So you’re thinking of becoming a freight broker. You have heard that they can make a pretty penny by connecting shippers to carriers and taking a percentage of the total deal. It doesn’t sound too difficult. However, you have worked in sales before, and you were not fond of the long hours and endless days to make sure you got paid. Is being a freight broker something that is going to require the same thing?Is it possible to work part-time as a freight broker? Yes, it technically is possible to work part-time as a freight broker. Some companies will bring on freight brokers to work with the option of being part-time at home or in their office.
If you have completed all of the steps necessary to become a freight broker and have obtained your USDOT number, MC number, and freight broker authority, stepping into a part-time position as a freight broker with a company to gain experience, knowledge, or even a part-time income may seem like a good option.
However, you could be limiting yourself. Within this guide, we are going to present to you the pros and cons of being a part-time freight broker. We will give you all the information you need to make a decision that best suits you and your needs. Keep reading and decide for yourself.
Life as a Part-Time Freight Broker
If you are looking to become a freight broker, you most likely come from one of three categories:
- You are a trucker, and you are tired of being on the road all the time and paying rent or a mortgage at a home that you barely see.
- You have worked in sales previously, and have learned that a good freight broker can make a generous income closing deals, and realized you could make more money doing that than selling vacations or cable TV packages.
- You have never sold anything in your life or worked in the logistics industry; however, you are looking to transition into a new career field and figured working as a freight broker part-time could be a good option to look into trying.
Whatever category you may fall into, becoming a freight broker part-time could be the job choice for you. With the promise of large commissions after closing a deal with a shipper and linking them to a carrier, it is not hard to see why people are looking to transition into this career field. Why don’t we take a deeper look into the life of a freight broker to give you a better idea of what goes on in their life?
Life of a Part-Time Freight Broker: The Day to Day Life
Life as a freight broker, either full-time or part-time, is extremely fast-paced and should be expected of a position in sales. As a freight broker, your job is to acquire shipper routes from manufacturing companies and then connect those routes with carriers to ensure that they get fulfilled. It is a cycle of buying and selling when you’re a freight broker.
Because of the nature of the job, you can expect to spend your time looking at leads lists, contacting shippers on truckloads lists, and making calls with the sole purpose of making a deal with a shipper and connecting them with a carrier. Plan on making those calls throughout the day at your office or in your home. That is going to bring you the highest yield in income and service.
When you close a deal with a shipper, you feel like a Rockstar and begin imagining money raining down on you from the heavens. On days that you can’t seem to close prospects, it can seem like you are a loser and doing something wrong. That is the name of the game in sales. You need to have tough skin to persevere throughout all of the no’s until you get a yes, and hearing yes feels great.
Depending on what you are looking to accomplish as a freight broker, it will affect the amount of time that you should be investing daily as a freight broker. To give you a better idea, here are some pros and cons of being a part-time freight broker.
The Pros of Being a Part-Time Freight Broker: More Time
One of the reasons that we often look into part-time positions that can offer a high payout if the day is successful is time. If you want more time for personal things, then working part-time as a freight broker seems like an obvious choice of career if it can still provide you with the means of taking care of yourself and paying the bills.
Another reason why people may look at being a part-time freight broker to have more time may be because of a need to have more time and not a want. You may want to spend more time with your kids. Maybe you need more time to take care of the things that get taken care of due to a lack of time.
Whether your reason may be, having more time can benefit anyone. Being a freight broker on a part-time basis affords those who are diligent and thorough in their work the ability to work on a part-time schedule while still bringing in a full-time salary.
That’s more than enough reason to work part-time as a freight broker for any person.
Compared to other part-time jobs, being a freight broker can be a fulfilling one that can easily become full-time if you want that. As opposed to most part-time jobs that control your hours and income, you are in control of how much you make each pay period. That’s a lot better than working at Starbucks part-time.
The Potential to Make More Money Than Most Part-Time Jobs
What is time without money? You can have all of the time in the world, but if you don’t have money, you’re not living the dream. That’s where working part-time as a freight broker can be extremely attractive when it comes to making money in less time after a commission payout. That is more than can be said for any other part-time position.
In case you are not sure how freight brokers make money, it is important to know that they are in a unique position when it comes to the world of sales and business. Their day revolves around two things: buying and selling. To generate the desired income, a freight broker has to sell their services to a shipper. Next, they purchase services from a carrier to move the freight that the manufacturer is trying to move.
When they do this, the freight broker must offer a price that is not going to leave them broke after negotiating with a carrier company. With that said, if the freight broker does their job well, the payout for the new carrier can end up being extremely lucrative. Imagine being able to pay all of your bills for a month and still have money left over after it is all said and done.
That’s what drives people to the promised land of being part-time freight brokers. The possibility of having a lot more time than you did before, along with the financial security of a full-time job when a freight broker performs well and closes a deal, is more than enough motivation for anyone to get into the freight broking career field.
