im looking for  a company to lease on to.  i already have a truck and trailer ready to go to work.  to get in contact with me you can e-mail me Please note that Community members may not include personally identifiable information, such as phone numbers or email addresses, in posts. Please review our Community Best Practices (http://www.sba.gov/community) for more information about how best to participate in our online discussions. Thank you.

I'm looking for steps to take to compete against monopoly transportation companies in my area which are members of a group called 'The Alliance'.  The clients for the alliance are major oil and gas companies that signed a contract to use just the alliance trucks for delivery. The companies can do only business with the Alliance.  The small other hot shot companies are not able to compete with them.  A lot of small hot shot companies are gone because of the alliance.  I would love to able to grow but not with the power of the alliance in Texas.   So to answer your question, it is expensive to start a company and then keep a driver busy.  I am not hiring right now, I  signed with another transportation company as their call hot shot for our area but nothing has happened yet. thank you for asking. Linda     

Please give me any information on what you would need for me to have to assist you. What type of truck is best to hot shot (if I need to have one to work for you),Amount of Insurance needed by me. Any and all info would help! Thanks! Art 713 305 1885

This is really a sensitive issue. Monopoly is a shaky law and often hard to win in court. For example if their contact state that they would purchase 5 truck to be used exclusively for the company (customer) provided that the said company would used them exclusively for the duration of the contact. This wont be branded as monopoly since the customer agree to be bound in a contact since the said trucking would invest a huge amount and the duration of contract is a sort of guarantee that they can at least get there money back for this extra service that they offer. So the best thing you can do get a copy of a contract and talk to a lawyer, if taking on a legal action is worth the time and money. Also think of your chances of winning the case as I said its a shaky law.

Don't know a whole lot about this industry but it sounds like if you can a business contract with the one company you are already in the works for, you are off to a good start. My thoughts on the other 2 companies are that ALL 3 of you could get together and try to monopolize this industry or that you can try to beat them to the punch and snap up contracts with companies they haven't targeted yet. However, if your company and the other 2 companies could have a monopoly on this industry as kind of a 'team' you would be able to keep profits high because you wouldn't be trying to work cheaper than the other company. What you're doing sounds very interesting and pretty lucrative.

I am very interested in helping you with your business. I just recently decided that I would start my own hot shot business. I bought a Dodge one ton dually and I have three trailers, a 24 foot gooseneck flat bed with three axles, 20 foot livestock, and a 16 foot car hauler. I have been trying to get my business off the ground this past week. I still have to get my trailers and truck dot certified. I am getting my class a CDL. I am 46 years old and female as well. I have worked in construction etc all my life. Driving tractors, trucks and all other kind of equipment. I grew up pulling a 36 foot gooseneck cattle trailer for my grand dad as well as flat beds whilf hauling hay. I have an excellent driving record. I have been married to a long haul trucker for over seventeen years who has been in the trucking industry for 40 years. I do know my trucking. I belive that you and I can be a great benefit to one another. Thanmk you, Raye Chisholm

Wow. You have it all. Are you in the south Texas area? I must explain that it gets very expensive real fast. You must have all the insurance required by the state. Health card, TWIC card, along with other papers. Since your husband has been in the trucking business so long, I am sure he knows the game. My husband and I are the only people at the moment as very small company. We had one other truck and trailer but it got hard to keep him busy and the responsiblity to keep him busy. He tried to go out on his own but didn't have enough clients so he ended up going to work for one of the alliance companies. The companies around our area that use Hot Shot trucks are tied up with the alliance group of trucking companies. In other words, the alliance goes around and gets the big companies under contract for their business.Myhusband and I have worked for 5 years tocarve a small nitch of customers that call us first. We've lost a few over the years to the alliance. The companies I am talking about in the alliance, you and your husband would know. They are big and I can't compete with their costs. You have the knowledge and skills that are valuable. But your location is very important.Give me more info please.

Niche, Niche and become even more niche! I can almost guarantee you that these 2 companies have weaknesses. After all, they are human. Finding these weaknesses or services they don't provide as well as you can is the key to separating yourself from them. Large companies get very niche because they know the money in focusing on areas x, y and z and leaving a and b open. They will shy away from a and b (but still offer them) as a compliment to x, y and z. Find a and b and you're set. Finding a and b is doable as I've done it before, but be creative as nobody is going to hand it to you. Start with their website and see what is least marketed.

You have a number of options available to you. Instead of focusing upon the small niche oil and gas industry, look at other industries. There are other companies that service the oil and gas industry. Two companies I know personally serve the oil and gas industry, but aren't the big oil and gas companies. Sometimes they need equipment moved to locations quickly. Large construction companies need equipment moved quickly. Pipeline companies need equipment moved quickly. Expand your focus. Maybe even offer your services to the Alliance in an effort to spread co-opetition. They may have more orders than they have trucks and drivers. Sometimes the project managers consider other companies they haven't done business with because they like the 'face' of the service provider. If the Alliance contracted a set number of trucks, it doesn't mean that their client can't hire outside that when the need arises. If the contract has an exclusivity clause, then you're stuck until the contract renews. If you have any friends in the contract and procurement departments of your target clients, then use them. If not, find a way to make friends with them. Find out through networking who your friends and business associates might know at your target companies and ask for introductions. If they don't know anyone, ask if they know someone who might. Keep opening channels until you get to the person you want to reach. Businesses are made successful by reaching out and asking for help.