Five steps to own a truck business in the USA: from moving to America to owning a company

If you work as a truck driver in the post-Soviet space, are tired of unfavorable conditions and want to try your hand at America, or simply dream of moving to the USA and eventually becoming the owner of a truck business, then know that everything is possible. I’m telling you this as an immigrant who has walked this path. I have been living in the USA since 2013 and currently own a group of truck companies Energy trucking and consulting company Truckstaff Solutions with a total turnover of more than $40 million per year.

Photo: IStock

In order to build a trucking business in the US, you need to go through a five-step process.

1. Move to the USA

The most important thing is to move to the USA. There are several options here.

First - this is obtaining a green card, a document that allows you to permanently reside and work in the United States. It’s not at all easy to get it and, unfortunately, not everyone is lucky. Co all types of green cards and the grounds for obtaining them can be found in ForumDaily.

Second — obtaining an L1 and E2 visa. L1 is a simple form of work visa, E2 - investor visa. But it is worth noting that not everyone can get an E2 visa. For example, citizens of Russia, Belarus and Uzbekistan cannot apply for it. But Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine can.

Third Embodiment — receive an invitation from a logistics company in the USA. In practice, unfortunately, this is difficult to achieve. Why - see the video below ⇓

2.Company Driver

After moving, many people have a question: what to do next? And most often people immediately get behind the wheel of a truck, which I do not recommend.

In my opinion, a person first needs to live at least a year in the States and feel the real American life. So he will feel more confident and the situation will not seem unusual to him. At this time, you can unlearn and get a CDL (license to drive commercial vehicles).

When you have mastered and received a CDL, you can get a job as a truck driver. There are a lot of Russian-speaking Facebook groups where you can easily find a suitable company for yourself and get a job as a truck driver.

Initially, the company will hire you as a student, that is, they will first conduct training, check all your documents, and test you. And then, when you gain some experience, you will become a Company Driver - the company will give you a truck and you will drive it yourself.

As a general rule, drivers receive a fixed salary and a bonus based on the number of miles they have driven. As of today (second half of 2022), experienced Company Drivers earn 2-3 thousand dollars a week.

3. Lease Owner

After working as a Company Driver for some time, a person realizes that he has already gained enough experience and has the necessary skills to move on. Then he becomes Lease Owner. At this stage, the driver himself pays all the expenses of the truck: rent, insurance, fuel - that is, all direct costs related to the truck. And he also gives a 10-15% commission to the company for finding goods. In this situation, the driver earns almost twice as much as the Company Driver.

It is during the operation of Lease Owne that the driver feels responsible and understands how everything works from the inside. And after that, he already wants to grow, develop and move to a new stage of management.

4.Owner operator

After purchasing his own truck, the driver becomes an Owner Operator. The bottom line is that on your own track you choose the company you want to cooperate with. The company gives you the cargo, you pay it a percentage of the cost of the cargo and that’s it - you cover all other expenses yourself. On average, Owner Operator now earns 4-5 thousand dollars a week.

5.Company Owner

You buy another truck, put a driver in it, and start your business. Now there are a lot of outsourcing teams that, for 3-4% of the company's gross, take on the duties of various departments of the truck industry. These are dispatching, security, bookkeeping, update, ELD, marketing, fleet. You can learn more about each of the departments in the video below ⇓

With the selection of such outsourcing companies, my consulting team can help you Truckstaff Solutions.

Over time, a person realizes that it is less profitable and stable to work with outsourcing than to put together his own team and slowly recruit people to his staff. And thus gradually replaces people in outsourcing.

If you have already moved to the US and received a CDL, Energy Trucking company would be glad to have you on our team.

And if you are interested in buying your own truck, write to me on Instagram! I will be happy to advise you, tell you and share my experience.

Read also on ForumDaily:

A country of opportunities and fierce competition: how an immigrant can open a business in America and not go bust

Turnkey business in the USA: with what investments you can start your own business in America

How to open a business for an immigrant in the USA: all the nuances from A to Z

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