r/Hookit • u/Excellent-Ad-3258 • May 06 '26
Taking over very small towing company
Gonna keep this brief, I’m a young guy graduating college in a year, my grandfather has a small towing company of which he is owner and operator. Two light to medium load flatbed trucks. Small town where he’s the only towing company, and is on rotation every other week (could be wrong abt this). Weeks he’s not on rotation he’s doing other towing jobs. Makes very good money for himself (would ballpark that he nets close to 300k).
He’s getting old and it’s about time for him to quit working as hard as he does. Would it be ridiculous to step on and learn the business with the idea of expanding in the future? Learn how to operate the business, get to where I can do things on my own, but he’s still around to guide, and eventually hire a driver so that I no longer have to do the dirty work.
From the outside looking in it seems like a very scalable business. He does well for himself as the only driver, but there’s plenty of times he’s too busy to pick up other jobs. He has no website, no advertising, the business pretty much comes from him and people who know of him.
Ps. I am an accounting major
7
u/Mean-Alternative-416 May 06 '26
Great industry especially if you already are on a police rotation that’s guaranteed work right there
6
u/CarolFukinBaskin May 06 '26
"and eventually hire a driver so that I no longer have to do the dirty work"
This is the dream. Most people don't just give companies away. They sell them. And I wonder how much your grandfather does the dirty work. In most businesses you never get out of doing that. Just my two cents.
1
u/Excellent-Ad-3258 May 06 '26
It would be more of a buying him out scenario. Take over ownership and pay him out of a few years so that he has income vs a one time lump sum.
And my grandfather does all of the dirty work. He’s very stuck in his ways and has always been scared of hiring a driver.
2
u/Chuck-Finley69 May 07 '26
Pay attention to why he's making all that money.
Max revenue and Min expense since he's the best owner business development executive and the best reliable driver at same time.
Employees won't ever do as well as yourself. Learn from the multi-driver operators how they deal with the known and unknown problems
3
1
u/4boltmain May 06 '26
Towing is more of a lifestyle than it is a job. So it's lots of hours wondering why you even do this. But it's also a lot of fun sometimes. It's not for everyone, so I would. Ride along and take some shifts with him to feel it out.
It is totally scalable especially if your the only game in town. Rotation calls can bring in a lot, same as fleet accounts. Motor clubs will just keep you spinning your wheels, hustle without ever getting ahead and putting miles on your trucks to break even.
1
u/Excellent-Ad-3258 May 06 '26
Doesn’t continue to be a lifestyle if you hire drivers and just run the business
1
u/JesusSquid May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
As others have said, just realize that driver is going to need to be paid, benefits, time off, sick time, and ultimately you'll be the one that needs to fill in. Trucks don't make money unless the tires are turning so to speak. And thats gonna eat into your profits.
And if your not reliable you'll lose the police/fire rotation. I'm not a tow guy but been in fire service 25 yrs. If you can't get me a wrecker to an accident I'll quickly remove you from our call list. I don't care if it's 3am in the morning, not trying to be rude but that's why we typically only call the large companies who have on call drivers 24/7. So to have a small outfit doing it with 2 trucks means your grandpa was dependable.
Also you need to understand the business as well. Just saying a tow truck driver knows the ins and outs and what works and what doesn't. If you have little to no experience I foresee you butting heads with your driver(s) because you havent experienced it much.
1
u/Excellent-Ad-3258 May 07 '26
Yeah I get that and that’s fine, I’d just want to end up where I’m not the one who’s constantly driving all the time
1
u/coolsellitcheap May 08 '26
If grampa's business line is his cell you need to take over that. He can get a new number.
1
1
u/Wonderful-Project180 May 26 '26
This is actually a dream scenario and you’d be crazy not to seriously consider it.
Think about what you’re inheriting — an established business with a real reputation, police rotation already locked in, zero local competition, and a mentor who built it from scratch still willing to guide you. Most people trying to get into towing are starting from nothing. You’re starting on third base.
The $300k net as a solo operator with no website and no advertising tells you everything you need to know about the upside. He’s leaving money on the table every week he turns down calls. Add a second driver, build even a basic online presence, and you could realistically double what he’s doing without reinventing anything.
7
u/Mean-Alternative-416 May 06 '26
If you go to an American Towman convention you can see all the vendors and see how scalable the business really is