# Owner-operator

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Business owner also running daily activities

An **owner-operator** is an owner of a [small business](/source/Small_business) or [microbusiness](/source/Microbusiness) who also runs the day-to-day operations of the company. The owner-operator [business model](/source/Business_model) is prevalent in multiple industries, including trucking and [franchising](/source/Franchising) across [restaurant chains](/source/Restaurant_chains), [health care](/source/Health_care), [logistics](/source/Logistics), [maintenance, repair, and operations](/source/Maintenance%2C_repair%2C_and_operations).

## Trucking

In the [trucking industry in the United States](/source/Trucking_industry_in_the_United_States) and Canada, the term "owner-operator" typically refers to [independent contractors](/source/Independent_contractors) who provide transportation services using their own [semi-trailer trucks](/source/Semi-trailer_trucks). The owner-operator is a self-employed commercial [truck driver](/source/Truck_driver) or a small business that operates trucks for transporting [goods](/source/Good_(economics)) over highways for its customers.[1] Most owner-operators become drivers for trucking companies first to gain experience and determine whether the career is for them.

The [Motor Carrier Act of 1980](/source/Motor_Carrier_Act_of_1980) deregulated the industry and made it easier for manufacturers to set their own prices on shipping goods, and also allowed owner-operators to be more successful by taking some of the control out of the hands of the larger motor [carriers](/source/Common_carrier).[2] It was now possible to find a carrier willing to haul goods for what customers wanted to pay rather than what the larger carriers' rates were.

- An owner-operator is free to either haul freelance (non-committal to any one firm or product) or enter into a lease agreement to dedicate their equipment to one customer or product

- The owner-operator typically has to pay higher rates on [insurance](/source/Insurance) due to smaller size than most larger companies, meaning they have to charge more to balance the cost

- There are many things to consider before becoming an owner-operator, including business setup, [accounting](/source/Accounting), type of vehicle, and licenses[3]

## Franchising

The owner-operator model is common in [franchising](/source/Franchising), in which franchisee is heavily involved in the daily operations of the business. This model is often used when in business categories that rely on active daily leadership, like children's education. [4]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["OOIDA Timeline, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association"](https://www.ooida.com/WhoWeAre/AboutUs/timeline.asp). *Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, Trucking Association*. Retrieved 2019-06-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Trucking Deregulation, by Thomas Gale Moore: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: Library of Economics and Liberty](http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/TruckingDeregulation.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["A Guide To Becoming An Owner Driver - Return Loads"](http://www.returnloads.net/becoming-an-owner-driver/). *www.returnloads.net*. Retrieved 2019-06-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Owner-Operator vs. Executive Franchise Models: Understanding Different Franchise Models"](https://www.franchiseba.com/different-franchise-models-owner-operator-vs-executive/).

## External links

- [Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association](https://www.ooida.com)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Owner-operator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owner-operator) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owner-operator?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.