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Mike and Darlene Person.Courtesy of JDM WhipzSiblings Michael Rumph and Darlene Person built JDM Whipz, a profitable Turo car rental fleet.JDM Whipz grew to 13 vehicles in Atlanta by reinvesting profits and focusing on customer service.Their experience highlights Turo business strategies, challenges, and the importance of planning.This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Michael Rumph, 60, and Darlene Person, 61, siblings in metro Atlanta who run JDM Whipz, a 13-car Turo fleet. It has been edited for length and clarity.Darlene: For several years, my brother, Mike, and I talked about wanting to go into business together. We considered a few ideas but hadn't settled on one.In February 2022, we rented an Escalade from Turo for a family trip. Almost exactly a year later, we launched our own Turo business, JDM Whipz.By 2024, JDM Whipz was making six figures in profit.We were fascinated by how quickly and easily we'd rented a car from TuroDarlene: Mike dove into research, sending me videos and websites every week. We began meeting on Sundays to discuss launching a Turo business.By January 2023, we had registered the company, and in late February, we went live on Turo, securing our first booking on the same day.I'm a federal government employee, and I still work full-time. Most of my Turo work takes place in the evenings, when I prep cars after my day job. When we started, both of us were balancing full-time jobs.Mike: I'm an IT nerd with 37 years of experience in desktop support, server support, and project management. Now, I'm a full-time Turo project manager.Our first car was a 2016 Toyota CorollaMike: The Corolla belonged to our mom, who died in June 2022. It's still on the platform; I just had the front end repainted and protective film added.From there, we purchased a 2017 Mazda, a 2017 Chevy Malibu, a 2017 Equinox, and a 2018 Equinox. By the end of our first year, we had 10 cars. We purchased eight with cash and used "creative financing" for the other two, purchasing them with 0% credit cardsToday, we have 13 vehicles — we own 12 outright and have one payment on a 2019 Chrysler Pacifica. We've had five cars totaled in the past year, but because I hold a dealer's license and buy vehicles wholesale at auctions, we've been able to replace them and even come out ahead on insurance payouts.The price difference compared to traditional rental companies is hugeMike: Enterprise once quoted me $805 for an SUV from Friday to Sunday. Turo cost us $360 for four days and 600 miles when we rented that Escalade.Darlene: We listed mom's Corolla as a trial, but the first renter kept extending her trip week after week, and it ended up being 2.5 months total. The car was gone, and we had nothing to do, so we said, "Let's add another."From the start, we reinvested every dollar back into the business. That's how we grew to 10 cars in a year.We choose Turo's 60% protection plan: we keep 60%, Turo takes 40%, but our deductible is lower. Hosts can take up to 90% but risk a much higher deductible. Understanding that trade-off is important.Mike: Day-to-day, I'm checking cars in and out, cleaning, handling inspections, and keeping up with competition in the Atlanta market.I left my IT job last April after paying off all my debts. I was breathing and dreaming of Turo at work. Now it's my focus.Darlene: Atlanta is huge, so Mike covers the north side, and I handle the south. We've never had all 13 cars sitting at our homes at once, where we store them.Usually they're rented out, coming back for a day or two before heading out again. I've learned more about cars in these two and a half years than I ever imagined.Turo does national advertising, but we're also exploring our own marketing effortsDarlene: We're obsessed with customer service. Over the years, we've both complained about poor service elsewhere. When we started JDM Whipz, I told…