Small Business Owner Interview PDF

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Small Business Owner Interview

Interviewed by: Param Samra Interviewee: Sher Dhaliwal owner of ACity Limousine Interviewed at: Tim Horton’s, Millwood’s on September 28,2016 at 2:18 pm.

Introduction

Sher Dhaliwal, owner of ACity Limousine shared his experience and knowledge about the business he dreamed of starting and how he accomplished what he wanted.

Interview “Starting your own business is not an easy task. It takes a lot of potential, time and patience.” Said Sher Dhaliwal during the interview. In the interview, I asked Sher questions related to the establishment of his business such as how long ago did he started, where did he get the idea from, what was the primary reason, how much time did it take, did he had experience, had he ever started any other business before this one, what was the biggest challenge, did he create any business plan, how did he finance the business, what was the worst business mistake he made in growing the business, where does he see himself in five years and what advice would he give a young person thinking of opening a business?

Sher Dhaliwal started ACity limousine 20 years ago in 1996. Since he was a kid, he liked cars and playing with them. As he grew older, his interest and passion for cars grew as well. He had never seen a limousine before but when he came to Canada in 1991, a relative of his owned a limousine company and offered him a job. “The moment I saw a long car, I was mesmerized by its beauty. I opened the door and there was music and colorful lights with vine and glasses.” After working 5 years under his relative driving different types of limousines, Sher decided to open his own limousine company. He had experience, knowledge and skills he should have about limousines. “5 years of experience taught me everything about limousines from driving it to fixing it.”

The primary reason Sher wanted to start his own limousine business was because he noticed there’s a lot of profit and demand for luxurious vehicles due to its glamorous appearance and plush interiors. Also because of his love for cars. It took Sher around 3 to 4 months from getting the idea to the first day of business as he had to apply for a loan from the bank which was his business start-up finance, get his business cards printed, buy a town car and limousines and create a website, get a toll-free number to broaden his horizons within the market, get insurance and get the right place to park the limousines. Sher worked 19 to 20 hours a day, sometimes 24 hours working on expanding his business. This is the first business he had ever dreamed of starting and have done so. Furthermore, Sher shared the biggest challenge he faced in the starting of his business. “For me, getting the customers was a challenge. There are many limousine companies out there working in this industry for years. I wanted to pay my employees good and gain profit but also charge a cheaper rate for my limousines than other companies so people will choose my company over others. As I just started, not many people knew about my company and it was a challenge for me to spread awareness in he society that we existed.” Sher created a business plan to keep himself on track and organized because Sher believes that, “a business without a plan can easily get off-target, and revenues will suffer as a

result.” As compared to when he first started, Sher now spends less time on his business now as he has well trained employees managing and taking care of the business for him and are doing a pretty good job.

“The worst business mistake I ever made was that I didn’t properly hire employees, I was unaware of their background that they have family and kids waiting for them at home and the job is not a 9-5 but it rather has no time because it all depends on the booking. The bookings are sometimes made for night time and drivers sometimes had to spend the whole night out. With this mistake I lost some of my good drivers and my business was just starting to get busy but due to the loss of drivers I had to cancel the bookings and customers got mad.”

In the next five years myself and the business will be a well known company around the world. Expand my company throughout the world and become a type of the company where people would want work and rent limousines from. Also an advice for those who are thinking of starting their on business in the future, research about the business and the market. Take advice from an experienced person already or have been in the same business, work in the business for a couple of years to gain knowledge and skills about the business. Plan it wisely.”...