May 1, 2017

Meet Lance Cavazos of Cool Bus Houston in Spring Branch

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance Cavazos.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Lance. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first heard about the party bus concept in my first year living in Houston in 2007. I thought it was such a fun idea to have a party on wheels! One of my coworkers had a buddy who started his own party bus company in another city so I gave him a shout to discuss his business. I immediately fell in love with the idea and told myself that I would, one day, have my own party bus company.

Well the years went on and life got in the way and I still hadn’t achieved my goal. In May 2013, I was in San Diego, CA for a friend’s wedding and they had booked a party bus to take their guests to/from various locations. I wound up chatting with the driver throughout the night and as we traveled from location to location, the passion that I once had back in 2007 for starting my own party bus company found new life.

We set up a call a week later and we talked, in great detail, about how he got started and some of the speed bumps he ran in to along the way. After 2-3 more calls like this, and after he answered the laundry list of questions that I had for them, I decided that I wanted to get off my butt and move forward with this endeavor!

I established my LLC in June 2013. The next 2 years would be spent creating business plans, logos, bus designs, attending small business workshops, networking events and visiting with other small business owners to learn about their success and failures and hopefully to get some advice from experienced entrepreneurs.

The first Cool Bus was purchased November 11, 2015 in Humble, TX when it was spotted in front of a commercial building with a “FOR SALE” sign taped to the front. The bus was covered in red, white and blue paint and Texans logos as it was previously used as a Houston Texans Tailgate Party Bus.

Multiple repairs and maintenance took place over the next few months in order to get the bus ready to become Houston’s best party on wheels. Before the fun could begin, the electrical system, suspension, brakes and fuel pumps (aka the boring stuff) would all get worked on.

Finally, in late February 2016, The Cool Bus would start to become the beautiful specimen of a party bus that you see today, with new upholstery, interior LED lighting, Bluetooth radio, air conditioning and handrails. A few custom items were made specially just for The Cool Bus and had to be fabricated from scratch, including an ice chest/trashcan compartment on board and a custom frame on the back of the bus that house the generators that power the all-important A/C. Once we finished the interior, the final steps were decking The Cool Bus exterior out with a custom paint job in its signature black and neon green. And with that, The Cool Bus was officially ready to roll.

Cool Bus Houston officially opened our doors September 15, 2016.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
First off, just finding the right bus took some time. After months of visiting “Bus Barns” that sold used school buses and not finding anything, I was very fortunate that I found a bus for sale that already had the general layout that I was looking for with its own custom seating and sound system already installed.

Second, once I found the bus and purchased it, the time and money spent on repairs/maintenance was a very frustrating (and expensive) experience. My patience was definitely tested as I would just have to sit back and wait to get the bus out of the shop – whichever one it was in that week.

And third, once I started doing test rides around town, more issues kept popping up. Everything from the power steering going out to breaking down on the side of the road. Luckily the test rides were with my friends so they weren’t too hard on me.

As I am sure with most, if not, all startups, I am constantly learning each and every day and making notes on how to improve the customer experience and, in general, the overall business.

Please tell us about Cool Bus Houston.
We are Houston’s #1 Party on Wheels! A retired school bus transformed to a one-of-a-kind party bus that services Greater Houston and surrounding areas including, but not limited to Katy, Cypress, The Woodlands, Sugarland, Galveston, Montgomery, Magnolia, Conroe, Humble and Baytown. The Cool Bus seats 16-18 party-goers and comes equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system, LED lighting, dancing pole, cooler on board and access to control your own party tunes! Each guest also receives a complimentary pair of Cool Bus Houston sunglasses!

The Cool Bus is available for private parties including but not limited to bar hopping, brewery tours, winery tours, weddings, quinceñeras, corporate outings, non-profit events, concerts, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proms, homecoming dances, Galveston Beach day trips and Crawfish Crawls (Spring time only)!

We pride ourselves in offering an experience like no other party bus in Houston. We offer our guests a safe, unique atmosphere aboard a school bus and compliment their trip with a token of appreciation in the form of our signature Cool Bus Houston sunglasses. Our customers have raved about how comfortable they feel on board the bus, and how great it is to get their group to/from a location safely. As the (only) driver, I make sure to engage with the customer throughout their party offering suggestions on the next location, music selections and multiple high-fives! I also like to dress for the occasion, for instance, if there is a theme to the party (i.e. 80’s night, etc.), I enthusiastically participate. It’s just another way to add a personal touch to a special night for my customers.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I think if I could’ve done anything differently, I would’ve done it sooner because I have such a passion for this business venture. I also would’ve researched and learned more about diesel mechanics to help save on some of the initial costs to get the bus up to standard.

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