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June 8, 2024

Ep26 Shafqat Huq - From Burnout in Finance to Tech Innovator

In this enthralling episode host Suzanne Taylor-King welcomes the innovative Shafqat Huq, a former finance professional turned tech entrepreneur. Together, they dive deep into the transformative power of career pivots, the inception of revolutionary tech solutions, and the art of effective virtual assistance.

 

Shafqat opens up about his initial career in high-stakes finance, describing a journey marked by burnout and a yearning for something more fulfilling. This discontent led him to the tech world, where he first tackled a pressing issue in the live event scene — scam tickets. His solution? A secure, stock market-like app for verified ticket exchanges, which laid the groundwork for his current ventures.

 

Now at the helm of Katz Consulting and the innovative LeadBuddy software, Shafqat streamlines operations for entrepreneurs and small businesses. They discuss how integrating multiple tools into one cohesive platform can free up significant time and mental space, allowing business owners to focus on growth and creativity rather than mundane tasks.

 

The conversation doesn't stop at tech. Suzanne and Shafqat also touch on the indispensable role of virtual assistants in today's business landscape. They explore how delegating effectively can not only maintain but enhance business operations, even when the entrepreneur is globe-trotting or focusing on new strategies.

 

Key points to look out for:

- Exploring the transition from traditional finance roles to innovative tech entrepreneurship and the personal realizations that lead to change.

- The development and impact of a secure ticket exchange app inspired by real-world problems in the event industry.

- The benefits of integrating virtual assistants and streamlined tech tools to enhance business efficiency and personal freedom.

 

Listeners will come away with invaluable insights into adapting business models to meet the demands of the modern market, embracing technological solutions to everyday problems, and the importance of personal well-being in sustaining business success. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, this episode is packed with actionable advice to transform your approach to business and life.

 

Tune in to help you rethink, realign, and revitalize your business strategies.

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:24:07
Shafqat Huq
the biggest reason why CRMs and other platforms like high level, feel intimidating to people is that because there's so many different tools, there's it there is a big learning curve involved. and then you also have to utilize it properly and consistently to actually get value from it. And if you don't have the time to do that because you want to focus on running your business, that you're not getting the full the full value tool.

00:00:24:08 - 00:00:50:14
Suzanne Taylor-King
Hey, hey. Welcome to a podcast where dreams meet. Determination and success is just around the corner. I'm your host, Suzanne Taylor King. And I'm here to help you unlock the full potential of your business and your life. Welcome to Unlock Your Way with SDK. Let's unlock your path to success together.

00:00:50:14 - 00:01:03:07
Suzanne Taylor-King
Good morning. Good morning everyone Suzanne Taylor King here with Shafqat Huq. How are you Shaf? Great to see you.

00:01:03:09 - 00:01:40:20
Suzanne Taylor-King
Oh, you're so welcome. we are here for another live episode of my podcast, Unlock Your Way with STK and today we're going to be talking to my agency partner, who helps all of my clients and me organize my business and really, we're diving into so much today. We're going to talk about, your past career, this career, your VA agency, how you help other agencies get started to really looking forward to this conversation today.

00:01:40:22 - 00:01:52:06
Suzanne Taylor-King
my first question for you, though, is I want to talk about your past career and how you transitioned into what you do now.

00:01:52:15 - 00:02:13:19
Shafqat Huq
Yeah. and I appreciate you asking that because, I spent some time kind of reflecting on it, and trying to figure out where I got to where I am now. And I finally feel like I have some clarity on that. so to give a little bit of background, I triple majored in finance, economics and accounting.

00:02:13:21 - 00:02:37:02
Shafqat Huq
at the beginning of my career and even in college, I thought that I was bound to work in either, investment banking or, financial advising or wealth management for my entire career. I had offers coming out of college to work for Goldman, on the investment making side, and then ended up taking a, role with Merrill Lynch in wealth management.

