Quote:
Originally Posted by MP0WER
To become wealthy, one typically has to leverage money or people.
To the OP.
What you're talking about doing is owning a job. Until you have multiple trucks, drivers and employees etc, you're basically a freelance guy with a truck. Not a damn thing wrong with that either. If you can make a good living from it, squirrel some away for the future, have only your customers to answer to..... sounds like a pretty good life.
If you eventually want to work 30 to 40 hours a week, while building wealth; read the E-myth and save every dime you make so you can get more trucks, drivers, etc...
I started out selling and moved in to owning the business. With the economy crapping out i had to continue to sell to keep things going. Lately I seem to be on the verge of having enough producers to allow me to work on my business and less in it. God willing that will be a great day. I really enjoy fine tuning the systems, processes, incentives that could add even a half of a percent to the bottom line. With people producing enough to pay the bills, my highest and best use will be to find ways to pump up the net profit percentage. Just thinking about putting things into the system that can add even one percent to the bottom line gets me excited. We're talking about working ON the business for 5 - 10 more hours a week than IN the business; possibly creating an additional $45k to $50k a year. That's why business owners kill for 1% of net profit.
Eventually, with processes and systems in place that continually capture those extra percentage points most business let slip by, you're creating enough extra profit for you to cut an extra 5 to 10 hours a week out of your work life. Which is great because you'll need that time to figure out how your going to leverage your newly found profit to make you more money. 
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Great post....especially the bolded, first line.
At the end of the day it all comes down to how much you're willing to risk. If you are
not prepared to lose your investment and have a back up plan to deal with it, you should
not open your own business. There are very, very few people that can shift careers as abruptly as you are contemplating that hit home runs right off the bat. Like
Mpower mentioned, if you're just looking to buy yourself a job, then have at it.
There are many eventualities that could jeopardize your success that are out of your control in this scenario. You discussed buying a used truck. What happens if you blow the engine 2 months in? Do you have the additional capital to get yourself back up and running within days? How do you survive a month or two (or more) of negative cash flow? Good luck with your decision.