Can routes be run absentee?

One thing you have probably noticed while looking for a route is how many ads claiming the business can be absentee ran. But can it? The parent company hates hearing that you aren’t going to be around. In fact, they have turned away would be buyers who said they were planning on running the business absentee! Put yourself in their shoes, how thrilled would you be if someone was going to come in and not be around? This has caused a few new Buyers to fail! Our rule of thumb is to ask our sellers how they run their business and how many hours they put in each week. If our sellers are running their business absentee, then we say it’s an absentee opportunity. Our personal experience is you end up working about 15-20 hours per week once you are settled in. This figure includes going into the terminal for a few hours each morning during dispatch. A few hours communicating with managers, and staff, and several hours doing the “back office” work.

What to ask the Seller:

How often do you go into the terminal?

How many hours do you spend in the office each week?

If you could improve anything about your operation, what would it be?

It all comes down to personal preference at the end of the day. We highly recommend that you are very active with your new business the first several months. As you set your company up you will spend a little less time each week than the week before on it. It’s all about keeping the drivers happy, and the trucks up to date on maintenance.