We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Peter Jordan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Peter below.
Hi Peter, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
We started the business based on a need we noticed after visiting a larger city. Why doesn’t Richmond Virginia offer valet parking at any of the nightclubs or restaurants in the downtown area. Being that parking in so limited and it would help increase traffic to the city. After we had the bright idea we started playing around with some names and landed on 1st Choice Transportation LLC, which began my journey into being a business owner. Once we created the name, then we had to get the business license and setup the EIN. Of course we all know that’s when you take your thought to a reality. Once we got all of the paperwork and documents in order, then we had to get insurance on our drivers which was a timely process because either one of my partners had done this particular kind of business before. So, we begin to research different insurance companies and the process of obtaining insurance for our drivers. Once all of the paperwork and insurance was finalized then we were able to begin getting business. To start out we only had 1 night club (Aqua) and 1 event location (Wilton House). The nightclub was only on Saturdays from 9p-2a and we started with only 4 drivers me being one of them. To me this is where the story gets fun and interesting. We started in March of 2012 and by 2014 we were at every night club in the city that had the set up to have valet apart of their establishment. By 2015 we had 18 part time employees and had a weekly schedule of Wednesday-Sunday providing between 25-30 hours of work a week. Business was doing so well, I was self employed from 2014 – 2015 and it was truly an amazing time in me and my partners life. Now with all the glory we were not prepared for the bad times. So in 2016, we begin to notice a lot of the nightclubs in the city were beginning to close down. I am a very proactive person so as I noticed the decrease in clients and new business I began to look into revamping the business. That was when American Elite Transportation came around to start offering a upscale chauffeur experience. Then this really began the next phase of the business. I have had the pleasure of chauffeuring some of America hottest talent through my city. I know do business between Maryland and South Carolina. The pandemic was another milestone to make through but we did. We now currently valet, parking and chauffeur for restaurants, venues (events, concerts, etc). Business is great and currently I am working on expanding into Georgia and Florida.
Peter, 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?
1stChoiceTransportation and American Elite Transportation are my primary business that I had for over 10 years. We primarily provide all parking needs. Starting with valet parking, direct parking, events, concerts, restaurants, and anything related to parking needs. As I stated we have also expanded into the chauffeur service as well and provide a few options there. We here on the transportation side like to provide the best quality in service. We often create our services to our clients needs. Being a hands on owner gives us the ability to shape the experience for the customer. My team we value all of our clients and the team in considered family. My motto “Make 1st choice, your 1st choice for all parking needs!” However, I am a multi tasker and I have multiple business that all tie into each other. I also have a full operational digital marketing team VisionStraightForward.com, also I am the Vice President of a non profit organization TheWoodyFoundation.org, and we do a lot of positive things in the community. I also have a clothing brand called OnGodMotivation.com and most recently I have started a podcast Thee Informal Podcast at YouTube, to help promote business and services on the local level.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My pivot point for me was right before the pandemic. Business was slowing down from night clubs closing and clients seeming to not need the parking services as much as the chauffeur services has increased. I had to make an adjustment which for about a year caused me to shut down the valet division for over a year due to lack of clients. While I was still maintaining the business, it was the chauffeur service keeping the name alive. But in 2021 as the world slowly began to reopen, the depend for parking services and needs had increased due to the pandemic and people needed alternative options when attending events, concerts or even a restaurant. We started back valeting at one of the hottest restaurants in Richmond, Virginia Southern Kitchen and we have been rolling ever since.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My partner and I were not even friends and we met through a mutual friend. My business partner and I had mutual friends throughout the city, but before partnering on this we never had crossed paths. However, we met because he discussed the idea of starting the business but needed a team. Our mutual friend referred me and said, this the guy you need around you if you want to see your business grow. I was referred to as a hustler who is about his business and doesn’t mind working for what he wants. And my partner is more analytics, making sure all i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. We are an amazing fit and we both have the same goal, creating generational help for our kids.
Contact Info:
- Website: 1stchoicetransportationva.com
- Instagram: @americanelitetransva @1stchoicetransportationva
- Linkedin: Peter Jordan
- Twitter: @1st_Choice_Tran
- Youtube: TheeInformalPodcast