00:02:37:04 - 00:03:05:07
Shafqat Huq
because I thought that was the more people oriented side of finance. did that for about two years, and then, got burnt out and realized that wasn't for me and that I wasn't going to be doing that long term and kind of found my way into the tech and, startup space. And it initially started with me coming up with a mobile app concept for music that's lot tickets.

00:03:05:09 - 00:03:32:16
Shafqat Huq
I've been going to Coachella for years. And these events that similar to culture that sell out very, very quickly, create a supply and demand issue where there's a very small amount of tickets, there's hundreds of thousands of people trying to get them, and it created a secondary market where people were selling them on Facebook Marketplace. Craigslist ran an offer up all these different places, and there was a lot of, scam that was happening.

00:03:32:16 - 00:03:35:14
Shafqat Huq
People were selling fake tickets or ending up getting

00:03:35:21 - 00:03:44:11
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. I remember a whole festival on some island somewhere. That was a whole scam. I remember that.

00:03:44:11 - 00:04:00:14
Shafqat Huq
Yeah. And so we, what I what happened was I actually developed a mobile app that kind of operated, like stock market, where people were able to get verified wristband tickets. we had the seller mail us the wristband. We authenticated it, make sure it was a legitimate ticket. and pass that off to the buyer.

00:04:00:16 - 00:04:22:10
Shafqat Huq
and in that process of developing a startup, you know, coming up with the product business model, all that stuff, I realized that there wasn't really a lot of resources through people that had an idea that wanted to develop that into a product or a viable business model. So that kind of led to me starting, my consulting agency called Katz Consulting.

00:04:22:12 - 00:04:46:16
Shafqat Huq
So, that's kind of what led me into the the realm of software and technology consulting. and then that's for today. we now have a CRM and marketing automation software, lead body, which is essentially a white label agency of high level software that you're familiar with. And I'm sure many others in your audience are as well.

00:04:46:18 - 00:04:58:13
Shafqat Huq
and then we also have a virtual assistant agency as well that basically we work with, busy entrepreneurs to help reclaim free time, and focus on things that matter more to them.

00:04:58:21 - 00:05:41:17
Suzanne Taylor-King
Well, you know, I'm all about those things. I love to touch on the organizational piece. when I found, go high level software, I was using 7 or 8 different tools, and it's still a process getting, you know, everything into one place. but the freedom that comes with that is so important for entrepreneurs, coaches, especially because I feel like, a lot of coaches have shiny object syndrome where especially if they like technology, like I do that.

00:05:41:17 - 00:05:49:12
Suzanne Taylor-King
Oh, there's this thing, it's going to solve this tiny little piece of my problem. Instead of looking at that whole picture.

00:05:50:10 - 00:06:10:04
Shafqat Huq
Yeah, definitely. And, high level is just absolutely incredible. Because I feel like it's. It gives you everything you need to run your business in one place. and it just makes it so easy to consolidate that entire ecosystem of different tools that you'd normally have to pay 15 different subscriptions or to get the same functionality.

00:06:11:01 - 00:06:44:07
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, yeah. I love the idea of, you know, taking picking someone who's spending, you know, 1000 or $1500 a month on their technology down to 197 or 297. That's just absolutely astonishing value to me. But you bring something else to the table, which is why I've never partnered with any other agency before. And it's stood out right away.

00:06:44:09 - 00:07:27:14
Suzanne Taylor-King
To me, this linear knowledge, the planning, the strategy and then the creative aspect of it. So that was really important to me. And then you had the VA services to kind of support. It's not you doing all of the work. And that was another really attractive thing to me in a partner. how did you come to that kind of place of deciding that if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it at that different level for people?

00:07:27:15 - 00:07:29:19
Suzanne Taylor-King
Let's talk a little bit about that.

00:07:29:19 - 00:07:53:17
Shafqat Huq
Yeah. So, I mean, I think I initially discover high level, and, you know, it gets advertised as a SaaS products, software as a service. when in reality, I think the better way to look at it would be to describe it as a software with the service. So you have the actual software component of it in the tool that the business owner or the coach or whoever it is utilizing.

