LOS ANGELES - March 11, 2021- Lenesia Cooper, an entrepreneur from Atlanta, GA, with a background in IT and engineering, has successfully owned and operated her party bus business, GoGo Party Bus, for over 10 years. Her vehicles have been featured in different TV shows such as Little Women of Atlanta and Braxton Family Values.
In the interview, Lenesia talks about how she started her transportation business, finding success as a female owner in a historically male-dominated industry, and how Moovs software is helping her business grow, save costs, and automate her day-to-day.
Tell us about your background and how you got into the chauffeured transportation industry?
In 2008, during my travels, I saw party buses in Las Vegas and Paris, France, and started to wonder why there weren't any party bus companies providing these services in Atlanta. I only saw companies renting out school buses, charter buses, or limousines at the time. So I decided to buy my first van, originally intended for children-only and their parents -- for birthday parties, field trips, and family outings. Then, more people wanted to rent my van for different outings, and kept asking if I had bigger buses. So I bought a bigger bus, then bought a few more, and now I have eight party buses in my fleet.
What were some early challenges that you faced and how did you overcome them?
This year is my 10-year anniversary and it has been a long, challenging, and fun journey. When I first started, I was doing everything on my own. As the business grew, I realized that I needed help. That's when I asked family members and friends for support, and with their help, it was a lot easier to manage and grow the business.
Also, given that this is a male-dominated industry, it's not always easy - I've really had to prove myself. At the start, other operators weren't always receptive to working with me; now 10 years later everybody trusts our business and wants to work with GoGo Party Bus.
You just mentioned that it's a male-dominated industry, being a successful female entrepreneur during Women's History Month, what advice can give other women starting a business?
Starting a business comes with many challenges and hard work. That's why my advice for all women is to be persistent and resilient in achieving their goals. Also, don't forget to ask for help, we often feel like we have to do everything ourselves, but asking others for help will get you a long way.
It wasn't always easy for me, and in this industry, I was the first woman to start a party bus-only company. As long as you keep going and working hard and stay resilient, you will accomplish your goals.
Do you have any advice for those starting a limousine company?
Over the years I was able to build a reputable brand with GoGo Party Bus. I think it's really important to build trustful relationships with your customers. One should provide them the best experience, service, and products. When something isn't right with one of our buses, let's say a manufacturing issue or the AC is out, I won't send it out. If something goes wrong for some unexpected reason, I always make sure to make it right with the customer. If you're consistent in providing the best experience, you will build a reputable brand, more customers will come back for your services, and they'll spread the word to new customers.
Do you use any specific software tools to operate your business?
When I first started GoGo Party Bus back in 2011, everything was manual. I was using pen and paper, spreadsheets, and a calendar. Nothing was automated. Over the last year, I tried all different types of limousine software, from Limo Anywhere to Book Rides Online, but they were really difficult to use, were missing key features, and there was no customer support. I felt like it wasn't made for the operators.
That's when I took matters into my own hands, did some research, and found Moovs. Now I use Moovs entirely for my business and I love it. It's extremely simple to use, has all the features a limousine and party bus owner needs, and they're always adding new exciting features that really benefit my business.
How does Moovs help you run your business?
Like I mentioned before, there was nothing automated about my business. With Moovs, it's really an all-in-one solution - I can easily manage my rides, instantly payout my drivers, and automate my dispatching, which saves me a lot of time and resources. The booking app for customers is well-designed and my customers have expressed how easy it is to use.
And, the team at Moovs amazing, they're always available to help. When I have feedback on adding new features to the software, they are usually able to implement them in weeks, something I haven't seen with other limousine software companies.
With this new technology, I have also been able to set up two additional franchise locations Orlando and Miami, and plan to launch a few more soon.
Moovs also built our new website, which looks really professional, is much faster than my previous site, and it's fully SEO-optimized. So like I said before, it's a full solution for any transportation business.
Read the full interview Here
Check out Go Go Party bus here:
https://www.gogopartybus.com/
Wondering how to start a party bus company? Message us at info@moovsapp.com and we will help you out!
