We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Britania Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Britania, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
Whoa now, hmmmm….so I the owner of Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus use to ride with the driver as a host to make sure everything goes smoothly and understand every area of the business to take mental notes of adjustment changes along the way. This was maybe our 1st year in business and we got a Birthday Celebration from 10pm-3am. Upon arrival it was misting but later into the night turned into rain. Their itinerary from destination to destination was excellent. Finally back at their house for the final drop-off their driveway was a straight away and their vehicles was on the opposite side. In a huge bus it’s impossible to turn-around/back out onto a main street. The client told the driver to reverse into their yard to exit out. The driver continuously tried but now it’s storming and we are stuck. Whoa now, all 4 of the back wheels are spinning in mud and we sinking smh. The entire Party got in their pickup trucks to pull us out, grabbed shovels out their shed, ((women included)) and the rest of us pushed while the trucks pulled. When I tell you they came through, we laughed so hard, they offered us a room to stay the night with them to release the stress-levels. We offered them a partial refund in exchange for their help and they refused. They are 1 of our repeat clients til this day and we are forever Grateful for them and the experience.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus was created out of being a lover of music and the art of dancing. My savings was enough to invest into something but didnt have a clue into what. I always saw buses for sale and thought why not have a Party Bus. In Houston most events/clubs/bars one must pay to park, pay entry fee, and pay for drinks. I’ve been on a few Party buses myself so I understood the concept. Why not collectively put monies together amongst a group of family/friends to have a full experience. The Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus experience that is!! It’s about the client making the reservations with their customize itinerary, having access to a sound system to set the tone of the party, BYOB so alcohol beverages are welcome not provided, licensed drivers to insure adequate safe driving and avoid dwi’s. Houston is diverse and growing in population, what better way to see the city than to be chauffeured?
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
Originally im a hair style by trade for over 20 years. I coined the phrase “Pay yourself 1st” awhile ago. I work 5 days a week and started to put $20 away in a stash, that I never could touch even if I was starving, which is $100 a week. The money grew but I didn’t feel a challenge so months later I added in any $50 and/or $100 bill I received from a client along with the $20 a day will be in the stash also. After 3 years of “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” money I decided to count it. I had over 32K saved and nothing to do with it. Hairstylist that’s been in the Game long as me don’t leave from behind the chair. I needed to create another stream of income that will not force me to be stagnant and locked in with my time. Rule of thumb:: Let your 9-5 pay for your 5-9. Meaning don’t quit your day job let it finance your dream/goal/vision. Having Sho’Stoppa Party Bus for 6 years I’ve learned about business credit and the access one has to catapult through business quicker and faster and save your physical money for paying on the credit. Business credit helped my credit score, access to a business credit card and gas card. Ein and duns numbers shows you are established and professional. If what you want to pursue has information on the how to business side, do your research that way you can have a head start and not back track on being productive moving forward.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In the early days of Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus I would ride with the driver as the hostess with the most-ess, to ensure the trip went smooth and to get a hands-on of the How-To for my business. The night is coming to a close and we’re headed to the clients final drop off location. On I10 we’re in the 2nd to left lane drifting over to the far right lane the driver says, ” the bus not giving gas.” I’m like you sure and just like they said, their foot was on the pedal to the floor. My bus runs off CNG gas which means there are limited gas stations to go to mainly close to the airport or on the outskirts of Houston. We made it to the service road and I’m gathering my thoughts on what to tell the party….sooooo we’re having some issues with the bus but you all will get home safely. I called a uber that appeared out of thin air and I offered to give them a slight refund for the inconvenience but they declined and said they loved their night on the party bus. I’m calling all the tow companies and the wait was hours away, miraculously a tow truck was headed to Katy and I flagged him down. Gracious he stopped and was able to take us to the yard. The tow guy said he called his wife previously because it was slow and he was coming home but then seen us so we both Won!! I broke even on the booking for that night but I learned a lesson:: somethings are out of your control, but what you do have control over do the Best at it. Customer service starts with showing up for others as you would yourself….yep my driver and I laughed our asses off on the way home. Btw so technically we didn’t run out of gas, the gas line had a leak in it which caused us to run out lol.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.shostoppapartybus.com
- Instagram: Shostoppapartybus
- Facebook: Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus
- Youtube: Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus
- Yelp: Sho’ Stoppa Party Bus