Trucking business consulting
Our founder, Michael Thomas, has spent more than 25 years in freight: brokering loads, building trucking companies and teaching the people who run them. Consulting puts that experience to work on your company's real problems, one decision at a time.
Who consulting is for
Most small trucking companies do not fail because the owner cannot drive or cannot find a load. They fail in the back office: cash runs short between delivery and payment, a filing lapses, a rate gets accepted below cost, or one broker fails to pay you.
Consulting is for owners who want to fix that before it costs them the company:
- People about to start a trucking company who want the plan checked before they spend money
- Owner-operators and fleets of one to ten trucks that are working hard and not keeping enough
- Carriers facing an audit, an insurance renewal or a cash problem
- People who want LFS to build them a freight brokerage, with its own authority, set up properly
We are a carrier-first company. If a recommendation does not help keep your trucking company solvent, compliant and earning, we do not make it.
You work with us directly, and the advice comes from the same work you do every day, not from a textbook.
What we work on
Startup planning
Freight research, equipment choice, the filing order and the cash you need before the first load.
Cash flow and getting paid
Billing, collections, factoring decisions and the gap between delivered and funded.
Cost per mile and rates
Know your real cost to run, and stop taking loads that lose money.
Broker relationships
Which brokers to work with, how to negotiate, and how to vet the ones you do not know.
Compliance
Audit readiness, driver files, drug and alcohol programs and your filing calendar.
Freight brokerage setup
LFS builds freight brokerages: your own authority, the $75,000 financial security, contracts, carrier vetting and a place in the LFS network.
Consulting backed by education
Our consulting comes from 25+ years in freight, with the education, research and academics of Freight University behind it.
How we look at your business
We put it plainly: "One truck is a straight line. A business built right turns in circles." Consulting looks at every station in the circle, because a problem at one shows up at the next.
- Freight researchKnowing which lanes and customers pay before the truck rolls.
- The right loadA rate above your cost per mile, from a broker you have checked.
- DispatchPlanned loads, not whatever is left on the board.
- Driver and operationsA qualified driver, legal hours and a truck kept in service.
- BillingPaperwork in and invoiced the day the load delivers.
- CollectionFollowing every invoice until it is paid.
- Cash in the bankMoney for fuel, insurance and repairs before they are due.
- Compliance kept currentFilings and files up to date, which keeps the authority and the insurance alive.
…and what we learn goes back into step one.
How consulting works
Send us your question
Use the form below. Tell us about your company and what is keeping you up at night.
First conversation
We talk with you about where the business stands and whether consulting is the right fit.
Look at the numbers and the paper
Settlements, invoices, insurance, authority and compliance files. The real picture, not the one we hope for.
A plan in plain words
What to fix first, why, and what it should change. You make the decisions; we explain the trade-offs.
Looking for training instead?
Consulting is about your business. If you want to learn freight brokering, become a freight agent or train as a dispatcher, that is the work of Freight University, our education arm. Our books are free in the Freight University Library. For ongoing support rather than a single project, see business coaching.
Questions and answers
How much does consulting cost?
It depends on the work. Tell us what you need on the form and we will explain the cost before anything begins.
Do I have to be an LFS customer?
No. Consulting stands on its own. You do not have to use our dispatch, back office or any other service, or join the LFS network.
Is consulting the same as legal or tax advice?
No. We advise on operations, compliance practice and business decisions. For legal or tax questions, we will tell you when to bring in an attorney or accountant.
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Talk with LFS about your business
Tell us about your company and the problem you want solved. We will reply to set up a first conversation.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.