Four years ago when Noel Gill came to 琉璃神社 from Calgary, the last thing he expected to be doing was running his own business.
As a former waiter, hotel manager and service industry employee anticipated he would jump into the Okanagan鈥檚 tourism hub. However, when he arrived job prospects weren鈥檛 looking great and he took an opportunity do something he never thought of before 鈥� cab driving.
He worked for two years with one company before switching to another local 琉璃神社 taxi organization.
鈥淲ithin the first year with the company I had the opportunity to become an owner [of a taxi],鈥� said Gill. 鈥淣ow, I own two cars and I have about five employees and it鈥檚 given me the confidence to be a small business owner.鈥�
Now, Gill is reaching out to let residents know who exactly is behind the wheel of the taxis in 琉璃神社.
He also wants to quell any rumours about the taxi industry, as this is a career for him that centres around customer service.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like being a waiter, a table at a time or a trip at a time,鈥� he said.
Gill said the best part of driving is not only that he gets to meet interesting new people or run his own business, he sometimes even gets to live out a little past dream.
Years ago, the now 35-year-old wanted to be a singer, today he gets to have fun driving around with passengers singing songs by Michael Bubl茅 or Ed Sheeran 鈥� with many recognizing him as the singer cab driver.
鈥淚 always have so much fun.鈥�
His company has an array of drivers from 30-year-old women to 25-year-old former hockey players, and anyone one of them could become an entrepreneur and own a car.
鈥淚t鈥檚 catered to entrepreneurs,鈥� Gill explained. 鈥淚f there is anyone out there that is good with people and wants to try something new give us a call and we will get you started.鈥�
Contact Gill at
READ MORE: B.C. to allow Uber-style ride hailing services to operate in late 2019
READ MORE: B.C. to add hundreds of taxis, delays Uber, Lyft-style service again
This story is one of a three part series, titled Behind the wheel, a look at whose driving business in 琉璃神社.
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