We were lucky to catch up with TONIA WILLIAMS recently and have shared our conversation below.

TONIA, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I had just come out of an abusive relationship and left with just my two children and the clothes on our backs. I went back home to my mom. I had to start from scratch. I worked in the daytime for an elevator company and my brother asked me did I want a part-time job at night. I said yes and started to valet at the hospital. I loved the interacting with people and I was a very fast runner. I took on more shifts and I really enjoyed being a valet. I started to learn everything I could about the business and how to make it better for the customers. I knew there was a problem that needed to be solved. People did not want to wait long for their vehicles or did not want their keys lost. I eventually worked my way up in the company to supervisor, manager and director. I eventually went to own my own valet company, specializing in Special Events. I created positions to make the events run a lot smoother and make the guests happy. I hired key attendants that just handle keys so they do NOT get lost. I hire greeters to help the guests with items, get their doors and give them a special greeting. I love what I do and I make my events memorable.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into the valet industry as a second job after starting over. I had three small children and was working a full time job as well as going to school part-time. I loved the valet business so much, I quit my full time job and just worked at the hospital as a valet and went to school full time. I loved working with the public and making people life easier with parking. I found ways to make the valet industry a lot easier on the clients. People call me “The Valet Lady” because I know how to make an event go very smooth. I hire key people to just handle the keys and make sure they are accounted for and not lost in the valet pockets. I do some of the most prominent events in Michigan. I valet for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Detroit Grand Prix, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Henry Ford Museum and many other great events. I love my business and I make sure my employees love their jobs as well. I pride my business on being family oriented.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2020 when Covid hit, my business shut down for 17 months. I wanted to make sure some of my employees still had an income. I pivoted and started a new business called “Universal Specialty Services”. We did everything you did not have time or just did not want to do. We shopped for people, I took care of elderly patients for their families, I cooked meals for people, we did transportation runs and cleaned houses that were being sold. This allowed me to keep a steady income until my valet company started back up.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I first started in the valet business, I did not have a clue how to run a business. I loved what I did and tried to learn everything that I could. Once I started my own valet company, I was very scared because I was not shown how to operate a business. This business is a male dominated industry and I am an African American woman in this industry, which is very rare. I refused to give up and I took every business cohort that was out and tried to learn everything that I could. I am now in my 11th year in business because I refused to give up and I continued to learn all I could about the industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https:\\www.universalspecialeventsincorporated.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonia-williams-6b24a5134/