Forty Years ago, a man with a truck and a vision for his family’s future stepped out to begin a small industrial steam cleaning company. That “small” company is now a family run corporation with some 200 employees. Beginning with Wegmans as their first client, Quality Services LLC., started on it’s journey of what would become a successful corporation. That success did not always come easy however, as Elizabeth Saint Ours, daughter of the founder explains, it came with sacrifice, hard work, late nights and a full family effort. Quality Services was only the beginning for Liz, as this was the catalyst for the start of her own thriving business, Q s of Western New York. Much like her father beginning with a single truck forty years ago, Liz was gifted a single limousine just three short years ago from her dad and told to make something of it! She is doing just that!

Her beginning-

Elizabeth Saint Ours (Liz), began learning much about business and work ethic at the age of 12 using a pencil and ruler to draw out her father’s schedules for Quality Services. She learned invaluable lessons by helping with the basics like organizing the business receipts, paperwork, invoices etc. At 14, Liz moved to typing the invoices and schedules in the evenings after school from her dad’s office in their basement. By high school Liz was beginning to learn different computer programs like Microsoft Excel and started to mainstream the businesses forms and accounting practice using them. Towards the end of her high school career she had all but taken over the accounting side of her father’s now much larger business. She was torn between her dream of becoming a teacher and helping to run the family business so when she graduated she decided she was going to attempt both.

Liz began by working at BOCES as a para educator while attending classes part-time at MCC for teaching. After just a few years at MCC Liz decided that she was going to put teaching aside and devote her time to the family business. Her parents had given too much to build this business up for their family, so it was as she said, time for her to help them.

Liz, much like her parents, wanted to show her own children, James (4) and Patrick (2) that you can be successful at both your career and being a present parent. She learned this much from watching her own mother who worked hard with her father in the evenings going out on jobs when they did not have the staff they do now, still managing to be at every school function, personal event and as

Liz fondly recalls having fresh baked cookies on the table when she and her siblings would arrive home from school. Her father, although always by my side and never lets me fall and keeps me grounded.  My children who make me laugh and who help me appreciate each day.”  Family is of utmost importance to Liz when discussing how she got to where she is today. If it were not for her parents Liz makes it clear that she would not be where she is or have the opportunities she has had. While she supports women’s rights and those that wish to advocate these rights, she was very clear that she would not be where she is without the hard work of both of her parents and her father’s decision to start their original family business so long ago. Liz believes in working hard for everything you have no matter who you are and is the only female in the upper management of her family business. She is okay with that. She, as highlighted above started this endeavor at the age of 12 learning the basics and working her way up. Her father did not treat her any different because she was a woman. He wanted her to learn from his own experiences with failures and success.

He was there to guide her and support her all while allowing her to find her own place in the world of business ownership. It was because of this that he chose the gift he had for her three years ago. When he handed her the keys to a stretch limousine and told her that it was

doing most of the jobs for the business on his own for the company still managed to obtain a Doctorate in Music Theory. Both of her parents were her model for success in both careers and parenthood. So it was not a tough decision when Liz decided with her husband and childhood sweetheart to begin their own family to leave her second job at BOCES after 8 years and focus solely on the accounting practice at Quality Services and even more so on her own growing family.

Liz and Family-

Today, Elizabeth Saint Ours parents have been married for 34 years. She and her 2 brother in law’s help run the family owned and operated Quality Services LLC. with her father. Liz, is married and has been with her spouse and best friend for 13 years this September. She speaks fondly of her spouse highlighting their life together as young kids growing up in middle and high school, sharing the same group of friends and even attending their 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. together. Their two sons are the center of their world. She refers to her sons as “her most wonderful accomplishment in life,” following with what inspires saying, “My family Inspires me.  I would not be where I am today without them. My Dad and Mom who have always pushed and continue to push me to work hard.  My husband who is always by my side and never lets me fall and keeps me grounded.  My children who make me laugh and who help me appreciate each day.”  Family is of utmost importance to Liz when discussing how she got to where she is today. If it were not for her parents Liz makes it clear that she would not be where she is or have the opportunities she has had. While she supports women’s rights and those that wish to advocate these rights, she was very clear that she would not be where she is without the hard work of both of her parents and her father’s decision to start their original family business so long ago. Liz believes in working hard for everything you have no matter who you are and is the only female in the upper management of her family business. She is okay with that. She, as highlighted above started this endeavor at the age of 12 learning the basics and working her way up. Her father did not treat her any different because she was a woman. He wanted her to learn from his own experiences with failures and success. He was there to guide her and support her all while allowing her to find her own place in the world of business ownership. It was because of this that he chose the gift he had for her three years ago. When he handed her the keys to a stretch limousine and told her that it was hers, to take it and make something of it she did not jump with joy as you may think! Her answer to this gift was one simple word…no. Thinking of her already large workload with their current business, she wondered how she was supposed to find time to make a success of another. Her father, with all the confidence in the world left her with those keys knowing she would in fact do exactly as he envisioned. This is how Q Tours began.

Q Tours:

Q Tours of Western New York prides itself on a simple philosophy, be a business that the community can both trust and respect.  Liz has spent the last 3 years growing the business to a fleet of vehicles. She believes that any client coming to Q Tours should feel the same whether it is for a single event or for ongoing business. Every one of her drivers are dual trained, both as chauffeurs and New York State security guards. Liz is building this business with the intent of setting new standards in the industry and it shows. She and the staff at Q Tours work closely with each client’s individual needs making trust and respect from the client their biggest priority. Another focus for Liz is being involved in many local charities. She and her family believe in giving back to the community that has given them so much. They have taken part in helping a wide range of charities to include Just Breathe Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis, Hickok Center for Brain Injury, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Rochester, NY and one that her family has been involved in for many years, The Open Door Mission where every year they provide turkeys for Thanksgiving, hams for Christmas along with helping throughout the rest of the year. It is important to her as a mother to instill this community service in her children as early as possible showing them that you should always help others where help is needed.

When asked what she wanted her legacy to be Liz answered, “I want to make sure that I keep the company going that my dad established over 40 years ago, and to have built our Limousine company Q Tours to a respected, well known Limousine company.   I want my sons to be able to have a family company that they can one day take over.  As a family we have worked very hard to make sure that our companies are ones that the community and our clients can trust and respect.   I have also worked hard with local fundraisers/ Charities/ Groups, so I hope all the work that I have done and will continue to do makes a difference.”

For more information visit Q Tours website at www.qualitylimousineny.com.