DRIVING ISN'T WHAT KILLS HOTSHOT OPERATORS. THE BUSINESS IS.
Most don’t make it past year one. They run out of cash at day 90, lose loads at day 45, or get crushed by the dot audit at day 120. This book is the 18-month plan that gets you past all three.
The Reality
WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU
Hot shot is a business that happens to involve driving — not the other way around.
The guys who fail aren’t bad drivers. Most of them can back a 40-foot gooseneck blindfolded. What kills them is everything that happens off the truck: the broker who promises the world and disappears. The insurance bill that lands at twice what they budgeted. The cash flow gap when invoices take 60 days to clear. The decision to file for their own authority before they’ve earned a single broker relationship.
The survivors didn’t outdrive anyone. They built a war chest before they launched. They had ten brokers who already knew their name. They knew their cost-per-mile down to the penny. The driving was always the easy part.
Launch Your Hotshot
Business the Right Way...
Haul DAy One
The lease-on-first strategy that lets you haul real freight from day one — while solo operators sit through the 90-day broker freeze-out.
HEAVY-HAUL RATES
Why your CDL is non-negotiable, when in the 18 months to get it, and how it opens up the freight that actually pays.
10 BROKERS WAITING
How to legally build a list of ten brokers who already know your name and trust your work — before you ever file for your own authority.
Master the Money Game
& Dodge Rookie Traps
INSURANCE WITHOUT THE SHOCK
How to handle the new-authority insurance bill without writing a check that puts you out of business in month one.
DO THE MATH FIRST
Why "big weekly settlements" often hide losing loads — and the simple cost-per-mile math that tells you whether a load is worth running before you accept it.
PROFIT PER MILE, NOT PER WEEK
How to combine partial loads to lift your profit on the same miles — plus how to land direct shippers who pay better than brokers and stick with you for years.
BONUS RESOURCES INCLUDED
These bonuses exist to save you time, money, and mistakes—so you can focus on driving, not figuring things out the hard way.
1
Free AUDIOBOOK
Get the full guide in audio so you can learn while driving, working, or handling daily life. Same content, no fluff—just press play and move forward.
2
Business Planning Worksheet
Fill-in-the-blanks roadmap from equipment to your 18-month independence timeline.
3
CONTRACTS & TEMPLATES
Professional DVIR, BOL, invoice forms ready for your logo. Look established from Day 1.
Author of "Hot shot trucking Business"
(Owner Operator @ Steelman Transport LLC)
Hank Steelman
Hank Steelman is a hot shot operator, fleet owner, and 25-year veteran of the trucking and oilfield industries. He runs Steelman Transport out of east Texas, hauling oilfield equipment, steel, and heavy-haul freight for direct shippers across Texas and Oklahoma.
His first run at hot shot ended exactly the way he tells you not to do it in this book — broke, embarrassed, and back under a carrier within ninety days. The second attempt stuck. He calls his operation “boringly reliable,” which in hot shot is the highest compliment anyone’s going to pay you.
These days his wife runs the books, his oldest son drives for the company, and the plan is for the kid to buy in eventually. That’s the kind of business Hank wanted to build — one you can hand to your family instead of selling off to pay your bills.
Outside of work, Hank now spends time helping new operators avoid the mistakes that almost cost him his, mostly through this book and the resources he keeps adding to support it.
In his spare time, you’ll find him wrenching on equipment, watching college football, and arguing with his wife about which dog gets to ride in the truck.
NOW LIVE
EXPLORE MORE GUIDES
Ready to add another revenue stream or expand your industry knowledge? Our guides cover multiple paths to ownership — find the one that fits your goals.
Box Truck Business Guide
Office
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United States