Better ways to run a shuttle service
James David, co-founder of James Investments CC with his new van.
James David, co-founder of James Investments CC has been actively involved with the Namibia Business Innovation Centre its inception3 years ago. He says the centre has helped him transform his way of doing business and at the same time helped him to establish his business firmly.
The Namibian Business Innovation Centre’s vision is to be an independent change agent for innovation and business development that supports Namibia to build a globally competitive economy and an inclusive society.
After attending numerous workshops by the Centre, he praises the Namibian Business Innovation Centre for hosting informative and educative workshops that changed his view of how to run a business. “Business is a broader term, it is not only about making money, but it defines the service beyond the money,” he says, defining what business means to him.
David who started out by selling Pizza in 2007 has recently started shifting his interest to shuttle services. His business is transportation and accommodation at affordable rates. “I saw an opportunity in providing this service, I grabbed it and I managed to build a good relationship with my clients,” he said. His business was motivated by the many foreigners who had difficulties in finding affordable places to stay and transport from one place to another.
David’s target customers are mostly Portuguese speaking visitors from Angola who come here for business and shopping trips. As part of his service, he says he always goes the extra mile acting as translator between his clients and local people.
“Most of my clients do not know how to communicate in English, therefore, I always act as an interpreter to ensure there’s effective communication,” he said.
He aims to expand his business to all parts of the country.
He urges other young people to attend workshops offered by the Centre as they empower young people and helps to change their business perspectives. He strongly discourages the habit of seeing debts as the solution to financial problems, reminding young people not to fall into debt traps.
He says it all begins with discipline, having a budget and having a bookkeeping system to keep track of all the transactions going on in the business. Meanwhile he said that although there are challenges, his investments are growing day by day. He is very positive about the success that he is yet to achieve.
