Winning Ideas from Winning Women

Frances M. Queen of Charlotte knows the value in a name. As Founder and President of Queen Associates Inc., headquartered in the Queen City, Frances is a graduate of Queens College. Queen Associates’ tagline is QA(i)3. The (i)3 stands for intelligence, innovation, and ideas, and Frances is a perfect combination of those. In addition to other recognitions received through the years, Frances has garnered several prestigious awards in the past twelve months. She was named a 2004 National Woman-Owned Business Star, one of the Charlotte Business Journal’s Top 25 Women in Business, the NAWBO Rising Star. And she is a finalist for the upcoming Charlotte Chamber Entrepreneur Awards to be announced in October 2004.

NCJW: Frances, as an award winning business owner, where did your entrepreneurial nature come from?

QUEEN: I was definitely born with an entrepreneurial streak, some call it stubborn, that my immediate family did not understand. I came from a traditional family, with a Mom who didn’t work outside the home and a Dad who worked very long hours. Now that I think about it, my Grandparents were my entrepreneurial role models. My maternal grandfather built several businesses and Grandmother Bertie, my Dad’s mother, was an amazing woman. As a widow in the 1920’s she raised two small children while running a sewing and upholstery business.

NCJW: So you followed in your Grandmother’s footsteps to start Queen Associates?

QUEEN: Well, not really. My business is about as far removed from sewing as it could be! With the emergence of the Internet and the dot com craze of the late 90’s, I believed that the technology services industry was nearly out of control. I had been employed in high-level management positions for organizations that were caught up in mega-mergers, acquisitions, mega-deals, and the greed and “get rich quick” philosophies that were rampant during that time. Queen Associates was founded on the belief that there should be a return to the fundamental business values, principles and practices, from which mutual benefit and profitability naturally result. I truly believed that a corporation could exhibit integrity and a strong values-based culture, and still grow without the greed and corruption. So, I put my 20 years of technology management into a startup operation. I was convinced that the secret to operating the “best of the best” technology companies was not just about the technology, but about integrity, values and people.

NCJW: Speaking of people, what did your family think about you as a startup entrepreneur?

I have two wonderful children, Sherri and Jack, and a husband who is also an entrepreneur. My children were grown before I started the company, but they were extremely proud and supportive. My husband Steve, who owns an engineering design firm, has been a strategic confidant and great encouragement through the tough economic climate.

And the two little “lights of my life” are my beautiful granddaughters – Brittany and Jordan. I am truly determined to be the role model to them that my Grandmother was to me. I would like for Brittany and Jordan to know that they can grow up and be whatever they want to be, both in business and in life.

NCJW: Being a role model requires lots of good decision making. What do you think is the best decision you’ve made in building your company?

QUEEN: My best decision came back in 2002, when I decided to take a week to sit down with my management team and reengineer the business. At that time, although we were looking at nearly insurmountable obstacles, we reinvented our company. In truth, that was the week that I truly became an entrepreneur. I believe that entrepreneurs are individuals who look at obstacles and do whatever it takes to turn them into opportunities.

NCJW: But being an entrepreneur also has a down side. What is the biggest mistake you’ve made over the years?

QUEEN: If I had to do it over again, I would have a stronger belief in myself. In 1997, I accepted an opportunity to start a Charlotte technology operation for a corporation headquartered in Dallas. At that time, a large number of clients and consultants suggested I do my own thing…start my own business. But I didn’t have the faith in myself and my ability to lead a company back then. So, it wasn’t until five years ago that I started Queen Associates.

NCJW: Well, after five years of operation, Frances, what advice would you give to a woman deciding whether or not to start her own business?

QUEEN: I would tell that woman three things: First, believe in yourself and your ability to accomplish whatever you choose in life. Second, choose a business that you love, a business that invokes passion in you. And finally, have fun; life is very short!

You know, business and life are very much the same path; both roads are full of rocks and jagged places. Instead of tripping over the obstacles in your way, find a way to turn them into opportunities. Instead of going for the quick profit today, concentrate on “doing the right thing” for the long haul. At the end of the day the money will come, and you will have made a difference.