Trucking: Owning your own dump truck, luck jim, classic chicken

Question
I am thinking about buying a dump truck or two and I read the two posts about owning a dump truck. I have a question on that subject myself. In one of the answers it was asked what your going to haul? Also It said something about make sure you have work first.. SO then my question is, If I am considering buying a dump truck or two I should find work first then look for a truck?? And if so do I tell companies I am looking for work but I have no truck or just say I am looking for work and when they commit go buy a truck??

Answer
Lin, this is the classic Chicken and the Egg scenario; which comes first?  I tend to be conservative so I always advise to have the work lined up before you invest in the tools.  Having said that I also know it is likely that you will need to buy at least one truck to get started before you have enough business to keep it 100% utilized.  My best advise is to start talking to prospects and let them know you are considering starting this business.  What you want to find out is who is the competition, what the prevailing market rates rae in your area and if their are any unmet needs that you might fill.  You also want to find out how satisfied (or not)they are with their current provider and hyow likely they would be to try your service.  Then of course you need to figure out if you will have to cut the market price to get the business and if so how long you can survive and cover costs.  You sound fairly confident that you can get the work so I assume you already have the contacts to get started.  Just be careful not to take on long term debt commitments without some assurance taht the work will be there.  You can always rent short tern, lease mid term or buy when you are sure.  Hope this helps a little.  Best of luck.  Jim