Meet Shawn Crawford of Headquarters/HQ Auburn in Sweet Auburn Avenue

Atlanta Natives Shawn Crawford and Ladawn Blackett-Jones initially met each other from a chance teenage encounter at six flags and went on to live in the same apartment complex while attending Tennessee State University.

Crawford, a career entrepreneur and Blackett-Jones an attorney and former Georgia House District 62 representative, were reconnected after collaborating on a story for the Atlanta Voice, a company Crawford was running at the time, about the first all-Black Female law enforcement and municipal court system in South Fulton. The story went on to go viral eventually landing in TIME magazine.

Blackett-Jones who had initially owned the space with another partner, Myesha Good, had recently taken the space back over from a lessee and expressed the need to Crawford for another partner who could come in an get the business off the ground leaving Blackett-Jones to focus on her legal career and Good to focus on her political consulting career. Crawford, a long time business owner, took the business over handling day to day operations freeing up Blackett-Jones to focus on the administrative side of the operation and Good to handle the business finances.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been tough finding our niche in the Atlanta co-working community. We are not the typical workspace. So, getting our messaging right and figuring out our business model took a while. Our space is designed for people who want a more grassroots and community entrepreneurial experience. It’s not just co-working, it’s community development. With that being said, it’s been a bit tough getting the word out because we are not backed by major capital. The reality is that few entities see black entrepreneurship as a viable investment option, so we have to do everything on our own with the limited resources we have.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc.

Our Mission is to be an entrepreneurial resource hub that supports small business development and growth. We work with companies ranging from dorm room start-ups to established businesses looking to scale. We are constantly in pursuit of creating new ways to foster a more prosperous and diverse entrepreneurial community. We offer programs, educational and networking opportunities year-round for small business owners at every level of the startup and business development cycle. We help you build a solid foundation to reach your business goals, whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned entrepreneur looking to launch a new product or service.

What are you most proud of as a company?
That we are doing the work of trying to improve our community for the next generation.  It is up to us to create the environment that we want to be in.  Instead of waiting for someone to give us something, we are doing the best with what we have.  We hope we can set an example for others in our community to follow.