Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Nichole.
Hi Heidi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My Small Business Story
I started pedicabbing in Oklahoma City in the fall of 2015. At the time, I was cleaning houses, doing animal and home sitting, and working a shipping clerk job. I needed an extra job to make ends meet, and I also wanted time to exercise. I saw pedicabs downtown and wondered if I could do it. It seemed like a way to kill two birds with one stone, so I called around to a few companies and got started with one. I had no idea that extra job would grow into my career and small business.
I quickly took on a Wonder Woman look at work, starting with a cheap Wonder Woman hoodie. I began taking my rental bike to other events, including the Kentucky Derby and Rocklahoma, pedaling all over. About a year in, I traveled with the bike bar from the company I worked for to Houston for a contracted event during the air show. The contract holder wanted me to come back for the Super Bowl and Houston Rodeo. I stayed in the dirty shop to save every penny.
While working the rodeo, I saw a bike that was different from the one I was riding. I found out I could get one in Austin. Ken Cameron is the mastermind behind the bike. He built the best bikes in the business. By July 2017, I picked up my Wonder Trike and become a small business owner. I named my company Fly By Pedal Cab, hoping my parrot would love riding on the cab. I themed the bike and myself after the new Wonder Woman movie. That December, I bought my first permit in Austin.
When I went back to work the Houston Rodeo after getting my first bike, I rented an outside storage unit and lived there for a month so I could afford to stay and save every penny.
I loved working Trail of Lights and the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Before long, I had joined the traveling pedicab circuit. I worked Formula One, NASCAR, and MotoGP at Circuit of the Americas; SXSW; Electric Forest; Firefly; Bonnaroo; Coachella and Stagecoach; EDC Las Vegas; Willamette for the full eclipse; Barrett-Jackson; a preseason Seattle Seahawks game; Watershed; Faster Horses; Country Stampede; Dancefestopia; Pittsburgh Steelers games; a Penn State game; and a small festival in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In March 2019, I bought a second bike that could carry six people and changed my theme to Rosie the Riveter. I picked up the bike at midnight and was on the road to Coachella by 9 a.m.
There’s a lot of work behind pedicabbing that people don’t see. I sew my own seats and decorations, come up with my own ideas, and handle my business tasks, including social media and website work. I do the mechanics and work on my own bikes, then take them out on the road and do the rides. When traveling I drive a 26’ motorhome and pull a 7×16 trailer and do all the driving. My job doesn’t stop when I get off the bike, and many people don’t realize how much it costs to run this kind of business.
I’m creative, and I like working for myself and doing things on my own. I’m not naturally mechanical, and learning to work on my bikes has not been easy. But I’ve learned the mechanics because I want to understand my equipment and be able to work on it myself. I’m proud of what I’ve built with my own hands and ideas. I’ve also found out I’m pretty good at marketing and branding. Pedicabbing has challenged me in lots of ways, but I’ve learned to find solutions and pull tricks out of my hat that I never thought I’d need, just to make things work.
I also like bringing some personality and fun to the job. From the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, I theme my bike as Elf on the Shelf and go by Peppermint Sprinkles. I dress up for Halloween too, usually as Dolly Parton. I also have a flasher costume for Dirty Sixth nights.
Around 2017, motors started becoming an add-on for pedicabs. They made it possible to travel farther, carry more people, and work longer. The motor assist took away some of the strain on my body. I didn’t have to eat as much to keep going, and I didn’t hurt as much, though the work still takes a toll. I’m grateful for the motors and what they made possible. At the same time, they changed the business and brought in some operators who haven’t always been good for it.
After a long season of traveling, the pandemic brought everything to a halt. I had planned to move to Austin in March of 2020, finally making it in March of 2021. I’ve been here ever since, building my brand and focusing on growing a business in the town where I live. Shortly after I moved, my father passed away. I stepped away for a couple of months to settle his estate.
After the pandemic, I was able to work at Circuit of the Americas a few times and make a few trips to Houston to work the Rodeo cook-off. But my health made it difficult to travel as much as I used to.