Companies Provide the Leads
If you are considering being a Part-Time freight broker, the concept of starting a freight broker business of your own may not be the most attractive option to you. You don’t want that kind of responsibility, and you will also be responsible for putting in the work to generate leads to start building the income that you are hoping to make, and that is a full-time job in itself.
If that is a no-go for you, many freight broker companies are constantly looking for freight brokers to work part-time with them. You will still talk to prospects, close deals, and connect manufacturers to carriers. The best part about working with a company doing this is that you don’t have to do all of the footwork to generate leads. They already have curated lists for you to contact.
Coming into a part-time sales position with leads that are provided to you saves you a significant amount of time when it comes to working. All you need to do when you arrive or log onto your computer for the day is go through and call their list that they provided to you. When you have closed your deals or reached your time for the day, that’s it — no lead hunting.
Companies Have Already Built Their Reputation
One thing that part-time freight brokers have over their full-time self-employed counterparts is the company’s reputation. If you are working on your own, you have to build your reputation and the relationship with manufacturers and carriers. When you are a part-time freight broker working with a reputable company, the work is already done.
Building a reputation and relationships with manufacturers and carriers takes a lot of time. If you were self-employed working full-time as a freight broker, you would have to invest considerable time and effort into building your reputation and relationships with manufacturers and carriers. Why? Because they don’t know you or your company.
While relationship building is still an essential part of being a freight broker, whether you are full-time or part-time, it is considerably more easy to close a deal with a prospect and carrier when you have a reputable brand behind you. They still need to like you for them to move forward, but the name of the company that you work with has already done a lot for you.
The Disadvantages of Being a Part-Time Freight Broker
While there are plenty of benefits that can be gained while working as a part-time freight broker with a company, there are also a few negatives as well. That is what you should expect. There is no such thing as a perfect profession, so don’t let these cons deter you from pursuing a career working part-time as a freight broker.
Sharing Commission With The Company
When you work as a part-time freight broker with a company, you have to consider that you pay for closing a deal is going to be lower than your full-time, self-employed counterpart. The reason for this makes perfect sense. A part of what you agree to sell on behalf of the company you are representing goes to that company. They provided the lead and opportunity, so they are going to want their cut.
Another issue that may arise, as in any sales position, is the possibility of commission split or theft. A commission split is a bit different from the commission paid back to the company for your efforts. In a commission split, you may have to share what you made from a deal with another freight broker working in the same company. This usually happens if they were already working the deal, and you close it.
In regards to commission theft, there may be some unscrupulous coworkers of yours. They may try to take advantage of the work that you put in by forcing a split. Sometimes they will take over your commission for work they did not do. In this event, always make sure to notate your accounts and keep track of everything you do. That way you can prove the commission was yours and not the dishonest coworker.
Income Potential is Significantly Lower
Similar to the concept of having a lower gross income due to having to share profits with the company you are representing, you also need to consider that working part-time as a freight broker has a naturally built-in inhibitor on your financial gain. That is the amount of time that you have to work.
When you work part-time at a company as a freight broker, you are putting a restriction on the amount of income and revenue you can generate due to your time constraints. When you work part-time as a freight broker or in any other sales position, you have less opportunity to contact prospects and close deals.
With this reduced opportunity, it is safe to say that it is a lot more difficult to make the same amount of money your full-time counterpart makes with less time. While they are working and building relationships with prospects, you are already punching out for the day. If you have a six-figure income dream, it is not going to happen on a part-time schedule.
Having a Chain of Command to Follow
If you have a problem with someone supervising you and feeling like someone is always looking over your shoulder, being a part-time freight broker with a company may not be the best option for you. You have to report to someone every time something goes wrong, and if a negotiation breaks down, you may be getting reprimanded for something that is not your fault.
Another issue with having to follow a chain of command is that your manager often receives bonuses for their team closing a certain amount of deals. Do you know what that means? It means that there is always going to be much pressure to perform at your best when you’re on the clock. They want their bonus and you are going to do what it takes to help them get it.
A manager with a bonus on the line also means that you have a quota to meet. If you are struggling to meet your quota for some reason, your part-time freight broker job can easily turn into a full-time position to make sure that you hit your numbers or end up being out of a job. That said, realize in the logistics industry, things can change instantly, without warning.
A chain of command isn’t entirely a con; however, if you are still learning the job and get an understanding supervisor, they will be more focused on helping you learn to be successful in your position instead of their bonus and will teach you what you need to know instead of berating you for a mistake or lower numbers.
In Conclusion
Being a part-time freight broker can be a great way for you to take back more time in your life, get off the road, and generate a better income than you were making before. With the benefits of having a freight broking company’s reputation behind you to assist in building relationships and closing deals. Not making as much as someone working full-time in the field doesn’t seem like such a big deal.
Sure, you may run into issues with your bosses and coworkers, but that is normal. Remember to keep track of everything and take notes on all conversations to keep yourself covered. With that said, we’re looking forward to seeing you getting off the road and spending more time at home. Until next time!
