We recently connected with Caitlan Lochridge and have shared our conversation below.
Caitlan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?
I have been running my business for almost five years, I’ve met thousands and thousands of people from the different festivals and events I do, but the customer interaction that stands out to me the most in all these years is meeting Susan and Rick only three months into it. I had my bus parked at a shopping center for the holidays and Susan and Rick stopped in. While Susan shopped, Rick “grilled” me about the mechanics of the bus–how was the engine, what kind of work did I have to do on it, etc. I never knew I would have to know so much about the actual bus but was already used to these types of questions and had started to learn how to properly answer. Rick then asked if there were any repairs I had left; I let him know about a couple of issues that I was going to take care of after the holiday season. He then asked Susan to give me her business card and told me he would come do the repairs FOR FREE as long as I had the supplies needed. I was in shock. A complete stranger offering to do the work that would easily cost $500-1000 at a shop. I took the card and was just overwhelmed with his generosity. In my mind I didn’t think I would ever call but the gesture alone was enough to put me on cloud 9 and believe the universe was on my side.
Fast forward a few weeks later. I’ve moved on from the shopping center and was ready to move the bus to my aunt and uncle’s house to work on some projects. I crank the bus on a very, very cold day. I can’t get it to start. I try again…and catch the starter on fire and fry the batteries! EEK! I’m stressed. I don’t know what to do. I call a couple of local shops, but they’re all backed up with other jobs and can’t get it in for a couple of weeks, I had a show in a couple of weeks. I was panicking. I remember Susan and Rick so call Susan. She calmed my nerves and had Rick call me. I walked him through what happened. He let me know what parts I would probably need and told me he would be there that weekend. They drove three hours to the bus and spent the whole day working on it. They spent their ENTIRE SATURDAY helping a complete stranger. Of course he got the bus running. He refused to take any money, but I did convince him to let me buy them dinner. I still to this day cannot express how grateful I am for them. They are literally angels from above.
Caitlan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
hi, I’m Caitlan. my friends would describe me as human sunshine. I love meeting new people, traveling with my sweet pup, scout, and encouraging other dreamers to take the risk and live the life of their dreams. I love visiting the tiny texas town I grew up in, but I also love exploring new places. I’ve called both coasts home, working in the retail world in both new york and san francisco, but there’s just something about good ol’ tex-mex and southern sweet tea I couldn’t stay away from forever.
people ask me all the time, where did you get the idea from? how did you get started? well it all started with the bus. I had been wanting to branch out on my own for some time, start my own something, but honestly, had my sweet friends not purchased that school bus (and then a year later sold it to me), To The Moon, would have looked very different than what it is today. after purchasing the bus, I slowly started converting it. my first attempt didn’t go so well—hand wrenches is not the way to go when trying to remove old, rusty bus seats just FYI, but luckily I have an amazing support system that also happens to be very handy.
at times, To The Moon is a mobile boutique that features local makers from the austin and dallas/fort worth areas. It is also a mobile rentable space perfect venue for product launches, birthday parties, art galleries, photo sessions, wedding receptions, baby showers, and more. I created To The Moon to be a showcase for the art, craftwork, events and ideas of the creatives in my community. it is a blank canvas you can bring to life. more than anything, I always want both of my buses to be warm, inviting spaces filled with love.
I think anytime you try to follow your dreams or do something unconventional there will always be bumps along the way – if not, you’re not challenging yourself enough. life is full of ups and downs, yet so precious. live it up! take a chance! step outside of your comfort zone! you never know what rewards will head your way when you take a risk.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I feel like we all felt that pivot panic when the pandemic hit. I had a full calendar of events and rentals lined up for March 2020. I felt like I had just hit my stride, 2020 was going to be my year, and then slowly events were cancelled, then rentals started pulling out and then everything came to a halt. I tried pivoting to online–I have a retail side of my business, so I hunkered down and started listing all my product on my website. I saw a boost in sales but not enough to pay the bills. I started looking for any kind of job I could find and let my friends know I was looking too. One sent over a bus driving job. I drive a bus, an empty bus, and couldn’t imagine driving a city bus with people on it–but at the bottom of the job announcement was a “bus cleaning” job. So I applied. I can clean. I love to clean. A few days later, I was at work. I cleaned city buses for 3 months until things started to re-open. Although it wasn’t my dream job by any means, it allowed me to keep my business running and put me in a good position for when things did re-open. We’re definitely not where we were pre-pandemic, but we are still going, and in times like this, that’s a huge accomplishment in my books!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Grassroots marketing FOR SURE! When we first started, we did a new event each weekend so met tons of customers from all over Texas. I think putting a person to a brand is super important. It makes it more personal for the customer. They get to hear your story and see the person behind it all. I know it’s impossible to try to meet all of your followers but making an effort and putting yourself out there has really helped to grow our business in a very organic way. I think being genuine with your posts is also a great way to keep your followers engaged–sharing the good and the bad, the successes and failures. It makes you more human.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tothemoonbus.com
- Instagram: @tothemoonbus
- Facebook: @tothemoonbus
Image Credits
Christine Figs @christinefigsphotography