Queen Associates’ Named Finalist for Charlotte Chamber 2003 Entrepreneur Awards

CHARLOTTE, NC – May **, 2003 – As a part of the Charlotte Chamber’s Small Business Week recognition program, finalists were named for the 2003 Entrepreneur Awards. 
The awards recognize local entrepreneurs who have turned their dreams into successful businesses. One award recipient from each of the three categories will be named during a dinner and awards presentation Sept. 30 at the Westin Hotel.

In the category of company owner with one to 10 employees, the finalists are Dana Rader of Dana Rader Golf School, Bob Henricks of Henricks Corp., and Richard Brasser, of Targeted Golf Solutions.

In the category of company owner with 11 to 35 employees, the finalists are Greg Aker of InfoVision Inc., Frances Queen of Queen Associates Inc., and Bill Crawford of Wilmar Leasing Inc.

In the category of company owner with 36-150 employees, the finalists are Matthew Michalewicz of NuTech Solutions Inc., David Jones of Peak 10, and Billy Graves of W.B. Moore Co.

“I am honored to be included among such dynamic and innovate entrepreneurs”, noted Queen, a 25 year seasoned executive in the IT consulting industry, who founded the company. 

Queen Associates (also known as QA(i)3) was born with a solid business plan and a dream.  The first year was lean, but began to boom in 2001 when the company stepped out with faith in their dream and leased a space in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina’s center city banking district.  QA(i)3 experienced a 1283% growth rate for the year ending in 2001. 
 
QA(i)3's business model is based on fundamental business ethics, principles, and practices that have enabled the company to maintain standards, growth and customer relationships through downturns in the economy as well as growth booms. Because a fundamentals focus keeps customer need in the forefront of the solutions they provide, QA(i)3 knew exactly when to  re-engineer into three divisions: Small Business Infrastructure (Q3 Biz) division, the Government Sector Services (Q3 Gov) division, and the Corporate Services (Q3 Corp) division. 

"By creating divisions, we were able to build very effective and focused teams with the expertise that customers demand. This has been a very effective change for us and for our customers," adds Queen. “I believe this focus is what has enabled our business growth to get back on the rising track and placed us on the Business Journal’s recent list. It proves just how valuable maintaining a focus on customer need is in building sustainable business.”
 

About QA(i)3

Based in Charlotte with offices in Raleigh, NC, and Fort Mill, SC, Queen Associates (QA(i)3) provides dynamic business and technical solutions throughout all levels of an organization. In spite of the tumultuous economy in 2001-2, the 45-employee firm has realized a 512% growth rate on annual sales since 2001 as a result of its innovative and aggressive approach to expansion.  Queen Associates has been able to buck the trend through practicing what they preach and maintaining its agility to respond to market opportunities.

QA(i)3's mission is to bring intelligence, innovation, and ideas to the marketplace through an integrated menu of business and technology expertise.  The key to success for QA(i)3 starts with its people, coupling its experts with leading-edge software innovations that leverage the intelligence, innovation and ideas (i3) of their technical people. QA(i)3 consultants focus on teaming with clients to achieve optimal solutions that consistently deliver competitive advantage to small to midsize businesses, the government sector and Fortune 500 giants.  100% woman-owned, Queen Associates is certified as a woman business enterprise on a local, state and national level.  www.QAi3.com