Rising Stars: Meet Daniel Queen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Queen. 

Hi Daniel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started out probably just like everyone else working a normal 9-5 job. It was secure I knew if I did the work that I’d get a check at the end of the week. I soon came to realize that the there’s a cap on how much I can make working for someone else, but there isn’t a cap on how much the owner(s) of the company I’m working for can make. At that moment back in 2017, I told myself that the things I wanted to achieve and own can’t be obtained within the next three years by working 40+ hours a week for someone else and only focusing on my business part-time. That day I decided to quit and focus on building my Tax firm McCarter, Dunston & Queen Accounting Group. From there I used the profits from the Firm and started to Diverse my portfolio. I started Bella’s Hot Dogs and the company started making a name for itself quickly. We landed big gigs and events our second year in business. Participating at events such as the ACC VIP Tailgate Championship in Charlotte, NC, Dreamville Festival, and Several Wake Med locations just to name a few. After having both the Tax Firm and Hot Dog business on autopilot in 2019 I decided to expand again and start my own trucking company when the Pandemic hit since I didn’t know what would happen to the revenue from the food carts. I took my already established business that I shelved back in 2016 as a backup (Queen Consolidated) and converted it into my trucking company since it had already been incorporated for over 3 years so it would be easy for me to get funding for a truck. Shortly after the conversion, I landed a contract with Amazon which came just in time as I look back and think now because the revenue from the Hot dog company was completely wiped out due to COVID. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. The biggest challenges I faced were in the beginning and the middle. It’s so hard starting new companies and getting consistent revenue. The tax firm only bring in seasonal revenue meaning from January ‘til April it’s pretty busy, but after that revenue is non-existent. With the Hot dog company operating the food carts, sales tend to drop from November ‘til about February due to the holiday season and the cold weather and with the trucking, it’s a big learning curve. It was hard trying to figure out where to start. The unknown costs of insurance, fuel, maintenance, the lack of drivers, how to properly apply for your authority and so much more. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m Partner at McCarter, Dunston & Queen Accounting Group, and the CEO of Queen Consolidated & Bella’s Hot Dogs. I specialize in Entrepreneurship. It scares me to only have one source of income. In today’s world, you have to have several sources of income, especially if your goal is to be a millionaire or billionaire. The thing that I’m proud of the most is that I believed in myself enough to take the giant leap into Entrepreneurship with no backup plan and making it work. Lastly, the thing that sets me apart from others is that I’m the 1% that didn’t give up when things got rough and my back was against the wall. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The 3 industries that I’m currently in I see them going up. People will always need transportation, food, and finance services. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Danieltheceo-102903908694438/?ref=py_c