BY SUSAN ROSE
Cover art: Mary Paul of Crown Chauffeured Transportation at MB Financial Park at Rosemont in Rosemont, Ill.
Photography by Chris Weiss.
Last year, Mary Paul decided that after over 20 years she was ready to retire. She had, after all, built a successful company with her husband, Matt, and raised her son, Mathias, now a college senior. In March 2012, Paul officially retired ... from the Army Reserves.
Mary Paul, as CEO of Crown Chauffeured Transportation Worldwide (CCT) in Chicago and Master Sergeant in the Army Reserves, had been living a double-duty life. She had served the better part of three decades as a reservist in the military, first as an Army nurse for 12 years and later as a budget analyst working in a training unit for deploying servicemen. When she wasn’t fulfilling her part-time duty to the country she was building the company that she and her husband founded more than 20 years ago.
"In the military, you are always developing leadership and team building skills. the U.S. military has the best leadership schools in the world and I have been lucky enough to have attended some of them. One major element in leadership is you are supposed to accomplish your mission and take care of your people,” she says. “Another skill is influencing others and getting them to do what is necessary by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. This is essential to accomplishing your mission and these principles are easily translated into business.” The essentials of her military training transitioned well in the business world, especially regarding team building and overall organization of the company.
Mary is the face of CCT and Matt is its CFO and all-around vehicle guy, but the daily operations are trusted to Nate Klarkowski, team leader and office manager, and Jamie Stolzenbach, billing and affiliate manager. Having the team in place gives both Pauls the flexibility to be out of the office without the company falling to pieces—a true work-life balance.
Klarkowski joined the company 14 years ago and quickly showed his leadership potential by taking charge of dispatch and customer satisfaction. Mary says she recognized his leadership ability and was thrilled when he stepped up to the plate to act essentially as the manager of the overall operations. He’s trusted with the day-to-day tasks of running the company and oversees about 60 staff and chauffeurs, even when the Pauls are in the office. Stolzenbach manages the company’s extensive affiliate network, but is also very active in the general operations. She’s been with the company for about 6 years. The duo works together as a team supervising and monitoring dispatch and reservations to ensure operations run smoothly and effectively.
Before founding CCT, both Mary and Matt hailed from the world of taxis, and at one time they held 10 taxi medallions operating as Flash Cab. According to Mary, in the 1980s and early 1990s the taxicab industry became increasingly more frustrating, and both she and Matt came to a breaking point.
“It was hard to find qualified drivers,” she says. “It seemed like overnight that the quality of those choosing [the profession] dropped. They became territorial and difficult to work with; they only wanted to pick up certain customers. Our cabs would go missing and we’d have to hunt them down—the drivers would actually steal our vehicles. It was a headache.”
The popular business model of using a stretch limousine for ride-sharing didn’t appeal to the Pauls. “We didn’t want to begin our transportation company with a white stretch doing share rides during the week and weddings on the weekends; what we wanted was a shiny black Town Car driven by a chauffeur in a clean shirt and tie,” she says. The model that was appealing was the New York City-inspired concept of black cars used for corporate transportation—sort of in between taxis and limousines. They continued operating Flash Cabs while they tested out the black car business model idea of offering sedans to other limousine services in the area. The concept slowly but surely attracted customers and the Pauls were happy with the steady progress. It was easier to handle and the operating costs were much less than with taxis because the taxi medallions were and still are extremely expensive while livery plates were, at that time, almost nothing. The addition of another Town Car led to five and they sold the medallions to put their full efforts behind the new company, then called Crown Cars & Limousines. The company evolved into an executive car service by the late ’90s.
L to R: Nate Klarkowski, Jamie Stolzenbach, Treva Johnson, Suzie Abualygob, Mary Paul, Matt Paul, Mari Estrada, Michelle Lemus, Amanda Lamont, and Nicole Cruz
The adoption of its new name from Crown Cars & Limousines to Crown Chauffeured Transportation Worldwide just a couple of years ago represented a changing momentum at the company. It also accompanied a branding change, which reflects its current logo. Mary thought it was an important step because the Chicago market had been transformed over the years to include other vehicles besides stretch limousines, which had always been a small segment of the corporate business. Over the years, CCT grew organically through word-of-mouth advertising and very little “traditional” marketing. According to Mary, the company’s excellent reputation in the Chicago legal circle helped CCT grow into one of the largest transportation providers to legal and consulting firms in the city. Contracts with high-end downtown hotels rounded out the client list. Business was great.
