 Today we're excited to welcome someone who makes you feel at home while staying away. Monique Greenwood joins us to talk about founding a quabba bed and breakfast ends building a legacy for her family and premiering her new television series this fall. This is school of hustle the show refined advice and inspiration from people who are making their own way. I'm Shannon the VP of social here at Godaddy and I live and breathe the hustle of business today we're filming from the hustle of it all at the we work Times Square in New York City. Everybody let's give money to a big welcome to the show. Thank you for being great to be here. You own an operate one of the most successful bed and breakfast in the country. Why was it important to you to found your company a quabba bed and breakfast ends. Well it was really a combination of my personal goals and my business goals. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I enjoyed staying at bed and breakfast ends as a guest and then when I thought about what kind of business I would want to do. I believe real estate is the best financial investment you can make and they kind of all came together. What makes a quabba bed and breakfast ends such a unique experience to its visitors. I think what really makes a quabba unique in terms of the experience is that we offer people a chance to kind of push back their high tech and experience of high touch. We're all about connectivity so folks come and are able to kind of reconnect with the person they're traveling with whether it's their girlfriend or their spouse. If they're traveling alone they kind of reconnect with themselves and then they get an opportunity to connect with the other guests who have come as strangers but by the time they all leave they leave as friends. So it's a very special kind of bonding that happens. What you built is gorgeous. How do you feel when you step back and you look at your properties and see what you've built. Well you know I feel very proud and I feel very blessed and I step back and I don't just look at the properties but I look at people enjoying the properties and that's the part of it that really resonates for me and lets me know that I'm kind of living my dream. Well your industry and hospitality is probably one of the most competitive out there. You know how how do you think about staying ahead of the competition and expanding the way you have that you have 5 properties. We have 5 locations in Washington D.C. Brooklyn, New York, Kate, Maine, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Did I say Brooklyn, New York? Yes. Okay and the Poconos of Pennsylvania and so you know I am not afraid of competition. I think there's room for everyone but I do think that you have to have your unique selling proposition like what makes you special and for us it's really again it's that connectivity but each of our rooms is uniquely decorated so we're not a cookie cutter kind of box hotel experience. We really really work toward the yes whatever the question is the guess may have we're getting to the yes. We're trying to be brewing intuitive about what they need even if they don't express what they need. So really when our guests check in sometimes they always bring their you know their luggage but they sometimes bring some baggage as well and so we pride ourselves on helping them to unpack that even if they're there for one night. And so do you physically spend time yourself in each location? I physically spend a lot of time in my pickup truck up and down 95. So I came in three locations in one week. I am typically at the Poconos location on the weekends and then during the middle of the week I'm either between the Brooklyn location which is technically home for me and the Philadelphia location because it's the newest location. When you can't be in a location for 100% of the time how do you ensure that your staff represents you in your business the way you want them to? Well you know staffing is always the most challenging thing for an entrepreneur. I have to first make sure that when I'm recruiting people to be on the team that they understand that what we're doing is not just providing a place for people to sleep at night. We are really providing a place for people to rest their weary souls and so you have to really be a nurturer and a person who is about service and not waiting to be served and everything else I can teach you know. You can't be afraid of the kitchen because you do have to make breakfast it is called bed and breakfast but beyond that they don't necessarily have to come with hospitality experience but they have to come with a love of people, a love of creating wonderful experiences and then we do a lot of professional development with our team and most of my endkeepers are folks who aspire to own their own ends and I find that that's really the best way to do it. If you want this for yourself so I showed them the real nitty gritty and tell them everything I know so it's almost a mentoring relationship while we're working together as a team. So I've been really fortunate but I have to also not take for granted that people can read my mind and know what my expectations are so I've worked really hard to have like an employee manual we train to that I tell them to play nice comfortable soft music. Well what you're delivering has gotten the attention of the network and you're launching a TV series called checked in how has this come to be well is interesting apparently a network put out the call for reality show that I ended up checking all the boxes for this particular network which we didn't end up signing with was looking for hospitality business they hope that it would be family owned they hope that it would be a family of color they hope that it would be a woman that headed and they hope that she was outspoken check check check check will you have the opportunity to meet up or have you met her already I met her she won't remember that but in my past life I was editor-in-chief of Essence magazine and I went to her launch party when she launched all and it was a quick you know editor editor hello and but I have not met her in the context of her her network. So I want to back up because we casually just mentioned you were editor-in-chief of Essence magazine that's a really big deal it's a big deal and I want to gloss over that what I'm interested in related to your business today is are there any particular skills or lessons you learned as editor-in-chief that you parlay into what you do right now with yeah, yeah, I think that a lot of times people especially women don't give ourselves credit for the transferable skills that we have from a past job or just an eight Lee in terms of who we are and for me being a journalist means that I have to be a good listener and I've got to be extremely observant and I think those are the 2 tenants of the way I run my business and I can I spoil my guess you know, I'm always listening. I'm not being nosy but I am listening. So what is one thing that you were not very good at before starting your business. Well, I have to be honest, I was intimidated by the fact that my business is a bed and breakfast I can make a great bed, not a great breakfast. I started out having a neighbor who would come over in the morning and make the breakfast and then she'd leave and go to her job and one day she didn't show up and so I had to get over it and get in the kitchen and make something and I just something very basic pancakes and scramble cheese eggs which I knew how to make and I realize that our guests and most people are just satisfied with something that was made with love but as I've grown they've pushed me out of the kitchen because it is also important as an entrepreneur to know that