Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Holdener.
Hi Bryan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was in college at KU, I was the social chair for my fraternity. For our formal, I needed to rent a bus for transportation and decided a party bus would be fun. After doing some research I found out that they aren’t necessarily cheap to rent. Prices were a lot higher than expected (I understand why now). The bus I ended up renting was basically an old school bus with the seats turned to the side, LED strips laying on the floor, and the sound system consisted of the original bus intercom speakers.
I had experience in vehicle modification, particularly in lighting and sound systems, and knew that I could build something better.
I spent hours on the phone with the state and federal authorities to get the proper licensing and operating authority, more time to obtain all the necessary business licenses, lots of interviews with possible drivers to find one that was qualified. The hardest part by far was obtaining insurance for the venture.
Once I knew I was legal to operate, I took all the money I had saved as a college student (paying my way through school and working) and used money a close friend had offered to loan me to fund my venture. Legalities, insurance, and licensing, cost more than the actual bus!
I hired an experienced and qualified driver and they drove most of the trips early on. During this time, I studied, practiced and was certified to drive commercial vehicles as well.
I had started the company thinking that the frats/sororities at KU and other college students would be my main customers. I quickly came to realize that the greek life organizations only need a bus a couple times a year and that the college students spend all their available money at the bar on dollar night and have little left over to spend on anything else.
I shifted my focus to Kansas City and my business took off! I was getting reservations for weddings, birthday parties, pub crawls, corporate, bachelor and bachelorette, winery tours, and Chiefs and Royals games! Over the years I added buses, a shop facility, drivers, and acquired three other companies in the area.
Today I have a team of 10 amazing employees, and operate 8 buses for numerous reservation every week. We do all the building and maintenance in house.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This business is not for the faint of heart. Its a lot of long hours and pressure to get it right. There are hundreds of moving parts that all require attention routinely, if not daily, Aspects to consider are the buses mechanically, their entertainment systems, customers, drivers, legal, insurance, accounting, and marketing.
We do scheduled, preventative maintenance on every bus to make sure they are as perfect as possible for every trip. Even with that attention to detail, unexpected and unpreventable things can still happen and you have to be ready for that.
You deal with many amazing, fun people, but on the flip side there are just as many people who are not ideal. There are customers who will cancel last minute and leave you hanging, break rules they were warned about multiple times in advance, damage the bus, or leave you a bad review when everyone else on the trip had a great time.
The cost of insurance is absolutely insane and if you don’t have a property, storing such large vehicles can be an issue.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Magic Party Buses is an event transportation service operating in the Lawrence and greater Kansas City area. We specialize in providing a fun and safe means of transportation for groups who want to bring the WOW factor to their event. The buses are equipped with perimeter leather seating, moving LED party lights, unmatched sound systems, and professional drivers. We have buses for any type of event – Weddings, corporate, birthdays, Chiefs and Royals games, concerts, bachelor and bachelorette parties, prom and homecoming, winery and Christmas light tours, you name it!
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
When you start a business, you really have to go ALL IN to be successful. Trying to run an actual business on the side or part time is going to give you part time profits and part time profits don’t pay the bills.
When I started, I really just wanted to make some money on the side before I graduated college that year. I knew I didnt want a 9 to 5 job so I went all in. I didn’t have the know-how at the time or people in my life to help me, but I had faith in myself that I could figure anything out and the humility to learn. It took way more blood, sweat, and tears than I knew I had but as you push forward, the right people, places, and things really do fall into place.
Pricing:
- Varies by bus, date, time frame, city and general plan.
- Booking with a legal company can be ‘expensive’, but split between 25-40 passengers, its extremely affordable.
- If you’re paying for it all yourself (ex: wedding) you’re paying for an experience. Money is best spent on experiences, not tangible things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Magicpartybuses.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magicpartybuses/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magicpartybuses/
