Despite the lackluster freight markets of the last few years, motivated owner-operators new to small business trucking are finding ways not just to survive, but to thrive.
In the video excerpt above from the 2025 Mid-America Trucking Show, Red Eye Radio host Eric Harley led a discussion with ATBS Vice President Mike Hosted, Overdrive Editor Todd Dills and business coach Gary Buchs. The video delves directly into the characteristics of small-business truckers who have what it takes to start strong as an independent owner-operator no matter the business environment.
From practical planning and financial tools to building the right support system and using available technology, the conversation explores why a down market, counterintuitively, might actually be a good time for some to make the jump in business, especially those who’ve done their homework.
The right time to start an owner-operator business? Dills asked. Truthfully, "the right time is when you're ready for it."
And if you're ready and the economy and general business is in the lull of a down cycle, and you're prepared and you can do well, it's really going to pay off when the economy's high cycles come.
[Related: How to not just survive, but thrive, through the bottom of the freight markets]
"We are starting see a lot of younger people come into the marketplace," said ATBS's Hosted at the time. "That younger demographic ... the ones that are motivated, that do the right things, that surround themselves with the right people and do the research, there is success to be had. Even in a prolonged three-year down market, our independents are actually raising their net income right now."
