The Beginners Guide to Becoming a Haulier Driver

For many people who are passionate about driving, becoming a truck driver just makes a lot of sense as it is a solid step forward for their career. It allows them to be their own boss and to allow them to pick their work and be totally in charge of where they go and what they deliver. Deciding to go it alone is a big one and can be filled with a lot of challenges, which we will discuss in greater detail below.

You’re No Longer Just a Truck Driver

You need to understand that when you take steps to become your own boss, you’re no longer a truck driver but the face of your business. As such, there are a number of additional jobs that you are going to need to do to ensure you are ready to take to the road. These include:

  • Expenses – keeping a good record of your expenses and your receipts is going to be necessary
  • Accounts – your accounts are also going to need to be kept up to date
  • Invoices – in order to get paid for any of the work that you carry out, you are going to need to create invoices and ensure that they include both payment details and terms
  • Chase payments – keep an eye on what has and hasn’t been paid so that you can chase outstanding payments whenever they’re overdue
  • Customer service – you are going to deal with people and act as the face for your business, so it is important you have impeccable customer service.

You should consider whether or not you want to work as a sole trader or a limited company as well as this will change the way that you operate.

Choosing the Right Truck to Drive

You will need to choose the kind of truck you want to drive, which of course means that you will be spoilt for choice on today’s market. You will need to weigh up what you want and also work out a budget too. You may be able to afford more than you would expect by getting a vehicle on finance. If you head over to a site such as Crossways Garage, then there is a lot of Essex Car Finance.

Of course, if you decide you don’t want to buy a truck, you may rent one instead. Renting a truck can come with some problems depending on who the rental company are, but if you research and read customer reviews, you will be able to rent a truck and start your work as soon as possible.

Apply for an Operators Licence

Before you take to the road, you are also going to need to apply for an operator’s licence (otherwise known as an O licence). To get this, you will need £7000 in clear funds, which will be operational funds. You will need to decide on the operation base that you would like to operate in before you apply for this kind of licence.