent question. I would definitely look at about. 3, [00:32:00] 500 to 4, 500 a week, and that’s really putting in the work, and I know there’s outliers who, for whatever reason, they were able to make 10, 000, but typically speaking and also talking to our friends at different factoring companies, we partner with three of them, so the average for a box truck is really about 16, 000, between 10, 000 and 16, 000 a month, and that’s coming from the factoring companies, and they see all the invoices, they’re a trustworthy source.

Caroline: For sure. For sure. And then what percentage of that am I keeping on average? Let’s say,

Royce: I would say about 30 percent, so about a third of that. Because you have fuel, you have

Royce: insurance, you have factoring fees, you have repairs and maintenance and then incidental that happen. So just accounting for all that. And then there’s taxes and accounting, bookkeeping, and if you have insurance. So

Royce: I’d say about a third.

Caroline: About a third. And then once [00:33:00] I am through my first year, how then can I grow that business? Is it about getting higher rates because I have more experience? Is it about buying more trucks because now I can? Scale my business. What does that look like?

Royce: It’s another good question. I would definitely say it’s probably a mix. Because, If they’re coming off of the SPART market, then now the question is, what kinds of opportunities are they taking advantage of? So is that opportunity going to be maybe a contract, I think it’s last mile delivery where they’re contracting with the third party logistics to deliver, I don’t know, treadmills or go in and install Washers and dryers and dishwashers, what does that look like?

Royce: Are you going to be now hiring people to do that? And just staying within that 500 mile radius, or do you have a dedicated lane where you pick up in your hometown, but then you deliver a [00:34:00] thousand miles away? What are you doing to compensate to get to circle back if you only have one truck to circle back to be in position to pick up that next shipment, which may be just once a week because you’re one truck, one person. working with a shipper who doesn’t have that volume. So eventually I would think if they’re able to land those contracts and maybe stack those contracts then they can put one truck on contract A, second trunk on contract B, and then they bring on drivers as the opportunities become available. So it’s definitely opportunities to scale the business rather quickly within that second and third year as long as they have a handle on their expenses, a good safety score with the inspections and being in a position to take advantage. Of that freight opportunities.

Caroline: Seems like a lot of things have to line up well

Royce: the stars have to, align.

Caroline: Yeah, definitely. So tell us a little bit about Arnold dispatch. How can people get in touch with you if they want to work with you? And [00:35:00] what kinds of requirements do you have for working with carriers?

Royce: absolutely. Arnold dispatch, we really focus on teaching carriers how to dispatch their own trucks. We make self dispatching simple, teaching them how to use the low boards, how to calculate their cost per mile and position themselves to get dedicated lanes and also run a profitable and compliant trucking company.

Royce: So we do have an emphasis on. The D. O. T. Compliance because as you mentioned, not paying attention to that is the quickest way to get shut down. Number two, we work on self dispatch support. So some of the carriers really just want to book their own loads because. They don’t want to go back and forth with the dispatcher.

Royce: I don’t want this one. I don’t want that one. When they’re booking their own loads, it can be a little bit of a challenge to handle the paperwork and the follow up that’s required. That’s where we come in with our self dispatch support, and we offer that on a weekly subscription basis. If they’re hiring a new driver, we’ll handle the onboarding. If they need help with compliance, with their [00:36:00] ELD training, we’ll handle that. HR, payroll, back office, training, just pretty much whatever they need to be that support system for their business, help them scale and just take it to the next level.

Caroline: Sounds like you guys do a whole lot more than just dispatching.

Royce: Yes. Oh, and our website is ArnoldDispatch. com.

Caroline: All right. If you’re interested in working with Arnold Dispatch, or you want to learn more about them, definitely check out their website. We will link it in the description below. Thank you so much, Royce, for joining me today. I learned a lot, and I hope a lot of people watching this learned a lot because, Actually box trucks is the biggest, most popular topic that we have on on this show.

Caroline: So I bet a lot of people learned so much and thanks again. All

Royce: Thank you for having me, Caroline.