just because you can do a thing doesn't mean you should do that thing right so where do I offer the most value to my business and that is in the exchange with my guest and then marketing the brand. Exactly. Now the journey that you've had is fascinating. Is there any one particular moment that you would consider your made-it moment? You know, hmm, probably when I could afford to have health insurance and also supply that for my staff. I think a lot of would be entrepreneurs they stuck in their 9 to 5 jobs because they don't want to walk away from their health insurance and so you know when I was able to do that and when I was able to hire talent that I was that I wanted and give them benefits. I felt really good about that and I said yeah this is it. Well, I really appreciate it talking to you about your businesses and now we're going to spice things up a little bit and play a game that we call hustle time. Your go-to outfit. Black dress. Dream dinner guest. My husband. Best place you've traveled. What's the first app you open in the morning. I'm so low-tech and so high-touch. I guess my email. Which would you rather give up for life pizza or sandwiches? Pizza. Would you rather never be able to teach or never be able to learn? Never be able to teach. Music or podcasts? Music. 3 things in your closet right now. Clothes too small, clothes too big, clothes I haven't wanted 10 years. Fireplace or fireplace? What's that? Fireplace or fireplace? Oh, fireplace. One thing you want in a desert island with you? My right mind. Chardonnay, yay or nay? Yay. Go-to cocktail. Mojito. Drive, stick shift or automatic? Automatic. If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? Billie Holiday. Would you rather fly or talk to animals? Fly. King size or fun size? King. Okay, we're going to count that. We're going to count that. Is that good? Right, I think that's good. Let's see. We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Oh, that's pretty good. Nice job. That's really good. Favorite part of your day? The morning. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten? Just because you can't do a thing doesn't mean you should do that thing. Worst piece of advice? You can do it all. How do you use your career to inspire others? I dream big and I inspire them to do the same. Ever felt like walking away? Yeah. One thing you still need to learn? Better financial management. What do you want people to learn from you? That all things are possible. What's next for you? Maybe retirement. Who inspires you? My daughter. She's a millennial and I'm inspired for the future because of her. And who challenges you? My disease mom. Thank you for that. And also, thank you for sharing with your network and social that you were coming on the show. Absolutely. We have two questions that came through. The first is from Regina. Regina asks, how have your plans for your enterprise evolved over time? And how do you respond to the organic process of growing, developing, and perhaps changing aspects of the plan? Well, I am very planned oriented. And I make lots of lists. I make them every night before I wake up so that I'm intentional about what I have to get done that day. And I get great satisfaction with checking them off. But I also know to remain flexible because you can't, you're not in control. You can try to control how you react to it. So I think that flexibility is important. And it's OK to change your mind. It's a woman's prerogative. And Teresa asks a question about work-life balance. How do you manage work and time with your husband? I mean, I don't really believe strongly in the word balance because I think balance, I think of a scale. So the work is on one side and the family or the home life is on the other side. But there's a thing in the middle, and that thing is me. And I have to stay centered here, or this is going to fall over. And so there are times when I'm putting more emphasis on work, and there's times when I'm putting more emphasis on family. And that's the way it works. But I do think that you have to make sure that your family is buying into what the business is and what you're trying to do. And that you respect them. And that you just let them know what your agenda is so that they're not surprised by it. That answer is awesome. We have one last question. And this question actually comes from our resident pug, Noodle. OK. Noodle is no stranger to a comfortable bed. And people are always waiting on Noodle hand and foot. Right, Jonathan? Oh, is this Noodle? Hello, Noodle. Noodle, he just shows up. He looks like a happy guest. Oh, my God, he would live and die first. OK. Now, Noodle typically looks for a solid five-star hotel to cater to his every whim. And with Summer here, he's ready to start planning his vacation. So what advice would you have for Noodle? As he is considering a bed and breakfast through you, of course, and not one of these hotels. Yeah, well, Mr. Noodle, first of all, is a mister, right? Oh, yeah, Mr. Noodle. OK, Mr. Noodle. Esquire. Esquire, got you. OK. Sir, first of all, the bed and breakfast experience is a much more intimate experience. It is not a cookie-cutter place. And your experience is going to be different from the person who came before you. We know who you are the moment you show up. And we try to anticipate your every need. You're going to just love being with us, because we're going to spoil you. We may even pet you. Yes. But, yeah, so that's what's really special. It's also important, Mr. Noodle, to know that we are a bed and breakfast and not an air B&B, OK? So we are not going to give you an air mattress. And there's a second B&B. There is breakfast, and so we are a full service. And we're going to really wait on you, you know, foot and paw or whatever. Sounds like you're on your way to six stars. We'll both be the best six stars. Absolutely. You two paws, two paws. Good question, Noodle. Well, in closing, we'd like to leave everyone watching with a final thought. So I'm going to read three quotes and ask for you to tell me which quote resonates the most with you and why. OK. Number one, some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a beautiful place. Number two, happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. Number three, you don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens. Not that one. I'm just going to say it earlier. That was the first one again. Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a beautiful place. Yeah, I think that one resonates with me most because life is what you make it. And beauty is also what you make it. And so you don't have to look any further than within. And, you know, their life will beat you up sometimes. And, you know, you may run your stockings, your hair may be wack, but then you look in the mirror and you find something good to say about yourself. You see the beauty in you, and you shine that forth, and everybody else will see it as well. So I like that quote. I like that one, too. I hope that everybody enjoyed watching today. I had so much fun talking to you. Well, thank you. It was a pleasure to be here. Let everybody know how they can follow your business on Instagram or social. Sure. I knew you'd ask that, and I'm so bad with that. I told you I'm high touch and low tech. But we are a quabba bed and breakfast ends. A quabba, by the way, means welcome in Ghana, West Africa. And we're on Facebook and everything, I think, at a quabba ends. The imagery is stunning. Thank you. So everyone, please follow a quabba ends on Instagram and across social. And follow GoDaddy, too, because we are bringing fabulous entrepreneurs to you every single week. And there's more wonderful inspiration and advice to come. So until then, see you all soon.