We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kenisha Darden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenisha, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

I was actually approached by my first client before I added this service to my business. Prior to adding this service to my business, my first client approached me three times. Initially, my business operated only as a remote staffing company. It was through his lawn care service that I met my first client, he came out to cut my grass. I briefly mentioned my business to him. I saw him in passing several months later and he confided in me that he was looking for an answering service for his lawn care business. This is not the nature of my business, as I explained to him. Two or three years later, I saw him again and again. He asked me if I would like to be his answering service, but I declined. Approximately five or six years later, I contacted him to tell him that I was expanding my business to include virtual answering services and virtual reception services. In a matter of seconds, he was all in. Despite the fact that my expansion had not been fully implemented, he provided me with his company’s cell phone until I was able to establish my own telephone system.

Thus, my first client inspired me to expand my services, and we are very pleased to now be able to offer virtual receptionist services to other small businesses. In addition to providing small business owners with a professional image, we assist them in growing their businesses at a fraction of the cost of hiring an in-house receptionist.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

When I first started my business in 2012, my primary objective was to earn a decent living for my family. I recently gave birth to a son who weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces at birth. Consequently, he was diagnosed as developmental delayed and later as having autism. Additionally, I had some health issues of my own. I did not feel that my current employer was supportive of my current circumstance.

This led to the establishment of Darden Quality of Works. Initially, I was only doing this for myself. However, as I learned more about remote staffing, I realized that there was a need for it in my community as well. Working from home is appealing to other parents who have special needs children. It is also appealing to single mothers who are seeking a decent income while providing for their children, and college students seeking to earn an income.

In this respect, I am most proud of the fact that I was able to provide a decent income for people like me. As a mother of a special needs child, I was formerly a single mother trying to provide for my two children. My daughter was now attending college and needed to work around her schedule. It is because of this that I completely empathized with the people who needed my assistance.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As I mentioned previously, the business began as a remote staffing service for individuals seeking to work from home. My business suffered a significant setback when the pandemic struck in 2020. One would have assumed that business was booming. Quite the contrary, people were not interested in working when the government issued stimulus checks.

Due to the loss I was experiencing, I decided to add virtual answering services or virtual receptionist services to offset that loss. Having already acquired my first client, it was a no-brainer to add this service.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

In terms of funding, I only required direct deposit services for the remote staffing service. Considering that all of the agents are independent contractors (1099). Because they work from home, I did not have to incur many overhead costs, other than marketing expenses. I only needed to ensure that I acquired a service that would enable me to pay agents directly through direct deposit.

My need for funding arose when I added answering services or virtual receptionist services. To be able to provide this service, I would need my telephone system as well as a variety of other items. My husband suggested I apply for the SBA loan that was being offered by the government during the global economic downturn. In addition, I utilized the services of Elijah Cheeks, owner of CBR Capital Group. Their assistance in securing additional funds for my business as well as the establishment of my business credit was extremely helpful. An established business credit history is essential for the successful operation of a business.

Contact Info:

• Website: dardenqualityofworks.comc
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dardenquality/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dardenqualityofworks
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dardenquality/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dardenquality

Image Credits
Shot By Dru