Inspiring Conversations with Bobby Cool of Nashville Vans LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bobby Cool

Bobby, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I moved to Nashville, as a singer/songwriter, to pursue a career in the music industry. From 2014-2020, I was a full time artist and because we were touring so much I was renting vans all of the time. As a result, in 2018, I decided to buy a van and I ended up making a website to see if I could rent it out, when I wasn’t using it, and from 2018-2020 that van essentially paid for itself. When the pandemic hit and everything shutdown, my wife was already staying at home with our 3 boys, so it forced me to look for other work to make a living.

Coming out of the pandemic, in the spring of 2021, the leads on the van website blew up. I was getting 4, 5, sometimes 10 a day, so I decided to buy another van. That van immediately booked up so I bought another one. What started as one van has turned into 25 vans, 6 employees, and we’re planning to open a 2nd location by the end of the year.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We’ve had our ups and downs, for sure. Initially, one of the biggest challenges was getting started after the pandemic. It was just me, a van, and a website but we were able to slowly add inventory until we got to the point that we had to bring someone else on to help out. It then started to grow so quickly that we couldn’t meet the demand and had to bring in more people to help, in addition to adding more vans. In a lot of ways, it has felt like building a plane as you’re going down the runway. Things have been moving so fast and yet you don’t quite have the door latched on super tight so it’s certainly been a bumpy ride but we’ve made a lot of progress and I’d like to think we’re starting to smooth some things out.

We’ve been impressed with Nashville Vans LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We started Nashville Vans because we think renting a van should be easy and enjoyable. We were tired of all of the headaches that accompanied the traditional rental experience. Having to pay for mileage, dealing with a wait at the rental counter, and paying an advertised price that ended up being way higher just felt like problems people shouldn’t have to deal with when renting a van. So, we wanted to change that.

With every rental, you get unlimited miles, after hours pick up/drop off, free on site parking, and no surprise fees. If you’re looking to rent a van and tired of dealing with the same van rental companies, check availability on our website (nashvillevans.com) and get started on an enjoyable rental experience.

And ultimately, for us, we just want to help people get where they need to go and do what they need to do.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Be authentic, open handed, and focus more on how you can help someone else get where they want to go.

Pricing:

• The Transit Passenger – as low as $175/day
• The Transit High Roof – as low as $275/day
• The Mercedes Sprinter Roadrunner – as low as $250/day
• The Mercedes Sprinter Benchmark – as low as $275/day
• The Mercedes Sprinter Executive – as low as $350/day

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nashvillevans.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/nashvillevans
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/nashvillevans
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9SC11CI1Z6m5Nm4-ItEZ_w