Everyone wants to be his or her boss; no one wants to work under anyone. But the questions are?? Can everyone be his or her boss? Do you have what it takes to be your boss? Are you ready to face the ups and downs attached to being a boss? Do you process the quality of a boss? If you can boldly say yes to the questions above, then why not.Owning a transport business comes with its challenges as well as its benefits. The transport business requires you to have substantial capital and conduct enough research. Before considering being a boss, you need to consider the benefits and challenges that will be faced in the course of this business, say, Four Mile transport.
If you still want to go into owning a transport business, before I go into the steps to take to start your transport business, let’s look into the advantages and challenges of being self-employed and also working under a boss.
Benefits of working under a boss
- A constant flow of income
- You get to go on leave annually and you get paid for the leave
- You can get paid for working overtime
- You get to pay for sick leave
- You don’t have to bother yourself with truck maintenance or repair
- You don’t have to be responsible for the daily expenses incurred for the transport business
Challenges of being employed
- Your salary might be meager
- You have no control over the business
- You can be sacked for any errors
- You can be retrenched or demoted if the business is not running well
- Working hours obligation for example 9 am-6 pm
- You may be obligated to maintain a good relationship with your co-workers even if it’s not convenient.
Advantages of being your boss
- You can oversee and control the flow of income in your business
- You make your own money by yourself
- You have the authority to do whatever you like; no one has the authority to control you
- Your working hours are flexible.
- You don’t need to stress yourself about increasing your brand; your employees will do the work
Challenges
- To will have to face the stress of running the business during the good times and bad times
- Having to pay your employees their entitlements.
- Maintenance and repair of trucks and equipment.
- From the above-mentioned, there is a need to look into the above to be sure if you can plunge into owning a transport business or maintaining being an employee. But if you feel you are able and you have all the resources to start your own transport business, below are the steps to starting your own business
- Steps to starting your own transport business
Establish a work contract
To ensure a successful business in the transport industry, this first step has to be implemented. You need to have a guaranteed work contract that will at least tell people you will work with that you are in for business. With a work contract, the salary earnings of a contractor will be spelt out and work conducts will also be included.
Know the type of trading entity
You need to know the type of business you want to go into, is it sole proprietorship (owing the business yourself) or partnership (be in business with one or more people) or company (be in business with one or more company owners) or trust (this includes those who will benefit in the trust and the traders). You need to conduct thorough research to know the type of trading entity you want to choose and be sure you seek the advice of an accountant.
Types of machines and equipment you need
Be sure to know the type of equipment you need for your transport business. Before choosing to go for the old ones, consider the cost of maintenance that will be incurred. As a new startup, it is advisable to go for the new ones.
Get a company that will finance your business
As a new start-up, getting finances for your business can be difficult, that is why most people are scared of starting a business of their own. You need to find a financial institution that is ready to finance your business. Example of financial institution that specializes in truck and heavy equipment are ANZ, NAB, Westpac, CBA, etc. these companies have strict policies for lending out money and some documents will be required from you. Documents like,
- Work contract
- The inflow and outflow of cash chart
- A 20% deposit
- Running cost fund evidence etc.
Get an insurance company
Find a company that can insure your truck. You need to get a solid truck insurance company. A truck insurance company is different from a car insurance company. An example of a truck insurance company is National Truck Insurance (NTI).
Maintain and manage your business
Once all the above is done, you need to start running your business and ensure you keep track of every activity, employ a good accountant and one who is good in bookkeeping. You can also make use of different software to monitor how your business is running.
Finally
Four Mile transport advises anyone who wants to go into the transport business to ensure all this is followed, once you follow this, you are sure to have a successful startup
