Meet TeQuila Shabazz | Staffing Agency for Virtual Assistants

We had the good fortune of connecting with TeQuila Shabazz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi TeQuila, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve been a Social Entrepreneur since 2012. I spent the first 6 years building a member and media based company called BRIJ because I wanted to help mobilize Black people to solve our pwn issues. Our primary goals were to drive awareness to Black people and places we should support, track our support in time and dollars, and create strategic action plans to help individuals, institutions and businesses come together around community change. I produced 30 web shorts, wrote 2 books, curated monthly interactive events using our own currency and recruited stakeholders to invest into our community. We redirected and tracked millions of dollars and hundreds of hour into Black businesses and initiatives. The business model although impactful was not financially sustainable. So in 2019, I created my current business Qui Virtual Support Solutions, a staffing agency that matches remote entry to managerial level sales, customer service, administrative and operations contractors, or Virtual Assistants, with high achieving executives, entrepreneurs and small business owners. When I started Qui, the idea was to supplement my income helping small business owners get their back office together so they could scale and invest in the BRIJ app to automate the work we’d been doing manually for years. I’d get asked to help the businesses I met along the way with various aspects of their Operations, which is how I decided on where to pivot for profits, but I had no plan of starting an agency. However, as demand grew, so did the agency model we have today. I did in fact start the BRIJ app in 2020 but was robbed by the Developer I hired to work on it. It was at the point I turned all my attention to building Qui.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Qui is one of the only Black woman owned staffing agencies in the US placing highly skilled virtual assistants at the capacity in which we’re doing it. In 3 years we’ve hired about 130 diverse Virtual Assistants primarily Black women from the US and African Diaspora; and managed over 200 contracts, primarily Black women business owners netting 6-8 figures. We’ve grown 200%-300% year over year with an estimated net revenue of over 1M this year. These things help us stand out in the market but it’s our exceptional service, skilled talent and social mission to provide equitable pay and affordable contracts that has our business growing substantially through word of mouth referrals.

I’m most proud of who we’ve been able to hire and serve over the past 3 years; and how this has impacted the lives of so many. We are changing the narrative of what people believe a Virtual Assistant to be – low cost task rabbit from Asia typically found on Fiverr or Upwork for under $10 hour. This is so far from the truth. A Virtual assistant is someone that works remotely supporting your team and scaling your business. Their experience levels range from entry to managerial and tasks can vary to include Marketing, Administrative, Tech, Sales, Customer Service, Bookkeeping, and pretty much anything that can be handled remotely. The average cost of a quality Virtual Assistant is $30-$35 per hour but can be much higher, or even lower depending on their location, experience and skill set. Post covid more people have transitioned out of their corporate roles and into VA positions, and we’ve been able to capture this and recruit the top 1% of our applicants and provide them with equitable contracts no matter where they are in the world. In exchange our clients have come to depend on our business for top tier, pre-vetted, tested, insured Virtual Assistants that are placed within 5-7 days.

Before becoming a full-time Entrepreneur, I worked 15 years in Sales, Operations and Administration. I spent most of my time in Sales because it allowed me to come and go as I please, and control my income. When my daughter went to college with majority her tuition handled, I decided to take the leap. I had no clue what I was doing but I figured if I could help other businesses make millions, I could do it for myself. I learned very quickly that wasn’t the case. In business you have to have a plan, a strong foundation, a growth strategy, understand your numbers and how to use them to solve problems, and you need support. I spent 6 years running in a circle, not asking for help, not expanding my education and sinking. When I started Qui, I began with a strong foundation and sought mentorship immediately. I invested so much money on development, systems and building my team. It made a huge difference. I made less than 15k per year, for 6 consecutive years, with my first business, I netted almost 90k my first year in my current business, 300k, my second year, 750k my 3rd year and over 1M this year. That’s the power of strategic planning, mentorship & development and a strong team. Without those things, you can forget about growth.

The only way to overcome is to go through, and the most effective way to get through is with knowledge that you implement consistently. You have to show up everyday no matter what and keep testing things until you find what works, then be prepared to throw it out again with growth. I didn’t get here overnight. It was in the making from the time I became a mother at 16, which gave me the drive to want even more than I did before (no one works harder than mothers); found my way into Sales, which taught me how to be free, fearlessness to speak with people despite their titles and most importantly I learned to always ask for what I want.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Chicago, home of the absolute best food, architecture, botanic gardens and art! I’d start by taking my guest to breakfast at Batters N Berries in Lincoln Park. Then we could easily walk off those calories and visit a lot of the cute boutiques and shops in the area for an afternoon of shopping. We would hop on the brown line to the green line and make our way to the west side of Chicago to visit the Garfield Park conservatory, the best in the country. They’ll definitely be hungry after all of that, so a trip over to the infamous Uncle Remus (rival to Harolds) for chicken, since we’re on the west side. We’d head back on the train where I’d suggest they stay at the South Loop hotel, the only Black owned hotel n the city. We’d definitely do the architectural tour on the river, the Mobster Bus Tour and head to the Wild Hare to listen to reggae music. Of course, there would have to be pizza in the mix, and Home Run Inn is a staple and so is Pequods, Reggies and Italian Fiesta, Barack Obamas favorite. Perhaps we’d see a Cubs game (although I’m a White Sox fan) because the experience is purely Chicago! Then head over to the Metro for a local concert. You can’t leave Chicago without an Improv show at Second City. There’s a long line at the Ooo Wee Restaurant, so we’d go early and later on have Majani’s for lunch for a healthy felicious vegan experiencd. We’d definitely have to visit Bronzeville Winery for a little conversation, good music and people watching. Last but not least we’d have to get a museum pass and explore the Field, Science and Art museums! I’d definitely top it off with a boat ride and fireworks at Navy Pier. They’re going to sleep good on the plane ride home.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Traffic, Sales and Profit (TSP) community deserves a lot of credit. Being in that room in 2019 changed my outlook on what a Black business could be. I’d seen so many struggling without support and my entire mindset shift being part of that community on all.levels, currently as a Mastermind member.

Website: www.quisupportsolutions.com

Instagram: @quisupportsolitions

Linkedin: @quisupportsolutions

Facebook: @quisupportsolutions

Other: Every 1st and 3rd Friday at 12pm CST I have candid conversations with high achieving, high earning women via my Podcast The Xecutive Suite.