00:07:53:19 - 00:08:20:23
Shafqat Huq
But, you know, I think the the biggest reason why CRMs and other platforms like high level, feel intimidating to people is that because there's so many different tools, there's it there is a big learning curve involved. and then you also have to utilize it properly and consistently to actually get value from it. And if you don't have the time to do that because you want to focus on running your business, that you're not getting the full the full value tool.

00:08:21:01 - 00:08:50:01
Shafqat Huq
So that's where we thought, okay, how do we outsource the implementation or the day to day activities of the software so that, the business owner is still getting that value, but they're not having to spend an absurd amount of money on someone to, to get that done. and so that's where the virtual assistant agency kind of came into play, where we'll work with the business owner to to develop the broad strategy and how to utilize the software.

00:08:50:01 - 00:09:00:05
Shafqat Huq
And then the day to day implementation, and actual tasks are being done by a virtual assistant that's trained and has full expertise on how to use the software, as well.

00:09:00:05 - 00:09:24:09
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. That that makes a lot of sense. Because then, you know, your clients don't have to go looking for someone else. You know, you you have that covered in-house. And I think, more importantly here, what kind of freedom has that given you? I know you were on a trip recently. You're still running your business, right?

00:09:24:09 - 00:09:32:11
Suzanne Taylor-King
While you're traveling. how is it enhanced your life to have this knowledge that you have?

00:09:33:12 - 00:09:57:13
Shafqat Huq
Well, I mean, I've always been traveling a lot and acting, for a while. It took me, like, a long time. It took me a long time to figure out how to delegate certain tasks. And I think I had I had some trouble letting go of things because I wanted things done in a very particular way. And I didn't feel as though, I couldn't properly train someone else to do that.

00:09:57:13 - 00:10:22:16
Shafqat Huq
And so in some ways, I kind of became my own ideal client because I had to kind of extract from my own head my way of getting certain tasks done. And then that led to, okay, well, then now if I'm able to do this for myself, I can go ahead and do that for other clients and make sure that their tasks are getting done to the same, like to the same extent and quality level that they're expecting.

00:10:22:16 - 00:10:40:18
Shafqat Huq
a couple months ago I was in, in Europe for, just a quick trip and then I was in Asia. I've been having other trips within the US and have some more travel lined up in the next couple months, but just having a virtual assistant has just made it so easy to be able to delegate those tasks.

00:10:40:18 - 00:10:51:02
Shafqat Huq
I'm able to communicate with them, throughout the day and just make sure that, you know, my business isn't, being put on pause if I'm out of the office,

00:10:51:15 - 00:10:52:10
Shafqat Huq
Yeah.

00:10:52:12 - 00:11:13:10
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. what does that communication look like for your clients? how do you streamline that communication process between the client and you and the virtual assistant? That's always been interesting to me.

00:11:13:10 - 00:11:38:16
Shafqat Huq
Yeah. And it really depends. Client. Client. The the frequency that these this communication is happening in the channel. All of that stuff. really hands on what the client is most comfortable with using and what kind of level of interaction they want. you know, we have clients that apps. That means at the beginning of each day, at the end of each day, we have some clients that just want to check in maybe once a week.

00:11:38:18 - 00:12:11:02
Shafqat Huq
some that are even, even less frequent. So it really depends on what their level of what their expectations are in terms of, communication. But typically speaking, we'll have, a daily check in on some kind of channel like slack, WhatsApp, or even, just a regular text message. we've done standup calls. That's kind of a terminology that's very common in the software world, where you have all the entire team could report on what their tasks are for the day, what they accomplished the previous day.

00:12:11:04 - 00:12:16:04
Shafqat Huq
just so there's that frequent accountability. and progress checks.

00:12:17:05 - 00:12:50:06
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, well, I think the communication is is really key. At least delegation for many solopreneurs is really one of the most difficult things. And the story that we tell ourselves is that, oh, it's just this. And that would take me ten minutes to do, and it would take longer to explain it to someone else or tell someone else what I want.