Then Mary attended an industry conference where she first heard, in detail, the benefits of affiliate work. It struck a chord with her. “We were doing just fine, but my business started to expand and my clients were asking if we provided service in other cities. Affiliate business was a good way to continue to expand without having to hire an expensive salesperson, and I could offer more options to my existing clients.”
In order to do this, however, the Pauls realized that they needed to be more visible to the industry at large. CCT already had many good working relationships with companies in Chicagoland and with the various local chambers of commerce, but it was virtually unknown outside the area despite many years in business. Mary’s strategy included attending all of the trade shows, oftentimes having a booth and just advertising the fact that CCT was available as a Chicago affiliate. The company became more involved with the Illinois Limousine Association and Mary ran for a position on the NLA board, which she won in 2011. Through the local and national associations and events, she quickly built awareness of CCT and found trusted transportation partners all over the country and world that she trusted with her clients. Mary is also a member of Driving Results’ learning and development group called Women on the Move. She believes it is important to stay in touch with other women business owners in the industry who face the same or similar challenges in different markets. Jamie Stolzenbach, CCT’s affiliate and billing manager, is also a member of Driving Results’ Going Global, a group specifically for increasing affiliate networks.
“We always earned the trust and business of our clients because of our customer service,” she says. Mary says thsat one of CCT’s strongest selling points in addition to its excellent customer service is its $5 million insurance policy, far above the required minimum. She says that CCT is carrying high-profile, million-dollar CEOs, attorneys, and consultants in the back of its vehicles, so it only made sense to raise it to the level of its clientele—and customers love it.
Mary Paul officially retired from the military in 2012 with the rank of Master Sergeant
Image was a valuable lesson also learned in the early years of the business. Long before CCT had an official headquarters location—back when it was still a fledgling company—it was run out of the Pauls’ home. The first office soon posed its own problems. “People wouldn’t show up for a job interview because we were based in an apartment complex and they thought we were sketchy,” she says. “Thinking back, I don’t blame them, but it was affordable and we needed an office.” Several moves later, including a stint where a neighboring bakery owner used to terrorize the Pauls over the tight and limited parking situation in Chicago, the company has landed in its own building, which the Pauls purchased in 2011 and have renovated. Their building, located just a minute or two from O’Hare International Airport, has over 25,000 square feet with plenty of room to grow and ample garage parking. It’s perfect for the company today and in the future. “We chose the location because it is next door to O’Hare as well as its proximity to the suburbs and the expressways. We constructed a large lounge for our chauffeurs to relax, do paperwork, and watch TV while waiting for their flights at O’Hare instead of waiting at the staging lot. We made a comfortable and desirable place for our chauffeurs because we always want to encourage them to come in to our office and feel welcome. While waiting chauffeurs have the opportunity to relax or use the car wash and central vacuum to ensure clean cars every time for each pickup.”
The building has also earned the certification of LEED for sustainability, as well as the Illinois Green Business Association. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is one of the top certification programs for green spaces. While remodeling their building, the Pauls used energy-efficient planning and principles as a guide and made sustainability a commitment for all new construction. The Pauls committed because LEED standards have added value to their real estate and the community. CCT is the proud winner of two industry awards recognizing their efforts to the environment and to the industry as leaders.
“One of the core values I learned as being a business owner is that happiness and good health is important to everyone. I want my staff to be happy with their jobs, with a salary that they feel is fair, and work in an environment that presents a pleasant atmosphere. Caring for your employees involves loyalty and respect and in turn, what you give is what you receive. The building renovation and design is helping us achieve that. If my staff are happy with their responsibilities and jobs, then they will respect our customers by providing excellent customer service, and the business continues to grow,” she says.
CCT just broke its best year on record in 2012, after tumbling a bit in 2008 and 2009. The company actually lost quite a bit of business during those years—not in the number of clients but a decrease in the travel spend, which resulted in about $1 million in lost revenue. But the company rebounded and steadily increased until it surpassed its 2007 record.
