Meet Will & Michelle Phillips | Founders of Sidecar Venture

We had the good fortune of connecting with Will & Michelle Phillips and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Will & Michelle, what matters most to you?
At Sidecar Venture, we value living a good life and sharing lasting memories with family and friends. We believe people deserve a full life and doing things they enjoy by sharing their adventures with loved ones. We also think it’s important to be courageous by doing things differently.

As a husband and wife duo, we started Sidecar Venture with the sole purpose of bringing loved ones together and creating experiences that last a lifetime. Living a good life is an ethos that we try to practice in our everyday lives because we think life is too short to sit around and watch our days pass us by. We hope that Sidecar Venture can play a meaningful part in your quest to live a more exciting and full life.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Sidecar Venture gives locals and visitors of San Diego the chance to explore our city in a unique way. We are the only sidecar business in California that offers you to rent it and drive on your own. The best thing about renting from us is that you don’t need your motorcycle’s license due to our sidecars being considered three-wheeled vehicles. Our sidecars accommodate 3 riders (2 on the motorcycle or scooter and 1 inside the sidecar). With a sidecar rental, you can choose from a 2-hour, 5-hour or 24-hour rental. We offer picnic packages that come with a picnic blanket, picnic basket, and a charcuterie box that feeds 2-4 people and can be customized to any dietary needs. We also offer barkcuterie boxes which are small treat boxes for dogs. Our customers are locals or visitors wanting to celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries or even weddings. With a sidecar rental, brides and grooms can use the sidecar to drive off after their ceremony or make a grand entrance with it or use it as a backdrop at their venue. We are unique because our sidecars can accommodate your furry friends, too! We provide dog harnesses and seatbelts so that your dog is safely strapped in. We allow children 5 years and up to sit inside the sidecar. Knowledge of motorcycle operation is needed to drive the motorcycle and sidecar and we best like to describe driving it similar to a 4-wheeler or ATV. If you don’t know how to shift a motorcycle, we have our Vespa and sidecar available that is automatic and doesn’t involve any special shifting. With a basic safety walk-through from us, you can hop on with your helmet and ride with ease.

Our business started as an idea one night when we thought how great it would be to provide a fun experience for locals and visitors of San Diego to rent a motorcycle and sidecar to tour the city. As an avid lover of motorcycles, our Co-Founder, Will was fascinated with sidecars and went on a hunt to find one. When he found the perfect set up at GP Motorcycles, a Moto Guzzi V7 Stone motorcycle with Velorex sidecar, he knew he couldn’t pass it up. Our business idea organically turned into the business it is today and has evolved over time. Will’s law school class, Entrepreneurship Law and Ethics taught by Professor Ebrahim and insight from Dean Dessent helped a great deal in the foundation and formation of the business as well.

With any new business just starting out, our challenges came with getting our name out and we tried our best to connect with local businesses and collaborate with influencers and events to gain traction. We’ve learned that it’s a slow but steady start if you don’t want to invest too much in marketing like we did but if you are open to new opportunities and consistent with guerrilla marketing, slowly but surely your name will catch on and people will hear from you through word of mouth or the power of social media.

We’re most proud of starting a unique business that gives people the chance to do something different and adventurous. We’re excited that more people are catching on to our name and spreading the word about us so more people can experience a unique sidecar ride with their loved ones.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a really fun question for our Co-Founder, Michelle to answer because she loves hosting friends and family when they visit San Diego. She usually has a long list of highly recommended restaurants to visit and fun activities to check out. To give you a taste of what our week long itinerary would look like, read along:

Monday: If you’re in downtown or Little Italy area for the week, walk to the trolley and take a quick $5 one-way train ride to Fashion Valley Mall. Shop around the outdoor mall and stop in at Tommy Bahamas’ outdoor bar for food and drinks. If you decide to head north on the trolley, check out Old Town San Diego and eat at Casa de Reyes!

Tuesday: The San Diego Zoo is a great place for visitors to check out. Our favorite is the Safari Park. When you’re done, head to happy hour at Pali Wine Co. in Little Italy. Buy a bottle to share and sit on their rooftop deck. Don’t forget the charcuterie to pair it with!

Wednesday: Take a stroll around Balboa Park and visit the museums. We love the Japanese Garden, Botanical Garden, the koi pond and the Spreckles Organ Pavillion. Sometimes you can catch a free show there. Stop in at Panama 66 for some bites and drinks at their outdoor bar. They play live jazz there some nights!

Thursday: Walk around Gaslamp in downtown during the day. The streets are shut down for pedestrians to walk around and restaurants have opened up al fresco dining so the streets are very lively. Go to the Neighborhood bar in Gaslamp for an evening out. A great hipster bar with craft brews, burgers and pub grub with a speakeasy in the back! Get there fairly early to get your name in. If you’re looking for an appetizer, try their blooming onion!

Friday: Cruise over to Coronado for a beach day and stop in at the Hotel Del of Coronado’s Tiki Bar. While you watch the sunset, you can listen to live music on the sand from local artists while drinking a Mai Tai (they’re strong so watch out!)

Saturday: Check out the Little Italy Farmers Market and shop local vendors. Stop by one of the vendors called Masala Cottage for yummy Indian fare, especially their butter chicken samosa, you won’t regret it! All of India Street in Little Italy is a bustling area with tons of people walking their dogs and enjoying the great restaurants. Some of our favorites are Princess Pub & Grille, Farmer’s Table, Bencotto Italian Kitchen, Barbusa, Queenstown Public House & Harumama Noodles & Buns. If you want coffee, check out James Coffee!

Sunday: Grab brunch at the local dive bar called Waterfront Bar & Grill- San Diego’s oldest tavern! Try their breakfast burritos, they’re huge and grab a bloody mary. Take a stroll to the waterfront park and walk to the harbor to see all of the boats. Sometimes you can spot a seal swimming in the water.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We’d like to dedicate this shoutout to a number of people- first, it would have to be the people we surround ourselves with. That being our friends and family. Without them, we wouldn’t have our adventurous spirits and people to do fun things with. Second, the city of San Diego. As transplants who moved from out of state and out of county to live here in America’s most finest city, San Diego gets credit for all of which it has to offer. From the beaches to the dining and to the fun activities locals and visitors can do, the city makes it easy to love and live in.

Website: www.sidecar-venture.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidecarventure/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sidecarventure

Other: linktr.ee/Sidecarventure

Image Credits
Monica Williams Hall Joann Van Noy