00:12:50:08 - 00:13:36:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
And that loop of being in that space, I know, because I was in that space sometimes still a little in that space is really the most difficult thing to break out of because we need to trust, and we also need to have our standard operating procedures clear in our own minds before we delegate to other people. And I think that's I'd love for you to talk a little bit about what that looks like within your own companies, like, how did that work for you, really deciding what those SOPs were and then extracting them?

00:13:36:08 - 00:13:54:12
Suzanne Taylor-King
Because I'm sure, like me, you were just doing. And then it comes to you to how do you do that? And you have to break it. Work.

00:13:54:14 - 00:13:56:04
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah.

00:13:56:04 - 00:14:06:08
Shafqat Huq
trying to figure things out as you go, in which a lot of times you do need to do that first. just build as you go, and then you take a step back and reflect and say, okay, you know what?

00:14:06:08 - 00:14:33:10
Shafqat Huq
This is the this is probably the replicable way of doing this, onboarding a client or, you know, supporting client, hiring new employees, things like that. and that is a, a big part of the intake process and onboarding process from my virtual assistant agency is figuring out, okay, what is the right way of doing X, Y, and Z?

00:14:33:12 - 00:14:57:17
Shafqat Huq
how can we replicate this or how can we train it? train someone to do this step for you? and just getting full documentation, road mapping that out. And by training someone to go in and do it with the client and then slowly kind of taking the training wheels off where the client steps away from it, and it's just the virtual assistant, performing those tasks.

00:14:58:03 - 00:15:13:05
Suzanne Taylor-King
Beautiful. Beautiful. And did you. Did you implement that for yourself? Like knowing that, Or were you. Did you kind of come after doing it for your clients?

00:15:14:22 - 00:15:39:13
Shafqat Huq
I think that's kind of simultaneous, because my virtual assistant agency consists of three partners like myself. There's myself, my cousin, and then another business partner who all run our own businesses. And then we have a virtual assistant lead in the Philippines named Jem. And she's kind of our operations lead. And she kind of

00:15:40:00 - 00:15:41:06
Shafqat Huq
The.

00:15:41:06 - 00:15:46:16
Shafqat Huq
figured out, okay, what are your pain points in your own businesses that we can address for our clients?

00:15:46:18 - 00:16:02:12
Shafqat Huq
what are the steps? what are the what are the tasks that we can outsource? Can you run through a training session with someone so that they can take that task over? And so we then replicated that process for clients like ourselves.

00:16:03:06 - 00:16:14:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
I love that I. And you know. Did you luck into finding her, or was that research based with. Did that look like.

00:16:15:14 - 00:16:39:16
Shafqat Huq
it's a mix of two things. I think, you know, I, I've always been very internationally connected in the sense that, you know, my parents are from Borno, that should I go back there? I go there every year with them. I also have a lot of contacts in, other countries in Asia, like, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, even, you know, other countries as well.

00:16:39:16 - 00:16:57:19
Shafqat Huq
And so we have the benefit of being able to connect with people there. And then, and then that through a lot of the talent pool, because a lot I think the biggest roadblock to actually working with people internationalize, because there is a lot of these artists out there, and it's very difficult to be able to screen through that.

00:16:57:22 - 00:17:27:23
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. Yeah. we're getting a question from, LinkedIn viewer. I put it on the screen here. What is go high level. And there are multiple companies out there. Name that. Yeah. Let's let's go there because, well, I think it's a combination. I, you know, it's a white labeled software. but shop how do you use it and how do you offer it?

00:17:28:02 - 00:17:56:04
Shafqat Huq
All right. Yeah. So, high level or go high level. As some people know, it is a CRM and marketing automation software. the company that develops it sells it directly to agencies. that and they allow agencies to white label it under their own branding and their own, brand name and resell it to their clients. And so that's probably why you're seeing that there are multiple companies that are,

00:17:56:06 - 00:17:57:05
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah.