Currently the fleet is just shy of 60 vehicles, including Cadillac and Lincoln sedans, MKTs, SUVs, vans, a few stretches, and new Mercedes Sprinters. Limousines are a small part of the fleet, but Mary notes that they are usually very busy on weekends and are used primarily for suburban and hotel work. “The executive Sprinters are the fastest-growing segment for us,” says Matt, who is responsible for purchasing and ensuring that CCT’s vehicles are properly permitted and insured. “Our customers are really liking the room to move around and the look.” Although CCT does get quite a bit of charter work, the Pauls say that there is no interest in operating buses, which is easily farmed out to local affiliates.
In addition to moving into a newly renovated building, breaking its revenue record, and Mary’s military retirement, the company also purchased Keen Limousine in 2012 from a retiring operator, that turned out to be a very good investment. Based in St. Charles, a city in the western suburbs, it is run independently of CCT and serves the local area. Several years before, CCT purchased a company called Quadrangle Livery Car Service, based in the upscale Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park, which specifically serves the University of Chicago community. “What these acquisitions did, in essence, was balance the company’s offerings” says Matt. The Pauls are currently considering other opportunities and acquisitions in the near future.
“One of our greatest challenges in Chicago is that we are overregulated,” says Mary. “We not only have to abide by Chicago rules, but the surrounding 40 municipalities want to regulate us and require permits in order to pick up in their town. It’s not practical, financially or logistically, but the rules are on the books. The towns are just so cash-strapped that they are looking to small businesses to make up the shortfall by additional licensing, tickets, and fines.” She got around it by only focusing on the city of Chicago business and didn’t go after much suburban business. “Licensing a fleet of vehicles in Chicago is extremely expensive,” she continues. “The city makes it very difficult for small businesses to operate. Government, unfortunately, is our biggest roadblock.”
Mary is also a director of the Illinois Limousine Association who is trying to tackle an issue that is reminiscent of her days operating Flash Cabs: the lack of properly licensed chauffeurs who can operate in the city of Chicago and O’Hare and Midway airports. The city only operates one testing center for all chauffeurs licensing in one area, and its location at the Olive-Harvey Community College is in far south Chicago, up to an hour-and-a-half away from most of the north and northwest suburbs.
“There’s just one testing center and it’s time consuming and expensive for many to go there,” she says. “We’ve tried pressing the point with Commissioner Rosemary Krimbel [of the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection], but we haven’t had much luck in convincing her that it’s inconvenient for possible future chauffeurs. Having an online class and proctored chauffeurs test would be more practical. If this would occur more people would be able to be employed in the city of Chicago as chauffeurs and everyone including the city would benefit from the program.”
Matt agrees that it’s a major problem for the entire Chicago industry. “I could go out and buy 100 vehicles—and the client demand would be there—but I could probably only add a few new licensed chauffeurs,” he says. “Go to any company operating in Chicago and they’ll tell you the same thing. Not having chauffeurs could put companies out of business, and that certainly will hurt tax revenue. It hurts everyone. That, without a doubt, is the biggest issue we’re dealing with.”
The Pauls are enjoying their success and are comfortable with CCT’s pace. While other companies believe the trend is to grow ever-larger and offer more services such as event planning or tour groups, the Pauls are satisfied with serving its corporate customers. Mary says that CCT’s clients are happy, growth is steady, and they have a staff in place that allows her and her husband to scale back their involvement in the operations. They enjoy traveling and spending time at their second home in Arizona.
Since its inception, CCT has been a family-owned and operated business. The Pauls’ son, Mathias, grew up with both parents in the industry. Mathias has worked for CCT as a chauffeur on occasion when home from college at Arizona State University where he is majoring in environmental geography and sustainability. He also knows QuickBooks and does banking tasks, analyzes commission reports, and is able to license the company vehicles with Chicago. So far he hasn’t expressed any interest in one day taking over the business, and Mary says that’s just fine with her. She will support his decision either way.
“Right now his main job is to concentrate on school and get good grades,” she says. “If he does want to work for the company, that’s okay, too, but I think he should start out working for someone else first other than working for his mom and dad. His future is up to him.” [CD0713]