We had the good fortune of connecting with Quani Bates and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Quani, what do you want people to remember about you?
I want people to remember me as a woman who was the best mother should could be, and who made every decision to be of benefit to her daughter, Qualé. I want others to remember me as a hardworking, ambitious woman who always found a way to succeed. I want my legacy to ensure our family is financially set for generations to come.

What should our readers know about your business?
Our business is called Rayzo Vending LLC. It is a vending company providing vending machine sales and services to our local community in Northern California and nationally throughout the United States. Rayzo was established in October 2019 and was named after my late father, David Ray Bates, and my daughter Zola Qualé. Rayzo is a combination of their names. The goal is to teach my daughter entrepreneurship and financial literacy, helping her to connect with her identity, purpose, and learn business along with philanthropy. Our mission is to inspire mothers to pursue passive income through vending. Initially we began vending as a way to earn income without taking much time away from our young daughter, Qualé. However we quickly gained a lot of support and a following on social media which encouraged us to inspire other mothers to seek the same. Our following on social media has helped to elevate our brand and recognition. We were able to utilize the social media support and begin a services line in our business. Our services included: e-books, consultations, business formation, locator services, webinars, and leads lists. Along the way we have faced our own challenges as well. A few of those challenges included: struggling to land new locations, having enough capital to expand our business, having enough help to operate our business, and finding the time to dedicate to our business. Every great business owner understands how to adapt and adjust to continue the success of their company. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we definitely had to strategize ways to keep our business afloat as CDC regulations threatened the continuation of our operation. The COVID-19 pandemic taught me that you can never be too prepared or have too many plan B’s. I learned that you never know when business could be interrupted or stopped altogether, so always have multiple streams of revenue in place and multiple methods to obtain those revenues. In the vending industry, landing locations is everything. Without a location, you cannot make money. I’ve learned, the hard way, to focus on landing great locations before I invest in purchasing machines. This is to avoid sitting on money without making any profit. If there’s one thing I would like the world to know about Rayzo Vending is that this company was built solely to be the start to generational wealth in my little family. We are breaking generational curses and starting new traditions through vending. I want the world to know that I am a single mom who has dedicated the rest of my life to insuring my daughter Qualé will never have to worry where her next meal will come from or how she will pay her next bill. Rayzo Vending is just the beginning of the rest of our lives.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
To be honest, we would definitely go visit the Bay Area. I was raised in San Jose, CA and I would take my friend to Santa Cruz, CA to visit the boardwalk. From there we could grab some lunch on the docks nearby that offer fresh seafood, yum! I would also take my friend to the beach, but not in Santa Cruz, it’s dirty there lol. I would instead visit Monterey, CA or Carmel, CA where the beaches are cleaner and less occupied. Finally, we could visit Vallejo, CA and enjoy some thrills at Magic Mountain. It is a theme park with many roller coasters and funnel cakes!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate this to my daughter, Qualé. She is the main motivation and driving force behind my determination to succeed. Everything that I do in this life is to benefit her, and she pushes me to a better version of myself daily. Shoutout my brother and Qualé’s Godfather, Damon L. Bates. You are the rock to my little family, we absolutely adore you. Your unwavering support in our lives is truly admirable, we love you very much! I would like to say hello to Qualé’s great-grandmother, Frankie L. Kelly. Thank you for being you! I would also like to shoutout Mel and Claudia, owners of Obstacle Illusion Clothing Company. They are our good friends and supporters of our company since day one. Shoutout to all of my mentors who have encouraged me along the way: Ariel Biggs, Wayne Hunter, Sam Ingram, Candra Livsey, and Marco McLendon. Lastly, I would like to recognize my late father, David Ray Bates. I feel you everywhere that I go, I miss you everyday, and I thank you for being my guardian angel.

Website: www.rayzovending.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rayzovending
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rayzovending
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiL9zLP1GL0koTXvTxDllyg

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Quani Bates, CEO- Rayzo Vending

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