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Tell us a little bit about Visions Transportation:
Visions Transportation is a luxury black car service, serving Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana areas. We currently own 10 vehicles — a mix of black cars, SUVs, sedans, transits, and shuttles. We have 8 employees in addition to ourselves, and provide services for all luxury transportation needs. Additionally, we operate Vision Door 2 Door School Transportation. We currently service 5 school districts within the south suburban area. Our team has been hand-picked, and in addition to their professionalism, safety, and dependability within our black car luxury client services, they have the heart and the passion for working with the student, church, and senior populations. We are proud to serve in our community.
How did you, personally, end up in the transportation industry?
My husband Markelle and I began driving for Uber in 2015, and we eventually transitioned into Uber Black. Due to the unprofessionalism we witnessed within the Uber platform, we conversed several times on enlarging our territory within the luxury black car industry.
Then in December 2017, our pastor shared a dream with Markelle, stating that he had dreamed Markelle was dressed as a chauffeur. He wasn’t sure whether Markelle owned his own company, or was working for someone else in the dream. Two days later we were approached by a financial group that knew nothing about the dream that was given. But they took a chance and provided funding for our first vehicle. By February 28, 2018, Visions Transportation LLC was incorporated, with our vehicle on the road. Our first reservation as Visions Transportation was March 3, 2018, to Mr. & Mrs. Victor Crook.
What has been your experience as an ILLBA member?
Visions has been an ILLBA member since 2019, and the support has been phenomenal. We’re grateful to have this community of like-minded people who can share ideas, thoughts, and their successes, with many learning opportunities. Paula has been an amazing resource for networking, and she’s a wealth of knowledge. Especially during the pandemic, the ILLBA and its members offered hope, structure, and pivoting points to remain afloat.
Any predictions, hopes, or ambitions for the future of our industry?
Community is everything. Our industry will be stronger the more we focus on trust, effective communication, connection, and moving forward collectively in pursuit of shared identities and goals. The politics don’t really interest us and we have no desire to entertain it. We are looking at the potential for growth through unity.
You can reach Stephanie and Markelle at markelleballard@visionstransportation.com, +1 800 610 4902, or on LinkedIn.
Read Stephanie and Markelle’s full interview on our website.
Calling all members and vendors / suppliers! Want to be featured in an upcoming Spotlight Series? Contact Paula at the ILLBA office.
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