We recently connected with Taquasia Holmes and have shared our conversation below.
Taquasia, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Knowing when to hold and when to fold.
During COVID-19, no one knew what was around the corner as it pertains to employment; lay-offs, reduction in hours, and business closures were like second nature during this time. When I decided to go out on my own, I had a full-time job, benefits, and all the perks that came with it including the feeling of hopelessness from being trapped in an unhappy relationship with work. However, during the day I was a corporate paralegal assistant and by night I was secretly creating a plan to escape and settle into a business as Sole Proprietorship or a contract paralegal; despite the facts of life as we knew it around us. I applied to a local legal support company who took me on and showed me the ropes of the business. Eventually after months of living in the part of my life that was meant only for “after hours” it started to overcome me and everything about my security in my full-time job seemed unbearable. But of course, how could I drop everything and run especially in the midst of the uncertainty of COVID-19. When I first decided to quit my job, I remember feeling like “pause. let me just find a firm with a better prospective, salary, and flexibility;” and I did. (Queues the applauds) However, the unhappiness grew just like my paycheck and I felt overwhelmed and anxious all the time and resentful almost for not appreciating this blessing and upgrade in my life.
Do you know how people talk about asking for a sign, any sign? Well, I got exactly what I asked for. The new position that I had taken on, was like a dream, I had a significant increase in my income, I was able to work remote with no anticipation of returning back into the office, and I had control over many of the aspects of my schedule. But I remembered, I kept asking for more; more from the life that was established as my alter ego lifestyle. That was the missing piece to my puzzle. Even after all of the upgrades and all of the good things that was happening in my life, I still long for the other side of me. I started to obsess over becoming a business owner and obsessed with having complete control over my work. I remember praying and praying and praying to be able to give more life to becoming a freelance paralegal, and owning my own business providing services to attorneys directly. And I got exactly what I dreamed for but not how I dreamed it would come. I remember getting a text how the owner of the business I had become apart of the text (which I won’t disclose) that carried an unwanted feeling of the business. And I remember her tellin me she wanted to move away from being directly involved in the business and wanted me to have a more direct role. I was ecstatic! Then without warning, no word was heard from her again. I texted and reached out to her and still to this day no word was ever spoken from her again. I tried to log into my work account; “deleted”. I couldn’t believed it; I had no choice but to move in. Fast forward I was still working full-time, so I had no opportunity to soak in the misery of that situation. However, one day out of the blue, the new job that seem like a walk in the park, like lollipops and gum drops completely did a 360 turn and I was exiled from my position completely. Exiled from the entire existence of my work including all communication and application with no word, no confirmation, no decline, nothing. I remember reaching out to the attorney and reaching out to anyone that I could reach out to for clarification on what was going on and receive nothing, again no answer and no clarification. I felt completely bamboozled…..AGAIN. It was then that I knew that the answer to my prayer came in the form of these exiles. I did the proper thing to do, submitted my resignation and returned all of my work devices.
Two days later, I sat at a corn table in the back of my local Starbucks with my MacBook and a writing pad. After 5 hours and no aspirations to begin a new search for employment, TMH PARA SUPPORT SERVICES was created.
Taquasia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
TMH Para Support Services is a legal support service provider catering specifically to the demographic of solo to small legal firms and small BOCs (Businesses of Color). My mission is to provide legal support solutions through various channels of services ranging from paralegal/legal assistant support, virtual administrative assistance, and other business support services. I am passionate about helping small legal firms and solo practitioner attorneys to obtain the support required to maximize and/or increase efficiency within their practices, regain work-life balance, and obtain access to back-office support including managing low-priority tasks. I strive to provide those services by filtering through the needs of legal practices and creating a specifically tailored support plan that conforms to the terms and conditions of your firm. TMH Para Support Services is a combination of passion and commitment to furnishing adequate support to legal professionals and their practices.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy for growing clientele is to constantly creating brand awareness for my business. I had made it a duty to create opportunities to put and keep my brand at the forefront of my business. I believe that every person, place, and situation is an opportunity to grow within my business. Social media is not enough you must incorporate “old school” networking, brand marketing, and word-of-mouth are also the best practices to incorporate in growing clientele.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Before, I was a legal professional I obtain a Bachelors in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. I had a passion for fashion and I figure that I could somehow use that marketing degree in the fashion industry. So I enrolled into the Savannah College of Art and Design to obtain my Masters in Fashion Merchandising. Despite it being a complete 360 from the campus life I was use to it was great! Being surrounded by so much technology and creativity felt like I had found my calling but after two semesters it still didn’t quite “fit”. At that moment, I convinced myself that if I didn’t take the moment to find what “fit” I would be stuck in a mediocre career running circles trying to find my way. I took some time to really reevaluate and restart; I remember receiving a letter in the mail from Kennesaw State University for their School Continuing Education. Many of the programs include Medical Assisting, Paralegal, and Technology; I wasn’t too knowledgeable of these types of programs. However something convinced me to go. As I sat in the conference room listening to the different programs, I remember getting very excited to hear from the Paralegal program. Hearing the terms and classes and even the work of what to expect from the program somehow just grabbed me and I was sold. I enrolled into the program the next quarter and I have been sold ever since.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tmhparasupportservices.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/tmhparasupportservices
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tmhparasupportservices
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tmh-para-support-services-llc/