00:17:57:05 - 00:17:58:11
Shafqat Huq
level or leveraging.

00:17:58:14 - 00:18:20:20
Shafqat Huq
So you might be seeing it under a different brand name. So for in our case, we, we we call our product lead body. and so we work with small local business owners to, generate more leads and just operate more efficiently. and yeah, it's a great product. It's allowed me to add a consistent, predictable source of income.

00:18:20:22 - 00:18:33:12
Shafqat Huq
versus before, a lot of it was centered around trying to find large projects, that were one offs. And there wasn't really, a predictability in the cash flow there

00:18:34:00 - 00:18:58:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, yeah. And, that same LinkedIn user saying. So it's marketing and not service. Well, it's actually a combination. and that's why I've partnered with chef and his company because in referring clients, you know, because it is it is marketing. You have to know what you're selling, what you're offering. You know, what your branding is, what your messaging is.

00:18:58:08 - 00:19:38:13
Suzanne Taylor-King
You have to know all that. But this is, funnel software, CRM, calendar service, online courses, membership area, affiliate program. Like the possibilities are endless. Would you what you could create would go high level. so imagine it like Clickfunnels with a more advanced automations back end and more possibilities of not only connecting it to other softwares, but, you know, having multi-step funnels and really customize what you're building and putting out there.

00:19:38:14 - 00:20:07:06
Suzanne Taylor-King
you could have your website in go high level as well. And I think the confusing part for most people shop is that so many people white label, which means they buy go high level software, and then they put their branding and their name on it, but it's actually the same exact tool running in the background. And I know that was a big misconception.

00:20:07:06 - 00:20:22:00
Suzanne Taylor-King
When I had my agency, so many people would come to me and say, well, are you like, this is your like this? I'm like, it's exactly the same. You're just buying it. Me versus, you know, someone else.

00:20:22:00 - 00:20:40:22
Shafqat Huq
I was gonna say that's part of the reason I use the term software with the service. Because the underlying software is still the same. But, you know, you clients and go ahead and get high level on their own, but then they're they're having to implement it themselves, and they don't get a fraction the value that we provide.

00:20:41:00 - 00:20:44:16
Shafqat Huq
in terms of the strategy, this or all of that stuff.

00:20:45:01 - 00:21:17:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. Yeah. And I talk a little bit about the support piece. that's something that, my clients that have already on board are with you. It's something they noticed right away. The onboarding process was very seamless. you were able to take one client who was already using, go high level with another, agency and transfer their information in into lead body.

00:21:17:03 - 00:21:31:09
Suzanne Taylor-King
But also, it was the just the overall support in the back end that's different than a lot of other agencies. Talk about that a little bit.

00:21:31:14 - 00:22:08:11
Shafqat Huq
Right. So we've invested quite a bit and time and money in terms of building up the support infrastructure so that our clients have 24, seven, access to reaching out to some of their, you know, if they're trying to build a funnel at 3 a.m., chances are I am available those hours. but in the event that I'm not and, they need support very quickly and immediately, we have, a live chat team that's available around the clock.

00:22:08:13 - 00:22:25:14
Shafqat Huq
and that's increased the customer, value and experience so much that, you know, our churn rate has gone down substantially because they're getting around the clock support and value, that they that they are getting at other agencies.

00:22:25:22 - 00:23:10:07
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yes. well, I think that example that you set, this is the perfect segway into your agency mastermind per se, right? Where you actually help someone who wants to have their own agency and wants to do that whole route that you've gone and you actually coach, mentor, and help them set up their agency. And this is really taking your expertise in, in the way that you set up your business and helping other people create that as well.

00:23:10:06 - 00:23:34:18
Shafqat Huq
Right. And. Yeah. And that's another thing that I, you know, I started my high level agency. And in, in the in the first few months of doing that, I was engaging with a lot of other content creators on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram. and I would start getting messages and questions of, hey, what is this software? How how are you using it?

