At 26, Elizabeth Vazquez is far beyond her years in terms of motivation and goals. After working in the transportation industry for a few years, she quickly realized that she wanted to call herself a small business owner.
Vazquez, who hails from Dallas, Texas and is a client of 1-800Accountant, proudly operates Towing & More, LLC that does business as Transport & MORE Services. She formally launched the unique home-based venture in January 2017. She has one business partner, Richard Walker.
“I am starting off as a brokering company that works with other transportation firms to help individuals and businesses transport vehicles and other items nationwide and even internationally,” Vazquez explains. “We’re also going to offer repossession services, emergency roadside assistance, dealership support, and other towing services.”
The former AAA dispatcher says she’s made numerous connections in her industry. She attributes the desire to pursue entrepreneurship to the encouragement of a former supervisor.
“My previous boss filled me with knowledge and the ability to do this type of work, and he really inspired me to start this business. Most people want to keep their money-making ideas to themselves, but my old boss was the opposite and really gave me the guidance I needed to do all of this on my own.”
In addition to this encouragement, Walker has also been a tremendous support to her in helping the two entrepreneurs find startup success.
“Early on, I picked Elizabeth’s brain and helped guide her to make the right decisions for the business as far as profitability,” says Walker, 30. “I have spent a lot of time assisting my family with important financial matters and working with investors. I want our partnership to get to the point where if she can’t do something, I can step in and handle it – and vice versa.”
The Joys of Being Self-Employed
For Vazquez, it’s the people she gets to associate with who make her self-employment work so enjoyable.
“I’ve always been a people person, so having the opportunity to communicate and network with such a wide variety of people is really nice,” she explains. “And I get to work with – not for – these people.”
Small Business Competition
While many entrepreneurs have the goal of running faster than their competition, Vazquez is taking the road-less-traveled approach to how her small business fits into the transportation industry.
“I don’t want to be portrayed as having competitors,” she says. “I don’t want to undermine others. I want to work together with people so we can all accomplish big things. Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Small Business Advertising Strategies
To get the word out about Towing & More, LLC, the entrepreneur has lots of strategies she has already carried out and others she’s planning. She is using the Internet by having a website, developing a social media presence by starting with a Facebook page, and implementing search engine optimization (SEO) keywords. She will also distribute business cards locally and may even run commercials on TV or put up billboards.
Her biggest piece of advice thus far in her career as a small business owner is to develop a support network.
“Reach out to others around you because they will probably be willing to help you. Also, if you buy into it, I recommend getting rid of this mentality of undermining others.”
Experience as a Client of 1-800Accountant
Elizabeth Vazquez is a very satisfied client of 1-800Accountant.
“1-800Accountant is doing my business taxes, which is a huge help to me so I can focus on my business. I love the personalization of the services. I also have a great rapport with my accounting team, and you guys have just been absolutely wonderful. I really don’t know where I would be without your help.”
1-800Accountant is changing the way businesses connect with their accounting and taxes. Through the use of an innovative and easy-to-use technology platform that combines pro-active, year-round advice and planning from a team of accounting professionals, we are able to deliver accounting services both seamlessly and more affordably than ever before. Schedule a consultation with a Small Business Tax Specialist.