Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Qui Daugherty. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Qui, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
Echelon Residence was birthed from a joke or taunt that I heard about me a few years back. I grew up in a single-family household. My siblings and I lived in everything from “the projects” to the homeless shelter. We moved often and had little to no stability. I remember being joked about where I lived and even what I smelled like. There were times we didn’t have heat so my mom would heat the house with a kerosene heater. That shi*t stinks!! Fast forward to now… My life is now looked at as “you made it.” While some celebrate it and find it inspirational there are some that make it a point to say that I forgot where I came from. They went as far as to say that I thought that I was “The Upper Echelon” now. I had no idea what that meant. Luckily for me, I went to look up the word and found out that echelon means a high hierarchy of people. A distinct or high-level group. I loveddddd that so I took it and ran with it. I named my personal IG page The Upper Echelon. I started a girl’s dance organization “Ladies of Echelon” where I used a combination of dance and life skills to mentor them. On to start real estate and of course, I wanted to keep the name going. I often refer to my home as an exclusive sanctuary. My home is a mix of love, timeless pieces, luxury, peace, safety, and modern finds it’s my Echelon Residence. I want my clients to have that same feeling in their homes. So I took those lemons and turned them into a luxury legacy.
Qui, 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?
I was introduced to real estate by a good friend who’s pretty successful in the commercial side of real estate. They thought that I would be really great at it due to my personable personality, my ambition, and my ability to connect with people naturally. Well……I was not about that minivan life. My idea of real estate was seeing women driving around in a minivan showing people homes. After a few projects with them, I discovered that my perspective was wrong. This paradigm shift was what I needed. So I went and took the test and the rest is history.
I’m now referred to as a “creative powerhouse” or “content queen!” I’ve effectively combined my studies in fashion design and merchandising, interior styling as well as entrepreneurship with my passion for real estate to deliver the ultimate service to her elite clientele. By bringing my unrivaled work ethic, integrity, and commitment to honesty to every interaction, I’ve proud to say that many of my clients have become lifelong friends.
I enjoy fine dining and travel – and it was during the latter that I discovered her love of architecture and beautiful interiors which planted the seed for her successful real estate and interior design career today. I’m also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. I take immense pride in my community and am extremely involved in multiple community programs. I strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance by spending time with my sibling, friends and mentors, and, most importantly, my daughter Miss Promise Mi’Amor
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I’ve been able to build my audience by literally showing up as myself. People love seeing me and my daughter singing and dancing. They also enjoy me getting all dressed up and enjoying life. They love the home tours and me showing my personality. This has really been refreshing because this was my goal from day 1!. I never wanted to be a pretentious person. I didn’t want to have to code-switch or dress a certain way that wasn’t authentic or natural for me. We’re one big digital family now lol.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Oh, I’ll do you one even better, I’ll share 2 stories. Very early in my real estate career, I had black female agents ask lenders not to work with me because I wasn’t professional yet I was just weeks into real estate and hadn’t closed a deal yet. So unprofessional? Sweetheart I haven’t even started the engine yet lol. I’ve had a few of those same Realtors gather on zoom calls and bring up my social media pages and share with their audience not to “be like her (me)”. It has been an eye-opener yet not surprising for me. I’ve become somewhat used to the malice and slick shade thrown. I’m just a person that has always been talented, creative and well-rounded. That normally brings unsolicited envy. I’ve had complaints, threats, etc. It’s all a part of success. Once you realize that your skin becomes tougher. Luckily I grew up with siblings more specifically brothers in a survival household so I’m way more resilient than most. I continue to show up as myself and put on a show. My words of encouragement are, as you grow there will be people that are there for 2 reasons those are support or surveillance. Either way do you!!
Contact Info:
- Website: echelonresidence.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echelonresidence/?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EchelonResidence
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qui-daugherty-8b3b45166/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_iYRUcDpN915TNSEkbkoA
Image Credits
Photo taken by @NitaInNashvillephotography