By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Baltimore native Nailah Queen is a serial entrepreneur whose career spans travel, wellness, beauty and business coaching. From founding Royalty Escapes Travel Agency and her Regally Insane Hair and Body Health Line to preparing to launch Melanin and Mentorship, Queen has leveraged her experiences to show other Black women how to turn their ideas into successful businesses.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Nailah Queen
“In the Black community, we have to support each other in order for us all to thrive,” said Queen. “Helping the next person screw in their light bulb doesn’t dim your light— it makes it brighter so more people can see you both.”
The AFRO connected with Queen to discuss how her own entrepreneurial journey shapes her approach to mentorship, the lessons she’s learned along the way and how Black women can grow and scale their enterprises.
AFRO: As a serial entrepreneur yourself, why was it important to you to mentor and coach other women entrepreneurs coming up behind you?
Nailah Queen: I know how entrepreneurship changes us. With my businesses, I experienced firsthand what I was able to afford when raising my son. When he went to school, he didn’t have to get a job— whereas most of us have to work in order to sustain our lifestyle in college and pay for room and board. I was able to take him on trips, and he didn’t have to cover anything. I’m also a big philanthropist. I like discreet giving, and entrepreneurship allowed me to be able to give back.
I just know that entrepreneurship changes our families. With Black women, the majority of us are leaders in our households. There are a lot of us who are single moms. Being able to have opportunities to use our talents and our skills to better ourselves ultimately betters our families. It also builds your confidence, and, in turn, you’re able to pour more into your kids and those around you.
AFRO: What advice do you have for Black women who are looking to grow and scale their businesses?
NQ: They need to have a standard operating procedure (SOP) because we’re usually solopreneurs. For the most part, we think we need to hire more people when we start getting more revenue. But, we don’t think about what we have in place to ensure a smooth transition. An SOP helps you think about what you do every single day. Then, you can hand it to the next person and they can follow it step-by-step to be you. There’s nothing worse than hiring someone and having to stay on their back because they’re not trained properly.
A lot of times we also think we need to have a storefront. But, we don’t think about the overhead that’s going to come with–like the lights and rent. Stores are pretty, and you can call them your own, but are they worth it? You have to determine whether you’re bringing in enough value to have a store. You might be able to set up an online store instead or share a co-working space. You just need to understand how to scale correctly.
AFRO: In working with Black women entrepreneurs, what are the common challenges they express, and how do you help them overcome them?
NQ: We’re always going to have challenges when it comes to accessing funding, grants and loans. But, one of the things I’ve seen with them that I experience myself is impostor syndrome. I just try to help them work through that and understand that they have great ideas, are successful and deserve success. It’s really about reprogramming ourselves to see ourselves in a better light than we actually do.
AFRO: You are preparing to launch a new organization, Melanin and Mentorship, this fall, can you describe the gap it seeks to fill?
NQ: It’s going to be a nonprofit that focuses on Black women who are starting their entrepreneurial journey and need training, support and a sense of community so they can thrive. During the pandemic, it was beautiful to see how many of us started our own businesses. No one knew if they were going to get money, how unemployment was going to work and jobs were closing, but I saw so many of us bet on ourselves.
However, one of the things that also happened during that time was that a lot of people missed some steps in order to set their business up for a legacy that can be passed down to their families. For example, some of my clients never checked to see if the name of their business was already in use by somebody else. If it’s already in use, you can be sued.
Melanin and Mentorship will go over business ground rules. It’s going to help women make sure their books are set up correctly and understand their branding and marketing. By the time they finish, they will have their business plan and be ready to register their business. The next step is pairing them with someone who can serve as a mentor in their respective field.
