Leicester Premier Chauffeurs is celebrating five years in business this year. Owner Zuber Hafeji talks to Pukaar about why reaching this milestone is a significant one.
Setting up your own business is always a risky step but one man was determined to make his chauffeur driven car service a success.
After dabbling in the restaurant and hosiery industry, working as a technician at the Walkers factory and driving taxis, the young businessman decided to start something of his own:
“I bought a BMW 5 series and came off the taxis and started to build Leicester Premier Chauffeurs. It was difficult at the beginning because I was only doing a few Birmingham jobs a week so I rented a black cab and worked nights to keep the money coming in.”
The young entrepreneur started having doubts when people started questioning his business idea. Some family members told him to stick with black cabs because there wasn’t a need for chauffeur or executive hire service.
“When I went to the bank to open a business bank account, the branch manager didn’t know how to spell ‘chauffeur’ and then asked, ‘what kind of business is this?’ At that point I was wondering if I had made the right decision.”
Determined to take his chances, the family man got his website designed, set up his social media accounts and started to network with other people in the same trade who started to pass extra jobs on to him. He spent a lot of time away from his family but his dedication, smooth service and clean cars helped him build a strong reputation which he is very proud of today.
He now has four cars including two Mercedes-Benz E-Class, an S-Class and a Mercedes-Benz Viano. He employs another full-time and 3 part-time drivers and provides corporate and business travel as well as chauffeur hire for weddings and other special events. The family-run company has grown into a flourishing, steady business and he’s also been able to set a good example to his three children.
“My colleagues at the taxi firm laughed when I bought a BMW and a guy I used to help with his airport work told me he’d been there and done it and it had been a failure so he was just sticking with taxis but I am sure he sees me now and thinks ‘he must be doing something right.’ ”
www.leicesterpremierchauffeurs.