00:23:34:19 - 00:24:03:00
Shafqat Huq
I'm interested. I'm a I'm a web developer. and so I realized that I had knowledge that other people could utilize in terms of being able to start their own agency or their own business. They have experience building websites or, being a software developer at an agency or a tech company, but they were interested in starting something of their own, creating their own brand equity.

00:24:03:02 - 00:24:23:01
Shafqat Huq
So that's kind of where that started off. And so now I, I have a accelerator, a mastermind, I host weekly support calls on Thursdays. I give out a ton of resources in terms of, things that you'd have to normally spend hours and a lot of money building out. I give that out to my affiliate just right on.

00:24:23:03 - 00:24:35:08
Shafqat Huq
you know, at the on the front end of their agency journey so that they don't have to do the heavy lifting. All that stuff is a template sized and done for that. So they can just focus on business development and sales.

00:24:35:12 - 00:25:11:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah. You're. You're really shortening the learning curve. Just from what I've seen in in the backend, which, you know, when somebody's looking, even if it's a established coach who works with people who could need and they're looking to create that other revenue stream by having an agency, you are really the perfect mentor for them because you've done this all yourself and you have the systems in place to back that up.

00:25:11:03 - 00:25:47:10
Suzanne Taylor-King
And it's really interesting to me that so many people start journeys like this one, like they really don't know. And having having a mentor who's done it and then meeting with other people who are doing it is life changing for the that that journey of of shortening that journey, you know, so if you want to take ten years to grow your agency, well, go out and learn everything yourself.

00:25:47:11 - 00:25:58:15
Suzanne Taylor-King
If if you want to grow and have an additional revenue stream in a much, much, much shorter time, hire a coach or a mentor to help you with.

00:25:58:20 - 00:26:25:06
Shafqat Huq
Right. And I think another part of it is, you know, there's hundreds of different affiliates that they can choose from. And when you, if you Google high level affiliates, there's a few people that stand out that, have a huge following that are probably making anywhere from 200,000 to 1 million a year. maybe even more. I'd probably say 200,000 a month.

00:26:25:07 - 00:26:50:14
Shafqat Huq
There's some people that are that are bringing that in just from high level. but then you can go with an affiliate like that. But what you don't get is the hands on coaching. And I think when choosing a mentor, someone to kind of work with, you want someone that's a few steps ahead of you that's more relatable and their level of success, the more it feels more attainable to to where you are currently.

00:26:50:16 - 00:27:10:22
Shafqat Huq
because if you start right now and you see someone that is making $200,000 a month from the software, I just there isn't a level of that doesn't seem as feasible or realistic versus if I see someone that's making 5000 or $10,000 a month right now, that feels like I can get to that within a realistic timeframe.

00:27:11:04 - 00:27:22:10
Shafqat Huq
And I feel like that person's more likely to invest in one on one coaching with me or, be more hands on and proactive and, and like, and emotionally invested in working with me.

00:27:22:15 - 00:27:46:21
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, I, I couldn't agree more with. That's one of the reasons I stand so firmly in the fact that, you know, being a coach, to me, coaching is actually talking to my clients, right? So am I your coach? If we never have a conversation? I don't think so. I think you're just taking my online course or I'm giving you resources.

00:27:47:03 - 00:28:16:15
Suzanne Taylor-King
So to me, that's a really defining factor. When I'm looking to hire someone, what am I going to get to talk to them? Am I going to learn from them? And it's it's also one of the damaging things about making income claims in the online space. And I think a lot of times people make those claims, oh, I'm making 100,000 a month or 200,000 a month or whatever.

00:28:16:16 - 00:28:48:00
Suzanne Taylor-King
And they don't realize how they think that's positioning, but they don't realize how scary that is for someone just starting out or looking to hire someone like, oh, I could never get to that. Why would I want to hire that person? And so I think the the humility of, you know, you have three companies and somebody can learn a massive amount from you.

