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How Maria Went from Near-Bankruptcy to $8K/Month Profit

After losing money for 6 months, this Texas owner-operator turned her business around by finally understanding her true costs.

Maria Rodriguez started her trucking company in early 2025 with high hopes and a used Peterbilt. Six months later, she was

5,000 in debt and ready to quit.

Today, she's consistently making $8,000-10,000 per month in profit. Here's her story.

The Breaking Point

"I thought I was making money," Maria says. "Every load I took was above $2/mile. That felt profitable. But every month, I was going further into debt."

The problem? Maria was calculating her rate per mile against loaded miles only, ignoring deadhead. And she was underestimating her true costs by nearly $0.40/mile.

"I was taking loads that I thought paid $2.50/mile, but with deadhead and my real costs, I was actually losing $0.20 on every mile."

The Turning Point

Maria's factoring company introduced her to HaulProfit as part of their client success program.

"The first time I put my real costs into the calculator, I was shocked. My break-even was

.95/mile, not
.40 like I thought."

Armed with accurate numbers, Maria started declining loads she would have taken before.

The Results

Before HaulProfit:

  • Taking loads averaging $2.30/mile (loaded only)
  • Actual rate with deadhead:
    .75/mile
  • Monthly loss: $2,000-3,000

After HaulProfit:

  • Only taking loads that show green
  • Average rate with deadhead: $2.35/mile
  • Monthly profit: $8,000-10,000

What Changed

  1. She stopped chasing miles - "I used to think more miles meant more money. Now I know it's about profitable miles."

  2. She learned to say no - "Declining a bad load felt wrong at first. Now I know every red load I skip saves me money."

  3. She planned her positioning - "I think about where a load leaves me, not just what it pays to get there."

Maria's Advice

"Know your numbers. Not what you think they are — what they actually are. Every cost, every mile. That's the difference between surviving and thriving."

Maria is a HaulProfit user through her factoring company's Premier partnership. Results vary, but Maria's experience reflects the impact of accurate cost awareness on profitability.

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