Higher Education for the Limousine Businessperson

HKU = Hard Knock University

The most expensive source of higher education in the world is Hard Knock University. Believe me I know, for I graduated first in my class! When I first started in this business I thought, as many of us did; how hard could it be? It’s a piece of cake, right? You just take the person to the airport for $60, top off the gas for seven bucks and that’s that. You just made $53 for a couple hours of your time, right? I quickly learned there was a little more to it. There was definitely a whole lot more.

My Father and I started the business together in 1991. He was a 35 year veteran of the restaurant business. Having started in the late fifties as a waiter, he worked his way up to high levels in the Marriott Corporation. He was convinced there was no harder way to earn a living than fast-food. I, on the other hand, had done everything from restaurants to cutting lawns to construction to stripping cars at the local junkyard. Most everyplace I worked I found myself in a management position though and became at home running an ice distribution company moving about a million bags of ice every year. Transportation and logistics is all the same, right? After all, how hard could it be? We both figured we know well enough how business worked and how to manage people and we both learned some serious lessons. What was lesson number one? It was learning that we had a lot more to learn about the limousine business.

When I look to the most well known names in the business I see a lot of folks that just kind of wound up doing it, and doing it well. I know one fellow who has been in the business for about 40 years, is a multi-millionaire and is also a high school drop out. I watched another industry icon with tens of millions in gross revenue stand at the podium to accept an industry achievement award and state: “I got into this business after I graduated… from drug & alcohol rehab.” Countless others started in the business to make ends meet during school and kept doing it. I can’t tell you what my economics professor would have said about my business model but I can tell you that the business still operates today and makes a crap-load of money. The model made sense. The fact is that the limousine business is a common sense business.

We have a multitude of backgrounds in this business but most have a common thread. Almost all of us got into this business from a combination of economic need and ease of entry. Dad and I got started with about $1,000 – half down on the car and half down on the insurance. I do know a few people who make a calculated entry into the business from a well educated and well financed position. This type usually does very well because they will study the industry. They know what they are getting into and know how to address the business, before they get in. Some of the business knowledge gained through higher education and life experience can be hard to apply in the limousine business. The key is to first study the business and understand how to apply your knowledge to this thing we call livery.

Educating yourself in the World of Livery is a must do step at any stage of the game. The more perspective you gain, especially at first, the more powerful your decisions will become. Perspective is the key ingredient that will bring understanding of the business and your market. Never stop educating yourself in the World of Livery for when you stop you begin your long slow ride into the tar pits with the rest of the dinosaurs. We are in a business that keeps changing. Just like your mechanic who must stay updated concerning the latest trends in technology, you too must stay updated.

The worst thing you can do for yourself is to believe you know everything there is to know. During a conversation with my multi millionaire high school drop out friend he stated “I’ve got over 35 years experience in this business, I know everything there is to know about it, I’m worth over 21 million bucks and there is nothing you can teach me about this business.” The truth of the matter though is that if he was a student of the industry, he would be pulling out more like $3.6 million instead of $750,000 every year. It was heartbreaking to see the opportunity that existed for him go untapped because he already knew everything.

Trade Shows

Industry trade shows will give you the opportunity to see the latest & greatest the industry has to offer in both equipment and technology. They will offer opportunities to hear the industry greats tell their story in the form of educational seminars which are invaluable for old and new limousine businesspeople alike. Most importantly however, a trade show experience will give you the opportunity to meet other limousine businesspeople and develop a support group from within the industry.

The show floor is an eye opening experience to say the least. You’ll see vehicles ranging from the most basic sedan to the most wild and fabulous limousines you can imagine. Take some time the first day and go through all of the vehicles. The experience is like running around a childhood playground. It is exhilarating to explore all that the coachbuilders in our industry have to offer. The most fitting catch phrase I’ve seen a coach builder come up with is the current slogan used by Lime-Light Coachworks – “You dream it – we build it”. That’s a great slogan for the company and indeed the retail side of our industry at large. It is impossible to dream big enough.

Around the edges of the show floor though is where you’ll find the best value the show floor has to offer; the vendors. The second and third day of the show are the best opportunities to really take your time and see what they have to offer. Not so much to make a buying decision or to take advantage of the “special show discount” most of them offer (which is GREAT if you are in buying mode) but to see what it is they are selling and why it is that their product is necessary. In the last 15 years or so technology has taken notice of the limousine business. We have several computerized reservation management systems today where 15 years ago we had maybe two or three that actually worked well. We have “in car” cameras, GPS tracking and mapping systems, electronic reservation interfaces and electronic dispatch systems. We have marketing companies, advertising firms and web service providers. You will find several finance companies that specialize in limousine fleets, fuel vendors offering volume discounts and many fleet insurance providers. The greatest value on the show floor resides inside the heads of the people who do business with limousine businesspeople every day. Talk to them, get to know them and make them part of your network resource.

Trading jobs with companies in other markets is a big part of running a profitable limousine business. Networking begins at the trade show. Get out and socialize with other limousine businesspeople. The relationships you build at trade shows will become assets which money can’t buy. Building a resource group of business people to interact with gives you a huge base of knowledge to draw upon. Also, in a social setting people are willing to share more of their knowledge and experience then they are at any other time. They have come there to get away for a while and talk about the business with their peers. Sit with a group of limousine business people and ask questions. Lots of questions. I’ll bet you get several different answers for each, some better than others, but you will be gaining perspective.

Educational Seminars

I was given the distinct honor to be a speaker at this past Limousine Digest International Trade Show. I call this a distinct honor because being selected has a bit more to do with what you have to offer than it does with who you know. A prerequisite is that you give the audience something they can take home and make money with. If you can’t do this, they are simply not going to put you on the stage. From a speaker’s perspective the requirement is truly telling of Limousine Digest’s sincere desire to make the educational series a powerful one, well worth the price of admission.

