About LCT's The Great Limo Race

LCT will be comparing how five operators with less than two years in the industry build their success, including the challenges, failures, and achievements. Read more

Players

Deborah Talbott

Debbie is a former purchasing director who after 20 years found herself unemployed in a recession. She immediately launched her new business from home starting with a single 120-inch stretch limousine and has since added a Lincoln Town Car Executive L to the fleet. Read more

Ricardo Garza

Ric, as he is known to friends, is 45 years old, married, and a proud parent of two boys and one girl. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and spent many years working in the Houston Mayor’s Office as a certified conflict mediator and business developer. Read more

Becky Laramee

Along with her brother, John, Becky bought All Points Limousine in 2008. Their mother had spent time in the motorcoach and travel industry and had retired, but wasn’t quite ready for retirement. Needless to say, mother Bonnie is the office manager. Read more

Brad Gregory

Brad bought a 25-year-old limousine service in 2009 from a retiring owner. The company is located between Nashville, Tenn. and Bowling Green, Ky. He had no previous experience in the industry, working for the past decade for an automotive company. Read more

Georgia Berg

In July 2007, at the age of 44, Georgia became a long-distance business partner with her longtime Australian friend, Peter Smith. They met by chance while vacationing in Hawaii in 1993. During a 2003 visit to the U.S., Smith saw a Ford Excursion limousine and vowed to bring the first one to Australia. Read more

Race Referee

Jim Luff

LCT Contributing Editor Jim Luff is an operator from Bakersfield, Calif. After working as a chauffeur in the early 1990s, he joined The Limousine Scene in 1993 as general manager and later became a partner in the business. Read more

BECKY Update 9: Numbers Go Up

All Points is extremely busy. Our weekends are just crazy. It is hard to fit the weddings in with all the prom bookings. What are brides thinking getting married on a prom night? 
 
We added a fuel surcharge for the first time. Our clients are taking it quite well. We are still struggling with finding drivers that are the right fit for our team. Another ongoing challenge is marketing. Where do we spend our time and money to get the biggest bang for our dollar? We had to get each of our drivers a badge for Logan International Airportt issued by TSA. This process was cumbersome and very time consuming.
 
I have hired a business coach to help fit all the puzzle pieces together to create the big picture. I gather all available knowledge, but that does not give me power. It is the use of that knowledge that gives me power over the future of my business. Moving forward, I will be gathering more marketing information from other successful operators in my region and creating a targeted marketing campaign.
 
We were right on the mark with our February numbers. We exceeded our budget by 4%. Revenue was up 23% and net profit increased by 40%. The nice thing we are seeing is our price per job is increasing.
 
March revenues were through the roof. We exceeded our budget by 25% with revenues increasing by 37%. But then April came and we only gained 21% in revenue and we had forecasted a 30% increase. April was a funny month with a quiet spell. This is such a crazy, unpredictable business.
 
My baby boy will be graduating from a trade high school in June with a plumbing certificate, and our daughter just told us she is looking at graduate schools in London. Life happens to you quickly, so pay attention.
 
Best wishes to all for wedding season!!
 

Becky Laramee

ALL POINTS LIMOUSINE

Leominster, Mass.

Print | posted on Monday, May 16, 2011 11:35 AM
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