and got a call from a relative to come out for a construction job, he was enticed to go back.
But by the time he got there, there was no construction job. He did land a different job and while he was doing that he found out that the guy who owned the phone number 376-TAXI was looking to sell the number. Eric had done a cab service before in Delaware, and he felt the island needed a reliable taxi service. So Eric bought the number for $2,000 and bought a vehicle.
The most challenging part about cab service, Eric says, is the insurance. “Right now insurance on one cab runs $30,000,” he says, a figure that has doubled in the six years since he started Orcas Island Taxi. The other difficult part about cab service in a place like Orcas Island is the winters. Even though Orcas is the biggest of the San Juan Islands, it is very seasonal.
“In my first winter,” Eric says, “I would go three or four days without a fare.” You need to get creative about a business like this, and Eric did. He has since contracted with a local private school to transport students from home to school in the morning and back in the afternoon.
Another thing about the island is that it is hilly, and although there is little snow, all his cabs need to be four-wheel drive to be able to maneuver the gravel roads, steep driveways, and houses located on cliffs.
The summers, on the other hand, are crazy busy. Eric runs three cabs nonstop in the summer. “I basically have three months to make my money.” In the winter, one of those cabs is permanently garaged, and the other is used just for pre-paid reservations. Although his business is located centrally on the island, which helps a lot with having less time on the road with no fare, the cell service on the island is spotty, making it difficult for him to get in touch with drivers while they are on the road.
And he has diversified that summer income in a couple ways. “I rent scooters to people.” On this hilly island, scooters are desirable. He figures he gets a 98 percent return on his investment.
The other revenue-generator is advertising. Businesses advertise on his cabs; not only does he get ad revenue, but his contract with the advertiser requires that they call him first for cab service for their customers.
Orcas Island Taxi service is subject to all of the regulations of a passenger transport service, and Eric recommends anyone thinking of starting a taxi service check very carefully into the local, state, and federal regulations. However, his location means there are no territorial concerns like there would be in a big city like Chicago or Boston.
And, like all successful small-business owners, Eric concurs with the importance of planning, especially for a startup period where you are not going to make much income and what you do make is likely to be put right back into the business.
“It took me three months to make any money,” he says. Other advice Eric offers is to do lots of research, find reliable workers, and, for a taxi service, use GPS so you aren’t wasting time and money (gasoline being the second highest cost of taxi businesses next to insurance) trying to find places.
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