Every limousine trade show has an educational seminar series. Go to every educational seminar you can at every show, every industry event and beyond. In the beginning this will be the single most valuable tool you will employ in the building of your business. Never should you stop learning about the World of Livery. The educational seminars at the trade show never stop getting better, they never stop increasing in value. Every year I go, sometimes to speak and sometimes to listen, but I go. There has never been a time when I haven’t picked up at least one piece of information I hadn’t known before. I get a real kick when I look around the room and see folks who have been in the industry for 20, 30 and 40 years. Yet here they sit looking for that one little tidbit to take home that will help them improve their business. The best minds in our industry are the ones that never stop learning.

Educational seminars go beyond the trade shows. If you are running a small company, keep an eye on your inbox in the coming months and you’ll see invitations from me to attend educational seminars outside the shows which are designed specifically for the small limousine business. These seminars will focus on the nuts and bolts of building a limousine business from day one to $1 million plus in sales each year. They will be marketed through yours truly and include featured speakers that are the most successful people in our industry. If you are already cranking out $1 million or more and are not involved with Tom Mazza’s group trainings, what the heck are you waiting for? A Mazza Group is the best thing you will ever do for your business bar-none. Get in one, get your people to his manager trainings and watch your business blossom into something you thought you would only dream about.

Associations

Trade associations, both local and national, are a great source of network opportunities with other limousine businesspeople. Most have membership directories that are a great resource for limousine companies in other markets as well as right at home in your own market. They also keep you in touch with what’s going on in the industry. As you gain exposure to our industry you will become aware of different, and sometimes conflicting, political opinions that exist. It is important to understand what the associations are up to and take an active role in the organization. Your involvement in the association will make an impact on your environment and will make you more aware of the latest business trends. You can then apply your knowledge and take advantage of the trends as they are happening instead of trailing one step behind.

A trade association also provides information. Federal, state and local licensing and regulatory requirements are forever changing. A good association will help you keep your knowledge in this area current. At times, regulatory issues crop up that may or may not be in your best interest. It’s good to stay informed and stay involved and participate in a way you believe is good for your business.

Associations also provide additional network opportunities. Membership functions are an informal setting but a little more businesslike than a trade show. Interacting with your local competitors will bring you great insights into their style and way of doing business. You can generally decide who you can do business with when you need some help. It is important to know who is in your market, what they are like and if they are like minded.

Feel the Wheel

The person behind the wheel is everything in our business. If you want to own a limousine business then you must experience the trenches. Virtually all limousine companies are looking for chauffeurs – always. If you are just starting out I recommend a chauffeur position for even the most well heeled entrant to the limousine industry. Moreover, I recommend that ANY 20 year veteran who hasn’t driven the car for 15 years get on the road and relearn what life in the trenches is all about, even if it’s for a week. Most owners of large limousine businesses really don’t have a clue what it’s like to be behind the wheel.

One of the most gratifying periods in my experience was a period of a few months toward the end of 2000. Some 9 years after joining the industry circumstances put me back in the chauffeur’s seat once again. That period was one of the most educational times in my life. Being out there, dead tired, and hearing a request for yet another ‘one more’ from the dispatcher – and doing it. Seeing an old familiar face come off the escalator and drop her bags to give me a big hug. The most comical was talking to a new driver who didn’t know who I was and hearing him tell me how he was above setting up or vacuuming the car before his shift and how all that set up/clean up nonsense was a bunch of unnecessary fluff. There were other new guys though who told me what a pleasure it was to finally have found a company to work with that had so much respect for the chauffeur and actually cared about the guy behind the wheel. I had some heart swelling experiences as well as a few that made me less than proud. The experience though was worth many thousands in perspective. It helped me reconnect with the customer’s wants and needs. The perspective of your chauffeur is priceless.

Chauffeuring is a grueling job that gives you intense moral satisfaction. Anyone who has done it for any length of time will tell you there are much easier ways to make a living but most of them wouldn’t trade it for the world. The perspective of the chauffeur will bring you invaluable insight to the business. It will also teach you a little humility and a lot of respect for those who have done it for decades. Six months or a year behind the wheel will expose you to much of what the business can dish out and make you much better equipped to handle it down the road. Having had chauffeur experience will make you a better manager when the time comes.

Learn what it is to arrive at the airport and find out the flight is three hours delayed. Learn what it is to get up at three in the morning and to arrive at the pick up address and find the trip was actually supposed to be scheduled for tomorrow. Learn what it is to have a drunken brawl break out in the back at 65MPH. More so, know what it means to have a weary traveler get off a plane and say; “Man am I ever glad to see you.” See the relief in the bride’s eye when you arrive 30 minutes early on her wedding day. Hear the prom girls squeal the first time they get into a limousine. See how wonderful it feels after a 10 hour shift that went to 14 when the dispatcher says, “Go ahead and bring it in Ted, I know you’re tired.” See how good it is to feel the wheel between your fingers. Those of us that have done this for a very long time will tell you, if feels real darn good!

Never stop educating yourself in the World of Livery. A dear friend and mentor of mine, Dean Schuler, has been in the business since 1976. Yet I noticed him in the crowd at every seminar I attended at this past trade show. The man is a student of the industry even after 35+ years in the business. There were many more who were there learning who had ten, twenty and thirty years in the business. Most of these industry icons are also willing to share their knowledge. They know that what goes around comes around. They also know that sending knowledge around with the Goodwill of sharing will come back to them ten-fold. Goodwill is a basic act of kindness in any situation and is the fundamental principal upon which true success in this life is built. I wish you success my friends in the World of Livery and Goodwill in all that you do.