We've all heard the expression "work smart, not hard." Yet when I was working for a freight factoring company, my job was to work with individuals brand new to trucking who were setting up their business, and I saw that 50% of people were using an email address at @hotmail.com, @AOL.com, @yahoo.com, etc. I believe this is a huge mistake. You need to be using a Gmail address because of cross-system integration.
The reason I suggest every owner-operator use Gmail for their business email is that your Google username and password will automatically be saved and you'll be able to log in and out of multiple websites much more easily — which is what you'll be doing daily anyway. If you do this, you'll work smarter and make things easier, I guarantee it.
You're going to be logging in and out of tons of websites and tools daily — load boards like DAT, TruckStop, 123LoadBoard, MyVirtualFleet, etc. If you have different passwords for all of them, are you going to remember them all on the fly while driving in traffic, filling out carrier packets, answering calls, and checking brokers' credit scores? I don't think I could. That's why I suggest Gmail — the system integration will save your info so you can log in and out and do what you need to do as quickly as possible. With a Yahoo or Hotmail address, that integration won't be there, and your operation will run slower.
I tell everyone in this business you can make a killing if you A) are a good communicator, B) have excellent time management, and C) pay attention to the little details. That's it. That's all it takes to make over $300,000 yearly running one truck. I've seen it over and over firsthand. But you need to take the time to master your tools — using Gmail to turn a 4-step process into 1 step is exactly that kind of small change that adds up to earning more money.