MAKE IT HAPPEN
VALUE YOURSELF, VALUE YOUR TEAM, AND MAKE IT HAPPEN
Article by Rev’d Paul Newbery The Elite Family
www.elite-liverpool.co.uk paul@elite-liverpool.co.uk
Running a private hire or taxi business is not for the faint-hearted. One minute you are looking at bookings, the next you are dealing with a driver who has misplaced a set of keys, a customer who believes “five minutes away” is a binding legal contract, a licensing email that looks like it was written during a thunderstorm, and a vehicle that has chosen Friday afternoon to develop a mysterious warning light.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, you are meant to lead, inspire, plan, recruit, retain, comply, grow, sleep, eat something green, and remember where you put your mug of tea. It is no wonder that many operators feel as though owning a company simply means you buy more paracetamol than everyone else.
But here is the truth that often gets buried beneath call volumes, school runs, airport transfers and late- night problem solving: you are not alone. Operators may own the company, but they are still part of the team. In fact, they are often the person the team most wants to support - if only they knew how.
1. Valuing yourself is not selfish - it is operational common sense
In this trade, there is a quiet badge of honour attached to being constantly available. The phone is never really off. The WhatsApp groups never truly sleep. The words “quick question” are rarely quick and frequently arrive just as your dinner is going cold. Many owners start believing that if they are not personally involved in every decision, every complaint, every driver query and every awkward booking, then they are somehow failing.
Valuing yourself means recognising that your energy, judgement and health are business assets. You would not send a vehicle out with bald tyres, an empty tank and a dashboard lit up like Blackpool Illuminations, so why send yourself into every day in the same condition?
Transport bodies and trade associations continue to highlight the value and pressure of the sector, from changing regulation and safety ruless to recruitment,
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accessibility and environmental challenges. In other words, the job is important - and important work needs leaders who can think clearly, not just survive loudly.
2. Your team cannot read your meter
Operators often say: “My team knows I’m busy.” They do. They can see the missed lunch, the late replies, the tense walk into the office, and the look you give the printer when it jams again. What they may not know is what you actually need from them.
Your people may care more than you realise. Dispatchers, controllers, admin staff, drivers, supervisors and managers often love the business because they have helped build its reputation. They know the regular passengers. They know which driver prefers early starts, which account customer always changes the pick-up time, and which street name sounds simple until a sat nav turns it into a treasure hunt.
But if owners never open up, the team is left guessing. They may sense stress but not know whether to offer help, stay quiet, take initiative or avoid making eye contact
until the storm passes. Silence can
accidentally train good people to stand back when what you really need is for them to step forward.
Being the owner does not remove you from the team. It gives you responsibility, yes, but not superpowers. Despite what some customers believe, operators cannot bend time, duplicate cars by shouting at a screen, or personally control every set of temporary traffic lights in town. You are still human. You still need backup. And a strong team wants to be trusted with more than just the easy bits.
3. Delegation is not dumping - it’s development
Delegation sometimes gets a bad name because it is mistaken for offloading. Done badly, it sounds like: “Here, you deal with this nightmare while I pretend I never saw it.” Done well, it says: “I trust you with something meaningful, I will give you the context you need, and I am here if you genuinely need support.”
For operators, delegation can feel risky because the business often carries your name, your reputation and your bank account. You may worry that no one will handle things exactly as you would. That is probably true. They may do it differently. Sometimes they may even do it better, which is annoying but useful.
AUGUST 2026 PHTM
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