00:28:48:02 - 00:29:21:22
Suzanne Taylor-King
I've had multiple exits and, you know, been very, very successful in some widely different spaces. And when I look at my coaching, whether I was a health coach, a mindset coach, now a business coach, I've always said in the fact that talking to your clients is what makes you a coach. Now, that's not super scalable, because I actually have to talk to everybody.

00:29:22:00 - 00:29:38:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
And that's where additional revenue streams, raising your prices, being that more category of one is really important. And I think you are well on your way to doing exactly that.

00:29:39:03 - 00:29:43:20
Shafqat Huq
I sure hope that. But, I mean, I appreciate hearing that means a lot to hear that.

00:29:43:20 - 00:30:13:07
Suzanne Taylor-King
Yeah, I really do. I see something totally special in what you've created. I wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be here right now if I didn't. Because to me, that's the authentic nature of relationships and coaching, seeing someone else's potential. So really excited for what you're doing and what you're creating and having you as a resource for all my listeners and followers.

00:30:13:09 - 00:30:25:14
Suzanne Taylor-King
And for those of you out there who know me, you know I don't do that very often. And, it's it's just been a pleasure to have that relationship with you.

00:30:25:15 - 00:30:51:12
Shafqat Huq
likewise. And, I mean, I, I, I was kind of reflecting back on how we got connected, and, you know, obviously, David, this was the one that made the introduction, and I was trying to figure out how I got connected with him. And, it was through b, I, I met, met someone named Joe Walker and, and speed networking of all places.

00:30:51:12 - 00:31:02:07
Shafqat Huq
So there's like a three minute window where I met Joe and we did a 1 to 1, and then he connected me with David. And then David very quickly was like, you need to talk to Suzanne. She's one of my favorite people.

00:31:02:16 - 00:31:03:21
Suzanne Taylor-King
I love it.

00:31:03:20 - 00:31:10:15
Shafqat Huq
and I think we had a 1 to 1 lined up, but something happened where I think it got renewed, like it got deleted off the calendar, and I was like,

00:31:10:18 - 00:31:11:13
Suzanne Taylor-King
This here?

00:31:11:14 - 00:31:15:06
Suzanne Taylor-King
Oh, no. I totally did.

00:31:15:06 - 00:31:29:22
Shafqat Huq
then. And then, you email me back immediately. I'm so sorry this happened. I was like, okay. and then we finally conversation and I immediately types of David saying, thank you so much for introducing to me this is that I got so like, guess it's going to be incredible for my business.

00:31:29:22 - 00:31:32:18
Shafqat Huq
And it absolutely has been. So I,

00:31:32:19 - 00:32:00:12
Suzanne Taylor-King
well. Same thing. I think it's one of those, you know, synchronistic things that when you're ready, when you're ready, the right people show up. And it's one of the number one things I hear from my clients is I'm just not getting in front of the right people. And I want to just say that it's deeper than that.

00:32:00:12 - 00:32:32:16
Suzanne Taylor-King
It's about being so clear on where you're going and what you're doing, that then the right people show up and David, came into my world from a Facebook group and we got connected and hit it off. And, you know, he knows me really well. So he knew exactly what to listen for when he met you, that he immediately knew.

00:32:32:18 - 00:32:51:10
Suzanne Taylor-King
And so him giving you and I that valuable connection. Let's think about that spider web effect. And if you can do that for people as well within your company, life changing for people.

00:32:51:09 - 00:32:52:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
Went.

00:32:52:10 - 00:33:14:03
Shafqat Huq
And you mentioned something in terms of having clarity on the messaging and that. That's something that you've helped me with as well in terms of, you know, I was at three different things going on, and people would ask me like, what is it that you do? And I thought about this for a while. How exactly to answer this in a very concise manner.

00:33:14:05 - 00:33:39:00
Shafqat Huq
and just in over the course of the last couple of months of interacting with you, I've gotten that clarity in terms that this is how I position. I am a solutions engineer. I realize that there's a better way to do things, whether it's, you know, helping people operate more efficiently, generating more opportunities for revenue, or just freeing up time to work on or focus on the things that matter more to them.