During the pandemic, I heard about Breast Implant Illness. I had been struggling with depression and other health problems for years. Pedicabbing, and all the exercise that came with it, had been helping me. I was finally finding information that seemed to explain what I was going through. I joined BII groups on Facebook and became convinced my implants were part of the problem.
Without work, I couldn’t afford to have them removed, even though that would have been an ideal time to recover. In June 2022, I was finally able to have explant surgery and begin my healing and detoxing journey. At the same time, I was living in a motorhome with black mold and had no idea. I was dealing with both problems largely on my own while still having to work through it all. I took three months off for surgery and recovery.
As I healed, I became angry that I hadn’t been given informed consent about breast implants. They stole the prime of my life. I kept thinking, if plastic surgeons and breast implant makers aren’t going to tell women, then I will. I wanted to use the ad space on my bikes to spread awareness about Breast Implant Illness, and I had a major Austin event where I planned to unveil the ads. Friends and family helped me raise the money to print and install them.
I’ve been an advocate for BII ever since, keeping the ads on my bikes and sharing my story with people I meet. I don’t get paid to carry the ads. I’m currently looking for sponsors to help me keep them on my bikes and continue spreading awareness.
Losing my military macaw, Lt. Dann, in March 2024 changed a lot for me. We had plans to start a bird show business, and we were fully bonded. He loved going places, riding on the pedicab, and showing off his tricks for people. When he passed away from cancer, I had to decide whether I still wanted to pursue the business and get another macaw. I decided I did.
About two months later, I brought home a blue-throated macaw named Milo. He is four years old now. I had to start all over by building a bond with a new bird, getting him used to me, and training him. After more than two years of bonding and working together, he talks to people, climbs onto them for pictures, and enjoys riding on the pedicab. We’re working toward starting the bird show business that had to be put on hold a little over two and a half years ago when I lost Lt. Dann.
Four days after Lt. Dann passed, Easter arrived. A stray cat I had been feeding for about a year had her kittens in the spot I’d made for her in my water heater closet. I kept the mama cat and two of her kittens, Jeśus and Risen. When she became pregnant again, I kept one kitten from that litter too. The animals have become a big part of my life. Two litters of 5 kittens within 6 months will keep anyone busy.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve wanted to focus on building my business where I live, staying home more, and not being gone so much. I want to spend more time with my animals instead of leaving them at home so often. I’m still here in Austin, still going, and hopefully getting ready to start the bird show business with Milo. I plan to run two businesses on my own while navigating this world, now that I’m finally feeling well after the illness I went through and moving forward after all the roadblocks and fresh starts I’ve faced. I’m excited to keep building both businesses. They’re mine, shaped by my ideas and hard work, and I’m looking forward to seeing where I can take them.
I’m an entrepreneur, I’m outgoing, and I’ve never met a stranger. An entertainment business feels like a natural fit for me. I’ve put so much of myself into pedicabbing, and I’m still finding ways to make it my own and keep moving forward.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Breast Implant Illness
Death of my Father
Death of my parrot Lt Dann
Black mold exposure
Long road to detoxing and healing
Major surgery
A couple moves
Loads of challenges and obstacles to work around
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I put a lot of the money I make back into my pedicab business. I make stickers as business card souvenirs. I brand myself in a theme so people remember seeing me. I have a really awesome stereo that also helps me stand out. I am very customer oriented. I’m naturally outgoing and have been in the service industry my whole life. My income depends on how good of a job I do. I’m also naturally good at marketing. I don’t look at customers as money or just costumers. Lots of them become friends.
Any big plans?
Starting the FeatherTales bird shows.
I was thinking I said way too much in the first section and seems I’ve answered the rest of the questions there. 🤭
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.flybypedalcab.com Redoing and finishing this winter
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atx_flybypedalcab?dlrf=ZGFrMTI1eWZmNnoy&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C9HZH3SQU/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/vhx-oq63-P
- Other: https://share.google/3VM1S4NMdoRnCy1BR
