BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Sacad Guled is the founder of Bloomington's Coherent Bus Company.
"These are majority of our minivans, we have about 60 of them," he said. “I started with minivans; we never had yellow buses. We got that last year, so it’s been a work in progress.”
Since 2018, Guled has worked to expand his business.
"Right now, I have about 20 yellow buses, but we will get 10 or 15 more in the next couple of months because our routes are increasing," he said.
Guled’s passion for starting his own company started when he was just a teen.
“I am from Somalia," he said. "I came here when I was 12-years-old — a refugee of course — and ever since, Minnesota has been my home.”
As schools were forced to temporarily close due to COVID-19 last year, Guled said although it's been difficult, he has managed to retain his employees and keep his business alive.
"We transported some food, meals and delivery every week, so that kind of gave our business a little life," he said.
Now, as school districts across the country face a national driver shortage, Guled says he's able to keep his drivers by offering incentives.
"We have been trying to do things a little bit differently, such as offering good signing bonuses, providing breakfast in the morning,” he said.
Guled says it's his family that gives him motivation to keep going.
“I feel like this gives me motivation, that I'm not doing this for myself, but my family and the next generation,” he said.
He's inspiring the next generation to follow in his footsteps.
"We want to be known as a company that takes pride in what they do," he said.
Fore more information on Coherent Bus Company, visit the website here.