Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonce Gibson.
Hi Jonce, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Lifelong Entrepreneur from as far back as a little kid. Paper routes,, turned those customers into grass cutting and snow shoveling customers. Bought into a Gas Station at 22 years old that I worked at from 14-18 after moving on and becoming the youngest District Manager at a regional Oil Company. The Station had a Limo service run out of the back that the owner took with him to Delaware. 2 Years later at 24 purchased a failing company named Calvert Limousine with 1 white stretch limo with burgundy interior. We called it S1 which stood for Super Stretch #1. Within a few years we had3-5 stretch limousines and a group of really great dedicated chauffeurs. We caught a couple of early breaks when my GM mentioned that we should call Merriweather Post Pavillion, (a local concert venue) and see if they needed a transportation company. As luck would have it we called the week that they fired thier existing transportation provider of over 20 years. Our first test was a little band named Metallica. We knocked it out of the park and they continued to use us for the next decade when they came to town. One of our guys was stopped at the airport by a Fellow named Master P who was flying into DC for a Promo with the WWE and a local radio station. He relayed that Rick Flair of the WWE just took his limo either by mistake or on purpose. So he and his crew were stranded at the airport. These are the days before ride share so this was a big deal. Asked if we could give him and his crew a ride to his hotel. My chauffeur Levi called me after recognizing “P” and we said sure and pay whatever you feel its worth since we were going that way anyways. Well Master P gave Levi quite a tip, I wanna say $500 and called the radio station and demmanded that we be his ground transportation for the next week since he was left stranded. The radio station refused saying that they had no idea who we were and had no relationship with us. Master P then explained that if we were not the guys taking them around for the next week, then he and his crew were getting on a plane and flying home. We spent the next 15 years supporting Celebrities with the concert venue and the very famous Radio Station. We were fortunate to have gotten these breaks, but more importantly we had people that understood the opportunity and went above and beyond in supporting the clients. All of these relationships led to opportunities with Celebrities when they came to town because they knew that they could trust our service and the fact they we would not tell tales about thier business. We worked with A listers on Movies and World Leaders. I have been privy to some amazing conversations and insight into other’s lives and cultures. We have a 34 year track record of excellence in ground transportation.
Today most of the exciting “Nightlife” jobs are headed to Uber, Celebrities typically sign with a national company to take care of them nationwide instead of locally at each destination. Alot of our corporate core business/airport service has been gobbled up by rideshare. So we compete against illegal operators for whats left over in the retail space. We also have transitioned into larger group transportation for Colleges an Universities with larger buses. Instead of the days of the Stretch Limos ruling the space, todays consumer is looking for the least expensive option to travel. Pomp and circumstance are no longer in order, so the migration from opulance to bare neccesity in travel has taken over the last 15 years. We are still a leader in the DMV but the challenge every year with increasing expenses and decreasing demand offer a bleak future for Dinosaur companies like ours. Uber/Illegal operators/brokers have destroyed the ground transportation space.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Lol – smooth road. Anyone who has started and operated a business knows that it’s never a smooth road. It’s always a work in progress. Struggles in this industry start with 2 very challenging variables- People and machines. Both of which can derail your day/business/repuation at any given moment. Fortunatley we have always had wonderful people working with us and good equiptment.
Wild west days- little regulation, low barrier of entry, high demand.
Housing crisis 2007-The great recession hit companies like us very hard. Any over- leveraged operations were quickly snuffed out. We went from a 2 million company to a 500k overnight. Had to make tough decisions and gut the entire infastructure or face a similar fate.
Rideshare- 10-12 years ago decimated our small black car service offerings and took that part away for good. This point to point mindset has infiltrated even group transportation making that type of offering difficult to remain solvent.
Plandemic- our Government forced us to shutter our business. like millions of others for upwards of 18 months. ZERO money coming in- yet vehicle payments, insurance, rents and such were only forbade for a period of months. It took literally everything we could to not go out of business during the plandemic. Sure the Govt offered some “free” PPP money but when your break even is 5 times the money allotted it was of little consequence. As a result we made the decision to take on an SBA loan to keep the doors open. Now we have a debt of 700k to pay back where right before the shutdown we were nearly 100% debt free. No retirment in sight with that kind of obligation.Thanks for destroying 30 years of effort right at our finish line. This has destroyed us financially and millions of other small businesses.
Now the new challenge- Illegal Operators. Nearly 30% of the operators in our area operate illegally. What does that mean? Means they are able to compete with a legal company with a 30-40% cost advantage. State and federal Regulators only concern themselves with enforcing companies that are trying to be compliant and turn a bling eye to the truly illegal ones.
Various other issues as it related to vehicle cost/fuel and insurance is becoming a real issue, forcing many out of business.
We’ve been impressed with Bayside Limousines, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
35 Years
Wonderful Chauffeurs
Integrity
Great vehicles
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
5 Years there will be a consolodation as small and medium sized companies merge to stay solvent.
10 years – there will be no limo services. Only ride share and Bus companies
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.baysidelimo.com
