Tiffini Wissing Hein OLD SCHOOL COOL
❛The company’s main focus is on the safety of the children it transports. The vehicles are kitted out with a huge number of safety features and a team of supervisors monitors them 24/7 via on-board cameras. For parents’ further peace of mind, trip details are confirmed via SMS.
Although Tiffini wasn’t a mother when she started her business she knew she wanted to be fully present for her children when the time came and was determined to ‘have control over her work-life balance’. ‘It was obvious to me that I would have to have a business that could sustain itself,’ she says. Her business, Old School Cool, has achieved just that.
The motivating idea behind its flagship service, Cool (kids’) Cabs, was to provide safe, reliable transportation for children. Tiffini understands that most parents’ schedules are overwhelming, and that one way of alleviating the pressure is to provide this service. The business model is not new, but what sets Cool (kids’) Cabs apart is the level of care it offers. ‘We’re not bussed; we’re not shoving a number of children into one vehicle to get them from point A to point B,’ Tiffini stresses.
The company’s main focus is on the safety of the children it transports. The vehicles are kitted out with a huge number of safety features and a team of supervisors monitors them 24/7 via on-board cameras. For parents’ further peace of mind, trip details are confirmed via SMS. Tiffini is extremely proud of the fact that the company employs only female drivers. ‘We use women because statistics show that they are safer drivers,’ she explains. The drivers are upskilled intensively, receiving training in defensive driving, anti-hijacking measures and first aid, and in a wide range of internal courses including car-seat installation, childcare and appropriate conversation with children. ‘I am hugely inspired by the growth I’ve seen in my employees,’ Tiffini says. Old School Cool currently employs 40 women, which Tiffini sees as her greatest success.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, however. As a young entrepreneur, Tiffini had no credit history and no money. ‘I was sleeping on a small pull-out couch in a tiny bachelor flat,’ she says, but she kept pushing the boundaries and never gave up. She believes that unrelenting perseverance is a key characteristic of a successful entrepreneur. Consequently, Old School Cool has gone from strength to strength and reached its target of 30 vehicles for its Sandton branch.
For Tiffini, ‘Old School Cool is testament to girl power’. She says that being named the FAIRLADY Woman of the Future is a major honour, and that she will use the prize money to help to pay off a number of the vehicles and assist the business in flourishing even further.