Well, you might first ask yourself, “Should I hire more drivers?” Not every trucking business is ready for expansion. Having additional drivers means more management responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders. Not only will you have to deal with keeping your customer happy, but keeping drivers happy. Keeping drivers happy can be a full time job sometimes. And if they aren’t happy, chances are they will not treat your customers very well. You will also have the added liability of these drivers doing something wrong on your company’s behalf so you want to make sure that you don’t just hire any warm body to fill the seat.
Once you’ve decided to move forward and expand, you have a couple options. You can either lease on other owner/operators under a contract that are paid with a 1099, or you can hire company employees that are paid with a W-2. Depending on the size of your business, and administrative resources, either option has its advantages. With 1099 contractors, you only have to pay them when they work, and you don’t have to worry about employee benefits such as health insurance and paid vacations. Contractors also tend to be more reliable since their pay is dependent upon their reliability. On the other hand, W-2 employees are more readily available, and are generally easier to keep happy as long as the benefits are present, but require more support with payroll. My rule of thumb has always been this: if you have enough business to afford new trucks and have office staff, then buy trucks and hire employees. If you are smaller and would need to purchase used equipment to expand and have limited or no office staff, then use owner operators. The fewer headaches you have, the better.
This is a common question among small business owners. From the independent owner operator to the 50 truck fleet, industry specific software helps you maintain a healthier business and increases the chances your overall success.