CLEVELAND, Ohio — When operators are asked how they started out, you often hear an answer along the lines of, “It all started at my first LCT Show.” Ray Gavino and his business partner Devo Bavishi of Translogic Tech and Translogic Executive have a similar story, but from the viewpoints of industry vendors and operators.
Easy Transition
Bavishi was already working in the taxi and Super Shuttle world, and attended a lot of different conferences with Gavino. They’d see tons of products, which got them thinking about what they could create that the industry needed. Since they couldn’t find what they were looking for in a vehicle camera anywhere else, they researched and started to design one. After brainstorming the features and functions they wanted, they hired a firm to help them build it.
About seven years ago, they started going to limo trade shows to sell the product and got to meet many of the big industry players. “When I saw how passionate everyone was, it was really inspiring,” Gavino says. Because the pair already worked as a transportation vendor and got to know so many operators, Gavino realized if they started a limo company their affiliate network would be instant.
“The chauffeured car industry is totally different than what we were used to, but it makes sense,” Bavishi says. “Not everyone has all the units they need, so it’s a good thing to connect with individual operators in all of these cities. Everybody makes money and everybody wins. It didn’t make sense for us to limit ourselves.”
Fast Facts
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Owner: Ray Gavino and Devo Bavishi
Founded:Translogic Executive 2017; Translogic Tech 2009
Vehicle Type: Sedans, SUVs, Shuttles
Fleet Size: 10
Employees: 15
Website: http://ift.tt/2v0iNjQ; http://ift.tt/2vjCpCj
Phone: (866) 959-3226
Although their chauffeured business, Translogic Executive, is still in its early stages, the company has succeeded. During the basketball playoffs in Cleveland, many operators reached out for affiliate work. “We were sold out the whole week because of the network we had created, and we didn’t even have a website at the time,” Gavino says.
Hard Truths
Running a chauffeured transportation company wasn’t as easy as it may have seemed. “People think they can just up and start a business, but there are a lot of things that happen in the background you’re not aware of until you start your own,” Gavino says. You have to get the required permits, develop and understand safety precautions, vet your chauffeurs, and ensure your vehicles are up to date and frequently brought in for preventative maintenance — the side many of the outsiders looking in don’t see.
“If you have one vehicle or 100, it’s going to be difficult. You have to stay proactive, because if you don’t, you’ll lose clients. It doesn’t matter if you have nice cars if they break down and make a client late; they’ll share that information with everyone else.”
The company runs 10 vehicles, including Cadillac Escalades and XTS and Lincoln MKS and MKTs. They have a few corporate contracts, and want to increase that client market. While not opposed to retail, they would like to designate specific managers for different types of clientele as they grow.
A Unique Industry
Gavino says the limo world is so different than any other industry because operators frequently get help from their competitors. “In other fields, you’re on your own,” he says. “My mind was blown at my first LCT Show. I couldn’t believe how even though operators work in the same region or city, they still help each other succeed.”
His advice for other operators, besides attending tradeshows, is be prepared for everything and don’t be afraid to mess up sometimes. “My father always said ‘If you never try, you’ll never know.’ If you try and fail, that’s how you learn.”
Being open to work with your competitors isn’t a bad thing, Bavishi says. If anything, it’ll help you succeed. “At first you ask yourself, ‘do I want to share my business with someone else?’ But we just recently moved over 2,000 people, and we could not have done that on our own. Networking helped us accomplish that, and it opens up future opportunities as well.”
Although the business is still young, Gavino likes how he and Bavishi are running it and is thankful for helpful colleagues. “They are the main core of our success and how we are able to keep moving forward.”
Keywords
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