00:33:39:00 - 00:34:19:13
Suzanne Taylor-King
so good. I and I think too that. Well, thank you. But I think what's magical about that is you. You are the brand, right? You are the companies. I don't care whether, you know. Think about Richard Branson, right? I don't know how many companies he has, but he's the face, right? He's the brand. And I, I see that with so many people making the mistake of talking about your solutions instead of the outcomes.

00:34:19:15 - 00:34:39:01
Suzanne Taylor-King
So for you, it's it's not about selling go high level or your VA services or it's, it's the that being the solutions architect. or that solutions engineer. Right. That can really see for your client and beautiful

00:34:39:19 - 00:34:45:23
Shafqat Huq
Yeah. I mean, lead buddy or high level or go task for a virtual assistant agency. That's just the means to the end. Or that's the

00:34:46:02 - 00:34:46:17
Suzanne Taylor-King
Right.

00:34:46:16 - 00:34:49:16
Shafqat Huq
we're using to deliver the end result that they want.

00:34:49:16 - 00:35:15:21
Suzanne Taylor-King
hopefully, what you're hearing is that you need to connect with Shaf or me, and I'll put you in touch with him. And I really look forward to where we're going and what we're going to co-create. And you never know, maybe you'll end up with six companies by the end of this in your toolbox. that's really exciting.

00:35:15:23 - 00:35:20:22
Suzanne Taylor-King
And how can everybody get in touch with you or reach out to you? What's the best way?

00:35:22:01 - 00:35:36:06
Shafqat Huq
so, my my LinkedIn is pretty easy to find me shortcut. But, I also have a new website that opened up shop. those are probably the easiest ways. And then you can find my social media, profiles from there, you know, interesting.

00:35:36:06 - 00:35:37:03
Suzanne Taylor-King
Connecting.

00:35:37:03 - 00:35:58:19
Suzanne Taylor-King
awesome. Well, I'll put all of your links, in the comments, where we're live today on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn and, you'll be seeing a lot more of us around the interwebs. Very excited. Thanks, Shaf. Have a great day, everyone. We'll see you soon. Next week.

00:35:58:19 - 00:36:26:13
Suzanne Taylor-King
Thank you for tuning in to another empowering episode of Unlock Your Way. I hope you found today's discussion inspiring, and you're ready to take your business and personal growth to that next level. If you're feeling is fired up as I am and eager to unlock that full potential, I'm here to help you on your journey and provide that personalized guidance tailored to your unique goals and challenges.

00:36:26:15 - 00:36:53:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
Simply book a one on one coaching call with me, and we'll dive deep into your business aspirations and see how we could co-create a roadmap for your success. And whether you're striving to scale an enterprise size or just getting started. I'm here to support you every step of the way. To schedule your coaching call, simply visit the website and unlock your way with SI.com.

00:36:53:10 - 00:37:32:08
Suzanne Taylor-King
Click on the Book a Call button and we'll turn your dreams into that reality. Subscribe and review on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube. Plus, you can join over 800 entrepreneurs in the Idea Lab, Facebook group. Let's make success as an entrepreneur happen together. Until next time, I'm AK. Keep dreaming big. Stay focused. And most of all, have fun while you're doing it.

 

Shafqat Huq Profile Photo

Shafqat Huq

Agency Mentor

Shafqat is an LA native and recent New York City transplant. He graduated from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University with 3 degrees in Finance, Economics, and Accountancy. In his free time, he enjoys playing and watching sports, going to music festivals, and traveling. Prior to starting CAAZ, Shafqat worked in wealth management and has been involved in starting several different companies, including: a mobile app start-up, a virtual assistant agency, and a CRM SaaS product called LeadBuddy. Through CAAZ, he takes a holistic approach in his work with clients by consulting in various different capacities, and is passionate about helping his clients grow their businesses by leveraging technology.