Transportation Startup Hits the Road to Success

JD Cohen Logistics LLC of Hillsborough County

In April 2024, James and Alicia Cohen launched JD Cohen Logistics, a non-emergency transportation company serving the greater Tampa Bay area. The business provides safe, reliable rides to medical appointments, rehab centers, airports, and more — filling a critical need for individuals who require transportation to essential destinations.

The inspiration behind the business came from a deeply personal experience. “We both take care of our parents. My mom is elderly, and I take her back and forth to doctor’s appointments. I was with her at a doctor’s appointment, and we were waiting on the transportation people to come pick her up. So after a while, 30 minutes ended up being two hours of waiting for them to come and pick her up,” Alicia said. “And my situation is similar in that my brother, and I were caring for my father and taking dad back and forth for his chemo appointments. We realized just seeing patients left there when we were actually going in and then of course, asking people ‘do you have a ride?’ and basically saying they had been left by transportation companies,” James added.

Recognizing a widespread problem, the husband-and-wife team knew they had both the passion and insurance industry knowledge to create a solution. What they needed was guidance turning their vision into a viable business. That’s when they connected with Shawn Ferguson, a business consultant at the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County.

“Although we had some ideas of how we thought the business should be ran, we

really didn’t know all of the ins and outs that the Small Business Development Center actually taught us,” James expressed.

“Just learning how to put together a business plan, the whole structure of it. You hear about a business plan and you may look it up but actually having someone to work with you on each section of that business plan, developing it, making sure the information is correct, making sure your P&Ls are in there correctly and your projections are correct, that was definitely a huge part. And just making sure that we’re structuring our business correctly because there’s so much permits and developments that you have to do with a business to make sure that you’re following all the regulations, so that was also a great help,” Alicia added.

Through consulting sessions with Ferguson, the duo developed a business plan, sharpened their financial projections, and crafted a marketing strategy. Their work paid off when they secured a $50,000 micro loan from Suncoast Credit Union to launch and grow their business.

“So, working with the Small Business Development Center of Hillsborough County has truly

helped us in the sense of preparing to do business. Since we’ve met Shawn and met the Small Business Development Center, we’ve been able to apply and get approved for a micro loan that Suncoast Credit Union provided and so that loan allowed us to bring $50,000 of capital into our business, in which we were able to purchase our first wheelchair van,” James expressed. “And also, we’ve been able to start working with a lot of the rehabilitation facilities in the area providing transportation for the patients. We’ve built connections with some of the hospitals in the area, so it has allowed us to start growing, showing us how to make those connections to keep our business going in a positive path,” Alicia added.

Today, JD Cohen Logistics is already making a difference in the lives of those they serve—and they plan to keep growing with the Florida SBDC’s support.

“We’ll continue to use them to make sure that we’re on track. Marketing is huge. Making sure that we’re marketing our business properly. We’re getting the exposure,” Alicia mentioned. “I think it is going to be very beneficial as well as instrumental that we continue to develop our relationship with the Small Business Development Center because although we’re off to a good start, there’s still going to be hurdles, right? So having Shawn or having the Small Business Development Center as a resource to be able to pick up the phone and call and get an answer about a question that you may have, I think is very valuable,” James added.

The husband-and-wife team even go on to express how their fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners should take advantage of the Small Business Development Center as it is a valuable resource that helps you relieve stress when starting a business.  

James said, “Please don’t try to go at this alone. There’s so many resources. The Small Business Development Center of Hillsborough County can just confirm that you are definitely going in the right place because of course as a small business owner, what I will say, is that resources, time, revenue, those things are very scarce. So you just want to make sure you’re being smart about how you are moving as you develop your business.”

“And the Small Business Development Center of Hillsborough County, like we found with working with Shawn, relieves a lot of the stress. Starting your own business can be very stressful because you don’t know where to start sometimes, where to go to find the

information, and they are a great resource of information,” Alicia concluded.