by Julia Paulus

The transportation industry was the obvious choice for sisters Kim Garner and Debbie Rudawsky. In 1935, their grandfather started St. Louis County and Yellow Cab, which is now owned by their father and is the largest taxi company in St. Louis. So when the women joined forces at BEST Transportation Inc., a transportation company for everything from corporate and airport travel to group and special occasions, it was only fitting.

Before joining the industry, Garner was director of national sales and marketing for the Drury hotel chain, and Rudawsky worked in both public and private accounting. Rudawsky joined her father, Tom Gregerson, and husband, Basil Rudawsky, at County Cab in 2001 when they needed a controller. By July 2002, the County Cab team saw a need in St. Louis for a great premium transportation company and started BEST Transportation. “We felt that moving into the premium transportation and group transportation arena truly made us a one-stop shop for all group transportation needs,” says Rudawsky.

Rudawsky and her husband worked full-time at both County Cab and BEST Transportation and as the companies grew so did the need for another team member. In 2005, Garner assumed the role of president of BEST Transportation and Rudawsky continued as CPA and vice president.

Together the women worked to grow BEST’s business. By July 2009, they recognized another need in the transportation industry. That’s when they started another venture, GO BEST Express, a shared-ride shuttle company.

Rudawsky and Garner have increased their team from 10 employees in 2003 to 75 by 2010, and in 2009 their revenue topped $3 million. Rudawsky says they’ve achieved these things by bringing service to the next level. “In an industry that is so focused on great service and making sure that all the small details are taken care of, I firmly believe that only women can provide the level of service that our customers demand,” says Rudawsky. “We care about what vision they have for their event, their corporate outing, their wedding and will do whatever we can to make that happen. We are often told that you can tell that this business is run by two women just because of the great attention to detail that we apply to every aspect of our operation.”

Garner says one of the keys to their success is that they work on the business and not just in it. “As an owner we have to get in the trenches with the team so we can set a good example, but we must balance that with being proactive too,” she says. “It is critical that you always look for ways to do things better, faster, smarter and cheaper.”