Trucking: Becoming a owner/operator, good businessman, haul grain

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have thought about leaving my 9 to 5 job for quite sometime now and becoming a owner/operator because I don't like the direction my career is going.  I have a lot of non-CDL truck driving experience mostly grain trucks in the fall and winter.  Do you think it is possible to make it as a owner/operator just starting out or would the price of insurance eat me up?  I'm fairly sure I can keep the truck busy around here with all the grain in the area.  But I would like to buy a flatbed trailer to haul OTR while I'm still young, and haul grain when I can't find other work.  Am I out of my mind or could I make it in today's market?  Thank you for your time, any advice you can offer is greatly appreciated.
Answer -
You can definitely make it as an owner operator if you are hard working and flexible.  I am curious why you would choose a flatbed.  What type of equipment would you use for grain?  Whatever equipment you invest in I would think you would want to keep it moving and not park it for part of the year.  Here is a good general information site. http://www.ooida.com/
Another segment to consider is expediting if you have the flexibility to act on short notice and accept loads to anywhere.  There are lots of ads for owner operators on this site: http://www.expeditersonline.com/.
From your search engine type in "owner operators wanted" and you will find unlimited opportunities.  On Monster.com I typed in owner operator and got over 1000 current job ads.  You can narrow it down by your location.  There is a great shortage of professional drivers so whether you want to work as a company driver or owner/operator there is plenty of work available.  To be succesful as an owner operator you just need to be a good businessman, know your costs and plan for maintenance, tires, insurance, taxes, etc.  The ones that don't make it either can't manage their cash flow or can't get along with people.  Treat it like a business and you will do fine.

Do you think it would be better to work for a company like Schneider etc. where the Schedule the jobs for me, or work under my own authority and have to find all my own jobs out and back.  I see pro and cons of each but really can't see the better route to go.  Thanks again for all your time.  

Answer
I would suggest signing on with a company at first to see how it works out and how you like it.  Going solo under your own authority has higher risk/reward since you will need more insurance and the expense of finding loads.  You will probably have to subscribe to one of the load posting boards unless you can find a regular two way run directly from the shipper.  You can do it either way but there is probably less risk starting out with a large carrier.  Good luck.