Today we’d like to introduce you to Baboucarr Joof.
Baboucarr, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started driving for Uber full time in January 2018 after I quit my restaurant job. Because of my family situation, I had to drive at night. It was tough in the beginning; I was not used to driving long hours and late nights. With the help of the GPS, I can say that I have mastered the routes in the greater Atlanta area. I have driven over 150,000 miles and met over 10,000 people.
I have been enjoying this new venture from the get-go. It was not difficult to adapt to the challenges of dealing with tons of people daily because I am naturally a people person. I like to interact with my customers. Gradually I started to learn their needs and expectations. I started to provide additional amenities to make sure they had a memorable and unique experience.
Two of the first needs I identified were the importance of having various genres of music available and access to different types of phone chargers. As a result, I signed up for premium Spotify and downloaded the app to two tablets. Giving my passengers full control of what we listened to. Once my passenger settled into their seats safely, I would jokingly tell them “that I do the driving and you do the DJing.” They would laugh. Most of my passengers would take on this task and enjoy the rest of the ride playing their music of choice. There was an instance where one of my passengers challenged me to tell him my favorite music and that he would tip me more for doing so. I eventually gave into his request. He was pleased and so was I (he made good on his word and gave me an extra tip!)
To meet the phone charging needs of my passengers, I purchased two Powapod units which offered Apple, Android and USB chargers. The passengers had unlimited access to charge their phones/devices.
I continue to have more inspiration due to the positive feedback coming from my passengers. I installed internal lights and mini disco balls to enhance the 5Starpullup experience. A compliment left by a passenger was “Cool Car: So good! Lights, music, clean, Perfect! I now know the why behind the 5 star! Thank you.”
We frequently come across passengers visiting Atlanta for various reasons. Be it tourist, concerts, business, conferences, etc. A lot of other people visit to watch Atlanta United, the Braves or The Hawks play.
Many times, a passenger will tell me that I remind them of a driver in Puerto Rico, Miami or Vegas. One night in early December, I picked up a rider who owned a limousine business for over a decade. He gave me great compliments about my setup and urged me to create a social media platform and brand myself. He advised me to continue my endeavor and he believed that I would stand out in this industry.
After that encounter, I set up an Instagram account called @5starpullup. I shared it with some close friends. Some believed in me and gave their support. I remember one person laughing at my proposal and telling me that it would not work because at that time, I had less than 10 Instagram followers. I use that negativity as motivation to keep on feeding my newly found passion. I immediately designed a logo for 5Starpullup and had it placed on magnets for my vehicle. Then I went to Party City to look for fun props such as facemasks, minions and some cool glasses to add to the 5StarPullup experience. My passengers loved the atmosphere as can be seen in the many photos taken during their 5StarPullup rides!
While driving for Uber, I have come across many artists, comedians, dancers and journalists. TV Host and Sports Broadcaster Prev. Sunday Night Football on NBC, CBS Sports, ESPN & Comcast Lindsay McCormick, Artist Stickz Greenz, Artist Travis Starr, DJ Skrillz, and DJ Skywalker, just to name a few.
During these rides, I took the opportunity to promote 5StarPullup. I later put signs in the back seat that worked just as good. A lot of passengers would visit @5StarPullup IG page wanting to know what 5starPullup was all about. Once they access my social media they usually follow and request to take 5starPullup selfies with me to post on IG. This was how I gained many of my initial followers and it just grew from there. I even have instances where people would request rides because they see someone they know on Snapchat, IG or in a Facebook post in what I call my spaceship.
A few months ago, I recorded a video with a female artist; Kueen Knadii. In the video, I did a short interview with her and she performed in my vehicle. We both posted it on Instagram and YouTube, and it went viral. That video was the beginning of the Talent Hunter Show. As a result, I get dms from artists from all over the world wanting me to give them a shout out and promote them on the “Talent Hunter” platform.
This is only the beginning; stick around. I am excited about the future of 5Starpullup!!!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have been enjoying this new venture from the get-go. It was not difficult to adapt to the challenges of dealing with tons of people daily because I am naturally a people person. I like to interact with my customers. Gradually I started to learn their needs and expectations. I started to provide additional amenities to make sure they had a memorable and unique experience.
It was not rosy throughout the journey as I have met very strange people doing trips as you may know most of my rides have been during the night into all types of neighborhoods. But on the positive side of it I have been able to see different perspectives of people’s livelihood.
On the general business side, it has been a struggle for me to be able to do everything I want to do to fulfill the demand accorded to me as it is a soul business ownership. I have to do basically everything. Thanks to some of my family and close friends who have been there for me when it comes to some support and advice.
I have been using my 2012 Toyota rave4 for the 5Starpullup Experience through Uber. But because of popular demand and space, I wish I was able to Aquire a bigger black suv. Like there was an instance where I received a dm to my ig from someone who told me that I saw your vehicle somewhere in Atlanta and though that I was very cool. They asked how many seats do I have for passages. I told them its four passenger vehicles. They told me that they were six people in number. For that reason, I wish I could get an upgrade to an SUV.
As far as the Talent Hunter Show is concern, it was a hit when I released the first videos on ig and YouTube, but the constrain was the access video gadgets to make videos because there is definitely a lot of local artists who have been contacting me to have them on the platform. Because of the constrain, I have to put that sector on a hold until I’m able to acquire the equipment or the team to perform The Talent Hunter Show.
Please tell us about 5StarPullup.
My business is multi-faceted business comprising the Uber driving, Contents creator, car enthusiast and Photography. Everything started with me driving for uber and setting myself from other uber drivers by making my vehicle very entertaining and getting passengers wanting to come back for a ride. Now that I have diversified and took the experience to social media, I have caught the attention of companies as an influencer/content creator. I have attended car shows and share my picture to my growing followers. Currently doing a photography course. I have set up a blog to accommodate all the components of my endeavor. As I now call myself a car enthusiast I will be doing car reviews and will be sharing them with my followers on different social media platforms and in particular in my blog.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It was when I was in grade 4 at the end of the midterm, I remember I put a lot of effort with my studies, my mom as the go to if I needed help during that time. I remembered after the exams was completed. Something unusual happened because our class teacher called every student in from to the classroom to the chalkboard and to calculate our grades together with the rest of the classmates. My classmates who usually were in the 1st to 4th position did their calculation first. Then I was called to do my turn. Not surprising to me but to the surprise to the rest of the class. I was the best student in the class. I remembered some of my classmate’s requests to the teacher to recalculate my grades three times but the results didn’t change. That was the first time I finished at the top of the class and wasn’t the last. I was so excited that I took off and run all the way to our house just to tell my mom and dad my results. It was a good result to me but the guy who use to take 1st in the class cried.
I attended the Seventh Days Adventist Education Center The Gambia West Africa.
Contact Info:
- Website: 5starpullup.com
- Phone: 404 996 9355
- Email: 5starpullup@gmail.com
- Instagram: instragram.com/5starpullup
- Facebook: facebook.com/5starpullup
Image Credit:
Mercedes Benz, Primus Photography, Habits 365, Hidden Hills Watch co.
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