Today we’d like to introduce you to Frederick Quinn.
Frederick, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Washington, GA. Which is a rural area approximately 2 hours east of Atlanta. When I graduated high school in 2005, I moved to Augusta, GA to earn my bachelors from Paine College, which is a small private liberal art Historical Black College founded in 1882. College was an amazing experience for me. I was elected Mr. Paine College and was able to join the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. I am actually celebrating my 10-year college graduation milestone this year as well as my 10th year in Atlanta. In 2009, I came to Atlanta with around $300 that was gifted from my recent graduation and an invitation to sleep on one of my best friends couch. Within two weeks, I got a job a Georgia Natural Gas call center and got admitted to an MBA program.
After I collected a few work checks, I found a rental home in the grant park area. I needed a water bucket in my living room when it rained, but it was mine and I was happy to have my independence. Each year, I got a better job and a better rental. Every day was literally an uphill or downhill climb, some days, I really didn’t know if I would be packing up and going to back to parents or not, but I remained consistent and persistent. When 2012 came, it was like my life shifted, I graduated again, I got a management job at a college and by April, I had closed on my first home. For people who don’t know by 2012, a vast majority of Atlanta homes had foreclosed from the recent housing crash and the market was so saturated that they were almost giving homes away. I purchased a 4-year-old home that was 3500 sqft for 75k and within three years, the market at recovered enough for me to sell and make a profit of almost 3x what I paid for it. That changed my life in so many ways. I, then, knew I had to buy more homes and actually get a real estate license so I could conduct my own transactions. So. from this point, in addition to working a full-time job, I now sold homes, flipped homes, and was a landlord. During this time, I considered starting a business, but I did not know what I wanted to do. Ironically, one night, watching the 10 pm news, they ran a story about African Americans being discriminated against by host on the Airbnb platform. It was like a light bulb went off, and I knew I could do my part to make the playing field level.
The very next day, I listed my home on the website and named the listing “No Discrimination, EVERYONE is welcomed.” The alerts on my phone started blowing up. I had secured about 6 bookings in 24 hours. Within a few months, my calendar got so full that I literally had to move out of my home. This is how The Evans and Quinn Group was born.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road was not totally smooth, but I have risen above every challenge that has been thrown in my way.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
The Evans and Group LLC is a short term vacation rental company that specializes in luxury housing for large to extra-large groups traveling to Atlanta. As a company, we are most proud of providing outstanding accommodations and memorable experiences to people of all ways of life at a very competitive rate. We have hosted celebrities, billboard top 10 artist, television movie scenes, family gatherings, displaced families, and weekend getaways. We are set apart by offering a superb hosting service in fully renovated homes with up to 8 bedrooms.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is the perfect model for a business like mine. I would definitely recommend starting up a business in Atlanta. With the population and income of the residents in the area, Atlanta is a city where your business can definitely thrive and survive. In fact, I am the co-founder of a non-profit Black Prodigy Inc. and have plans on becoming a restaurateur in the future.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 404-327-1211
- Email: eqgroupllc@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/opuatlbnb
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/opuatl
- Other: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/31717687?s=51
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