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Leading with Lee™
Meet Author, Speaker, and Founder of Converspace Tamika Washington
What is a purpose-filled life without the passion and persistence to ignite it? To Tamika S. Washington, it is not enough to be born with a calling. She believes one must possess the willpower and ambition to propel themselves into their greatest potential. It is no wonder that she, herself, is finally walking in her destiny of speaking her truth, helping others unleash their spark, and creating avenues to success for women everywhere.
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Reared in the heart of Columbia, South Carolina, Tamika was surrounded by men and women who inspired her and consistently drowned her young ears with affirmations. She credits her “drive” to her grandfather who was the founder of Columbia’s most profitable transportation service and oldest minority-owned business, Blue Ribbon Taxi Services. Blessed to have connected with many professionals during her career, she would notice that aspiring entrepreneurs were missing the tools and confidence to take their own plunge into their calling. In 2018, she and her husband founded Converspace to be the place for those people-especially women.
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Tamika is now a published author of two books, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Faith and Girl Let’s Pray. When she is not masterminding the next move for herself or Converspace, you will find her shopping for antiques in small towns, splurging on seasonal home décor, and saving her husband- who’s often outnumbered by herself and their two daughters. Her favorite song, and now personal mantra says, “You’re going to live to see it.” For Tamika, it is not only about what she lives to see, but about the vision, she broadens for others.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs and I never wanted to be bound to a desk for the rest of my life. Faith, family, and freedom are important to me and are the foundation of the legacy I’m building for my children. I enjoy the freedom of creating my own schedule, tapping into my creativity, and being available for my family and church as needed.
Q. What steps did you take to launch Converspace, and what kind of services does it provide?
Initially, our business started as a coworking business, so we researched different models and community membership types before we launched our space. However, we quickly realized that we made several mistakes along the way and had to pivot our business to meet the needs of the market we currently serve. We offer workspace solutions-office space and meeting space as well as virtual office solutions-business mail service, phone service, and coming soon, live receptionist services. Additionally, we provide services that include business formation, registered agents, and consulting services.
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Q. What are some of the marketing techniques that you’ve taken to bring awareness and visibility to your brand?
When we opened our space, we joined the local chamber of commerce and hosted monthly meet-ups as a Chamber small business partnership. Additionally, we partnered with other consultants and coaches to host various events and workshops. Our space prior to the pandemic hosted our events including community forums for 2020 presidential candidates like Tulsi Gabbard and Duval Patrick. A few of our events were featured on local news stations. We really didn’t have to spend a lot of money on marketing because of the visibility of our space. Through these connections, events we hosted, and of course word of mouth, we’ve had over 1000 visitors to our space, we currently serve over 350 clients, and continue to receive 5-star Google ratings. We’ve shifted our focus to paying attention to our Google analytics as that is where most of our referrals come from google search.
Q. Since the pandemic, the purpose has been at an all-time high. What are your thoughts on building a purpose-driven business, life, and career?
Purpose is why we exist, and everyone has a purpose. Purpose is what drives me to carry out the mission God has placed on the inside of me. It is important for us to tap into our purpose as it is connected to a much bigger picture. Once you tap into it, you will not allow anyone or anything to connect to you OR push you in a different direction.
Q. Have you come across any roadblocks in your path to success? If so, how did you overcome them?
Yes, lack of planning put us in a position of being overwhelmed and underpaid. I spent most of my time hustling through the business because I didn’t have a solid plan in place for starting the business, marketing the business, growing the business, and growing as a business owner. I got to a point where I wanted to give up-literally, I said out loud, ‘I can’t do this anymore!’. God said to me, where is your faith, in yourself, in the business connections, or in me. I had to shift my perspective about my business, invest in professional development, and start taking the business seriously instead of running it like a side hustle. I worked a 9-5 much of the 3 years we’ve been in business, but it was late 2019/ early 2020 that caused me to shift my perspective from being a solopreneur/entrepreneur to actually being a CEO.
Q. What’s your superpower?
I help people push their MVP – mission, vision, purpose and get to the heart of who they are and whom they are called to serve. Most of the time, I’m equipping women who need to hit the restart button in business.
Q. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that you like to use for your business?
Right now, we are currently using Thryv, which has become our CRM, branding, and marketing tool. Because we just started, we are working out the kinks, but the platform manages our social media, creates marketing campaigns, and provides us with efficient ways to stay connected with our clients.
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Since we have an open space and conference room, we love using Google and other search engines like Eventective to help potential customers locate our space for business events like photo shoots, training, business launches, and live streaming events.
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Q. When you hear the words ‘Women Empowerment” what comes to mind?
Supporting and collaborating with other women to build sustainable ventures. We must move beyond getting women hyped but when they leave each other’s presence, they still don’t accomplish their dreams or are confused about what’s next. Providing support, resources, tools, and accountability helps us to keep the momentum going as we work on the vision.
Q. What does success mean to you?
Success for me is about accomplishing the goals I set personally and professionally and enjoying the fruits of my labor.
Q. What advice can you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who would like to turn their dreams into realities?
There are three things you need to know before you get started:
Know your numbers-the cost to operate your business and your projections.
Know your target market-you cannot and will not serve everyone.
Know your mission, vision, and purpose- this is how you stay aligned to your brand.
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IG: @Tamikaswashington
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Interview by: Leading with Lee
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Published: 2/3/2022