Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracie Brown.
Hi Tracie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a retired Air Force veteran. I served for 23 years and 5 months, with 8 overseas assignments and one tour in Afghanistan at Bagram Air Base. After retiring in 2015, I chose not to work for 2 years but that ended up being long enough. I attempted to enter back into the workforce, working with the Navy, right after Covid hit but that didn’t work out. I quickly realized that I was not a good fit for having a “boss”. So, one day, in 2023, my husband asked me what I thought about Ubering. I said I don’t think about Ubering but who couldn’t use a few extra bucks? It would get me out of the house, help me network and I love to drive, so I gave it a shot. I became an Uber driver in December of 2023, like 2 weeks before Christmas. After just 4 short months of driving, I had 2 passengers in my car. I heard 1 ask, how much is the Uber? The other lady replied, $50 plus a tip! Whew…my app said $22.85. I quickly realized that Uber was taking over 50% of the fare and it was at that very moment I made a decision to cut out the middleman. A month later, Brown’s Premier Car Service was launched, and we have not looked back!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall, things have been smooth. The biggest challenge has been the lack of funding. To date, we have funded our company with our own funds. Our current fleet consists of a 2020 Cadillac Escalade ESV and a 2019 Cadillac CT6 Luxury Sedan. We did have a Ford E-350 7-seater passenger van for a few months but ended up selling it last year.
We’ve been impressed with Brown’s Premier Car Service, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am Tracie Brown, a retired Air Force disabled-veteran and a black minority small business owner. We are an award-winning chaufHERed luxury car service company that provides safe, reliable and professional black car service to and from Lambert Airport and other surrounding airports, special occasions, such as weddings, birthday parties and proms and executive events.
We are headquartered in Belleville, Illinois and service a 75-mile radius.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5-10 years, I see black car service becoming less about simply providing transportation and more about providing a premium, technology-enabled, relationship-driven experience. I think this is what sets us apart from the larger rideshare platforms…the personal touch!
The Global Business Travel Association forecasts $1.71 trillion in world-wide business-travel spending in 2026, with spending projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2030. That means airport transfers, corporate transportation, meetings, conferences and executive travel should remain important sources of demand.
A few shifts: reservations over on-demand rides. Premium customers increasingly value WHO is picking them up, what vehicle is coming and that someone will actually be there. Reliability becomes part of the luxury; technology plus personal service; more corporate and institutional contracts, such has corporate, law firms, hotels, funeral home and government partnerships; larger and more diverse fleets; and higher expectations for safety and professionalism.
For BPCS, we don’t have to become the biggest transportation company in the St. Louis market; however, we will strive to become one of the most trusted premium transportation brands in the market.
In 5 years, I envision the company evolving from primarily an owner-operated black car service into a small premium transportation company with multiple revenue channels, such as airport transfers, corporate accounts and funeral home partnerships.
Over 10 years, the bigger opportunity is building a company that doesn’t require me to personally driver every client. Meaning, trained chauffeurs, documented service standards, dispatch/booking technology and a fleet that can operate even when I’m not behind the wheel.
That’s the difference between owning a driving job and owning a transportation company. I believe our brand philosophy “Driven by Excellence. Defined by Service” actually fits where the industry is heading. Technology can make transportation efficient. Service is what makes it premium.
Pricing:
- Varies depending upon the pickup location, time of pickup and destination.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brownspremiercarservice.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094186783067
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracie-l-brown
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/IUHuWLuZ5W
- Other: https://g.page/r/CRRzh1r_1AJzEAE/review
