
Social Media: A Weapon of Crass Destruction
APRIL LCT: The platforms can be a great tool for connecting but can also explode over posts that were not thought out.
Leesburg, Va. - For a woman nearly 20 years in the business, Kristina Bouweiri had never seen anything like it before.
The phones were ringing off the hook the day after Election Day. The country had just voted in its first African-American president. Many, many parties were in order, and people, including Tinseltown celebrities, needed a ride to each.
“Inauguration week!” Bouweiri announced through a broad grin. “It was our biggest week ever.”
Born in Japan to a pair of exchange students, Bouweiri, 46, as she puts it, is a "woman working in a man’s business”: chauffeuring. She’s the president and CEO of Reston Limousine, whose vehicles are as common in this region as FedEx trucks.
Don’t let the name throw you. Reston Limousine is a Loudoun company. Its headquarters are tucked in the back of a gritty industrial park near Dulles Town Center, while Bouweiri and her family reside in rural Loudoun west of Leesburg.
Her husband, William Bouweiri, now retired from the company, founded Reston Limousine in 1990 with the help of a $5,000 tip he was given while driving for another company.
At the time, Reston Town Center was the company's home. Early clients included Exxon Mobil and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Bouweiri, who was working in advertising, met her husband around this time, and the two soon began dating. She then started working at Reston Limousine. They married in 1991.
With Kristina Bouweiri on board, the company grew quickly. In need of more space to park its expanding fleet, the couple moved the company to Herndon, then Sterling and eventually to its current home in Dulles.
"As the traffic in the area got worse," she said, "we got bigger."
In 2000, her husband retired to take care of the couple's growing family at home, leaving Bouweiri in charge of the business. Since then, revenues jumped from $2 million annually to $15 million in 2008.
In 2004, the Washington Business Journal named Bouweiri one of the 50 most powerful and influential women in the region.
Today, Reston Limousine is the 23rd largest limousine company in the United States.
Corporations and federal and state agencies account for 80 percent of the company's business. Major clients include George Mason University, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae and Marymount University. Proms and wine-country trips also have been profitable for the company.
Its 150 vehicles -- which include buses, vans, sedans and stretch limousines -- transport 5,000 people a day.
However, as it was for most other companies, 2008 was a struggle.
"Christmas was dead," Bouweiri said. "No one threw any parties."
But then came inauguration week. Writer Norman Lear called. He needed a driver, as did Hollywood starlets Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba, legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin, and thousands of other people desperate for transportation.
"Our dispatchers worked 16-hour days," she said.
But, she said, everyone got where they needed to be without a hitch.
"I get a lot of attention because I am working in a male business," she said. "But man or woman, you have to surround yourself with the top talent. That is really the key. ... I don't do this alone."
Source: Loudoun Times
APRIL LCT: The platforms can be a great tool for connecting but can also explode over posts that were not thought out.
That burning question is front and center at the upcoming LCT Technology Summit.
The leader of one of the world's largest chauffeured fleet networks departs amid management changes.
eNews Exclusive: Kevin Polite has joined forces with veteran operator Robert Alexander to provide Washington, D.C. area clients with #RMAperfect rides.
APRIL LCT: Tammy Carlisle and Clarence Carr fell for each other and for providing creative luxury transportation service in Atlanta.
eNews Exclusive: The new president of the Colorado Limousine Association urges members to move beyond old ways.
An expert coming to the LCT Technology Summit will show ways you can develop stronger data bonds with your clients.
The family businessman helped run a dealership that has supplied chauffeured fleet vehicles since 2007.
APRIL LCT Editor's Edge: The site of our annual global trade show gives me a time travel sensation.
eNews Exclusive: Even when times get tough, Barbara and Simon White never trade integrity for profit.
The results of the fourth annual Semper Fi industry fundraiser are in, and generosity abounded.
This is the best place to get to know operators and get noticed by LCT editors.
Driverless cars, artificial intelligence, and digital marketing are some of the main drivers charting the industry’s future.
eNews Exclusive: Faizan Dolani and Evan McLemee may be young, but they run a company better than some twice their age.
If you like indulging in amazing culinary delights as well as networking, don't miss this opportunity to do both all at once.
The world's No. 1 online marketplace and trader for professional chauffeured and chartered vehicles, including all types of motorcoaches, buses, vans, stretch limousines, sedans, SUVs, exotics, and classics. New and used vehicles are available from sellers across the nation.
The best online networker to find quality affiliates worldwide and market your company.
Click on any state to see the latest industry news and events in that region.
Get the latest news and most popular articles from LCT delivered straight to your inbox.
Current newsletters:
Joy
| about 6 years agoU bring back soooo many memories!! Since this article is in the L&C mag I think u mite know who we r - VIP limousine inc - winner of the 1999 natl operator of the year. My husband passed away @ age 42. Then lots of unexpected things happened from his side of the family that legally tied me up. Literally. I understand u r divorced now. How do u manage if I may b so blunt?? 24/7/365 is VERY stressful!! Btw; kudos!!