Seasonal businesses face a unique challenge: how do you keep top talent engaged & track annual profitability when you can’t offer them full-time, year-round work? And beyond that—how do you know when you’re actually profitable each year?
Juan Ortiz, co-owner of F&J Transportation, didn’t just answer these questions—he lived them. From starting as a bus driver at 22 to becoming the owner of a thriving charter bus company serving schools all across California, Juan built a retention and profitability model that seasonal businesses can learn from.
Here’s the blueprint he uses to keep top talent engaged and track profitability with confidence.
From Bus Driver to Business Owner
Juan didn’t grow up dreaming of owning a charter bus company. He became a school bus driver young, worked his way through training, classroom instruction, and eventually moved into management. That’s when he began to understand the real opportunity—field trips, sporting events, band competitions, and long-distance school travel.
After training drivers for multiple districts and companies across California, he and his wife Flor made the leap. They moved to Bakersfield, secured the required permits, and—with the support of a colleague who offered him a deeply discounted bus—launched F&J Transportation.
But the real story isn’t how he started.
It’s how he kept his business staffed when the work year is only 7–8 months long.
How to Keep Top Talent Engaged in a Seasonal Business
Juan discovered what every seasonal business owner eventually realizes:
Hiring is hard—but keeping people is even harder when you can’t offer year-round work.
Here are the retention strategies that keep F&J’s drivers loyal, trained, and eager to return every season.
1. Strategic Bonuses During Slow Seasons
Instead of expecting drivers to “figure it out,” Juan planned ahead.
Drivers receive three bonuses a year:
- Thanksgiving Bonus
- Christmas / New Year Bonus
- End of School Year Bonus (May/June)
These bonuses bridge the income gaps during long breaks and create loyalty through predictable support—not guesswork.
2. The “Rent-a-Driver” Program (Year-Round Employment Without Hiring Full-Time)
This is the strategy that transformed Juan’s retention!
How it works:
- F&J trains their drivers to also qualify as school bus drivers.
- Local districts always need substitutes.
- When F&J has downtime, their drivers work for the districts Monday–Friday.
The result? Drivers get year-round work, school districts get qualified help, and Juan doesn’t lose good employees in the off-season.
This innovative model keeps talent engaged without overextending payroll. It’s a win-win-win that many seasonal businesses could replicate.
How to Track Annual Profitability With Confidence
Another big question seasonal businesses face:
“At what point in the year do we actually become profitable?”
For Juan, the answer didn’t appear until year three—but once it did, it changed everything.
1. Know Your Numbers (Monthly, Not Annually)
Seasonal income fluctuates dramatically. Some months pour revenue in. Others go quiet. Juan’s wife—who handles the company’s finances—created a monthly minimum target that must be hit to stay on track for profitability.
This allowed them to:
- Forecast slow months
- Build reserves for summer
- Prepare for large expenses like fuel, maintenance, tires, and drivers
- Budget for inevitable slow seasons
2. Budget Backwards From Major Expenses
Charter buses cost $85,000–$125,000—and that’s for used hardware. The life cycle? Only about four years if you’re running them hard.
So they calculate:
- Bus cost ÷ 4 years = annual fleet replacement amount
- Required savings per month to stay ahead
- Slow-season coverage savings
- Profit margin above the target thresholds
This is how they created both:
- A low target (minimum survival number)
- A high target (growth threshold)
If revenue lands between those numbers, profitability is locked in.
The Bottom Line: Resilience + Strategy = A Strong Seasonal Business
Juan’s story proves that:
- Talent stays when they’re supported, not just employed.
- Profitability becomes clear when you plan forward, not backward.
- Seasonal businesses don’t need to lose their best employees if they get creative with scheduling and compensation.
And perhaps the most underrated lesson he shared:
“Struggles will come. A business is not a fairytale. But if you push through year one and year two—year three can be profitable.”
Juan kept his people, kept his profit, and kept growing—because he focused on retention, planning, and purpose.
And you can too.
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