Partners in Business

The leading business training program for owner-operators.

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Welcome
You won’t find a more in-depth source of information for running an owner-operator business than our annually updated manual. It’s produced by Overdrive and owner-operator business services provider ATBS.
The Business Manual for Owner-Operators
Overdrive editors and ATBS present the industry’s best manual for prospective and committed owner-operators. You’ll find exceptional depth on many issues in the Partners in Business book, updated annually.
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Partners in Business Issue Cover
Featured
Trucker of the Year finalists, 2024
Meet the finalists for Overdrive's 2024 Trucker of the Year honor
Nearing the conclusion of Overdrive's 2024 Trucker of the Year award program, judges laud 10 Truckers of the Month and name three finalists for the ultimate win, to be announced in the new year.
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How Trucker of the Year contenders beat 2024's sluggish conditions
This second installment wrapping up 2024's competitive TOTY field shows owners poised for growth in the new year, in plenty more ways than one. Check in with Alec Costerus, Greg Labosky, Mike Nichols and the brothers of Zimmerman Ag.
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Success through self-help, lane change: 2024 TOTY 'exit interviews'
Overdrive's 2024 Trucker of the Year contenders have battled soft freight and sluggish rates with moves large and small. Here, four contenders map out their experience through the year, delivering insight on business decision-making.
Latest Stories
Regulations
Late-for-work waitress slams into trucker's fuel tank -- preventable?
Trucker John Doe's backing maneuvers toward a dock are violently interrupted when a late-for-work waitress speeds into the dock area. Doe appealed his company's "preventable" determination. Where did the accident review committee come down? Find out here.
December 6, 2024
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Overdrive Extra
Post-election optimism yields opportunity: A new start for your trucking business
A big shift in mood post-election -- with so many owners having hung on for months, even years for the chance to move forward with optimism -- delivers opportunity for a reset. Yet don't let knee-jerk reaction overtake the necessity of careful planning.
December 3, 2024
Truck On Mountain Highway Making Turn Ahead
Overdrive Extra
We're thankful! And: Kick the tires of Overdrive's new 'Load Profit Analyzer'
A message of thanks to all the owner-operators in the audience. And: First look at a load profit comparison calculator we'd love for you to kick the tires on. Take a run through Overdrive's Load Profit Analyzer.
November 28, 2024
Bruce Roche's LTL 9000 with thanksgiving message from Overdrive
Regulations
Trucker rips off a loading bay door -- preventable?
Trucker John Doe was backing into a loading bay when, suddenly, the motorized bay door closed on his trailer. Could the accident, ultimately damaging the door extensively, be anything other than nonpreventable?
November 22, 2024
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Small Fleet Champ
Small Fleet Champs pay it forward: Hard-earned trucking knowledge
Today on Overdrive Radio, the annual roundtable with Overdrive's Small Fleet Champ finalists, featuring mistakes made and overcome, trucking business lessons learned, and a strong pay-it-forward focus for the next generation of ownership.
November 18, 2024
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Overdrive Extra
You don’t get any do-overs: A word of caution about expanding by leasing on owner-operators
"Once it goes wrong, just like it did for me, it’s too late." The words of W. Joel Baker here offer a warning for one-truck owners against too-quick expansion without careful preparation and due diligence around operators you're contracting with.
November 13, 2024
Large Cars And Guitars 2024 Stage, Surrounded By Trucks
Independence and Growth
What are your rights, recourse options when a broker doesn’t pay?
Clearly, nonpayment has been an issue for plenty owner-operators in Overdrive‘s audience over the years. In response to polling, three in four reported taking some recourse in the event of nonpayment. Here, details on bond claims, finer points, and more.
November 7, 2024
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Business
How to fight a FreightGuard or other negative review of your trucking company
An experienced lawyer and a carrier reputation management expert dish "Dos and Don'ts" of responding to bad reviews, also detailing horror stories of carrier blackmail and extortion via brokers' threats of FreightGuards.
October 31, 2024
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Business
How to beat brokers at their own game and win direct freight
Brokers land big dedicated freight contracts all the time without knowing the ins and outs of hauling, so why can't you? Here's how to beat the brokers at their own game: Sales.
October 28, 2024
adam wingfield dedicated freight broker carrier summit
Regulations
Roll-back wrecker, tractor-trailer tangle on exit ramp: Preventable?
The roll-back wrecker's operator had other things in mind than the trucker's smooth passage down the ramp. Could the crash have been anything other than "non-preventable?" Find out here.
October 25, 2024
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Overdrive Extra
After the accident: Understanding downtime claims for owner-operators and small fleets
Attorney Kelsea Eckert notes truck owners have a right to downtime compensation from at-fault parties in most states. Those parties' insurers, however, may not volunteer the information. It’s important to prove the loss, push for rightful compensation.
October 22, 2024
Loaded Flatbed Stuck In Crash Traffic
Partners in Business
IRS tax relief for businesses in hurricane-impacted disaster areas
Owner-operators and other 2023 tax filers who've been granted extensions for this year's filing by the Internal Revenue Service could be eligible for further relief in the wake of devastating hurricanes in the Southeast.
October 18, 2024
Income tax Chapter 8 in Partners in Business
Independence and Growth
Getting your own authority: Basics of filing, insurance and avoiding common mistakes
For an owner-operator intending to secure freight from brokers or direct customers independent of another trucking company, motor carrier authority is a must. Follow these steps to obtain authority and avoid common application errors.
October 17, 2024
Dot Number
Partners in Business
ATBS' owner-operator performance update: Inside the numbers, full presentation
A measure of cost/income stability showed in ATBS' update, but what about rates? ATBS VP Mike Hosted's full presentation offers plenty insights, likewise on maintenance spend, fuel costs and efficiency, and much more. Track through it all here.
October 7, 2024
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Overdrive Extra
When customer facilities get too risky for business
You are the "'captain of that 18-wheeled ship,' and it's your responsibility, ultimately, to make decisions that keep you and others safe." --Gary Buchs on risk-management lessons learned in collaboration with shipper/receiver customers to improve.
October 2, 2024
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Overdrive Radio
When will freight markets turn to the positive for truckers?
Among questions flagged for panelists by attendees of Overdrive's recent online roundtable was just whether, and when, the long freight-rates slide of the last two years might turn the corner. Part 2 of that roundtable offers some guesses here.
September 30, 2024
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Overdrive Radio
Trucking in the freight trough: The 'sweetness of low price' v. the 'sour of bad service'
For shipper/broker customers, the sweet is quite tempting to take but the sour lasts a whole lot longer. In this Overdrive Radio edition, find several ideas for building defenses against both for the bottom of the freight-rates trough.
September 23, 2024
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Partners in Business
Owner-ops see mixed income gains with costs down, but wait for 'kickstart' on rates
Taking its midyear look at the last 12-month period, ATBS showed owner-operator income on average has been flat, though independents and leased flatbeds/reefers all posted modest gains.
September 20, 2024
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