Trucking: Part Time Owner Operator, sole operator, financial hole

Question
Hello T Lee,
            I currently have an office job working 3 12 hour days. I have Thursdays through Sunday's off. I would like to become an owner/operator on some of these days off. I am currently saving for the purchase of a truck and looking at schools. I am of course willing to partner with someone who would drive the truck most of the time and basically I would drive on his/her days off. Let me know your thoughts on this. Thanks for your time and guidance.
                                        Randy  

Answer
The old saying is “it is not what you know, but who you know”.  I would only add that it is, ‘or who you can get to know'.  This brings us back to ‘what you know'.  Is there a potential situation that will accommodate your schedule?  I am sure there is, but it will take work to find that good fit. To find that fit, it will require you to interview your next employer/partner.  Like any business owner, you are looking for the good fit.  Instead of a person, you are looking for a working environment that will fit your situation.  And, yes, the process will be that you are being interviewed (considered for the a position), but your must and can be selective, you already have a job.  Work at finding the right fit.

In today's world a lot of professions can accommodate a flexible schedule.  It appears that you benefit from a form of flexible scheduling in your current work environment (3 days at 12 hours).  Unfortunately, this is not true, for the most part, in the over-the-road profession.  Over-the-road sole owners often are not afforded this benefit.  To be profitable (over coming their fixed expenses like truck payments and insurance), a truck team must stay on the road 25-30 days a month.    

Truck Expense is so high, I would advise against purchasing a Truck.  The greatest operating expenses incurred by a sole operator are the direct expenses of owning the truck.  A part-time driver could quickly dig themselves into a financial hole by spending cash for a down payment then paying interest on their own truck.  A declining-value asset like a truck needs to be producing revenue, not just by the mile, but every possible ‘allowable' minute.

An additional obstacle that you must overcome for your situation is the round-trip requirement.  You situation is not all that uncommon. As I have worked with a few individuals that where looking for part-time work the round-trip requirement is one that prevents most part-time drivers from ‘getting on the road'.  The nature of the over-the-road industry is that a revenue producing, non-fixed route truck returns to a common (starting) destination every 45 days.  This is to say, that without a standard route (Boston to Orlando, then Orlando to Chicago, Chicago back to Boston) a driver will not return to a common location for 45 days.  Company drivers, of course, are not considered in this example.  For you, this would prevent you from being in the office on Monday.

I, for one, do not like to discourage anyone from accomplishing personal goals and obtaining an ideal working environment.  So, interview many employers/partners (you have that luxury) and find the right fit.  Best Wishes.