WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

Shalisha Morgan is a single mother of two that moved from Kansas City to Winston-Salem with her skills and a dream to start a tech repair business.  “My two children and I moved here with basically nothing, no contacts, nothing; just a job,” said Morgan. But Morgan didn’t see that as a negative, she used it as motivation, “I could have easily said I can’t do this, but I work my butt off and networked my butt off to get where I’m at.” She’s the founder, consultant and repair tech for The Geek in Heels.  Her kiosk is located on the second floor in Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem. When I saw the tall and beautiful Shalisha, she was wearing red stilettos. She’s not the “geek” in the movies and TV and when you visit her kiosk, you’ll notice that immediately. Morgan was hard at work on a computer when my son Nate and I arrived. She looked up and smiled, “You must be Busta Brown. I’m Shalisha,” and then gently extended her hand to greet me.  She was very confident, yet humble. “Let me finish this, and I’ll be right with you” and then looked at my 6-year-old son, Nate and gave him a huge smile. It was clear she loves children, “Is this your son?” she asked. I said yes and she replied, “He’s handsome.” 

When we begin the interview, my first question was what set her apart from the Tech Giants. “I do all those little things they don’t and won’t.” I noticed cracked screens from cell phones, computers and tablets, and also brand new screens.   “I can fix anything, and I go above and beyond for my customers. And I’m honest. I do a lot of things others won’t do for their clients.” Then she grabbed a phone to demonstrate. She showed me a phone that was open, and then pointed to the different parts of the phone, “Every component in this phone is replaceable. The power button, the back and front camera, the volume button; all the parts in your cell phone are replaceable. But they lie to their customers and say they have to buy a new phone, you don’t. I can fix it and have it ready in 45 minutes. I save my customers the $300 they’re charged to buy a new phone. I love to save my customers money.”

Shalisha says it’s important that she keeps up with all the latest technology, “I don’t mind traveling to other cities and states, even if I knew nobody.  I’m still going to go, and leave with at least one contact. Networking is key.” As for her 11- and 6-year-old children, “I take my babies with me. They need to see various flavors of what success looks like, besides their mom.” I asked the savvy businesswoman if she was nervous about leaving everything behind in Kansas City to come to the Twin City to start her own business.  She said, “Not really, because I know my abilities and talents, so I knew I would be successful.” She’s also setting her children up to be successful entrepreneurs as well.  “I also started a business for my children as well, called I See Tech For Kids. I gave that name because I’m a believer in you can’t be what you can’t see, and we want children to see, you can be anything you want to be in the tech business. It’s not just coding, you can do security, computer repair, etc. And when young girls that walk by my business see me, they believe if she can do it, so can I.  A lot of times young ladies don’t pursue their dreams because they don’t see anyone that looks like them.”

During the rest of my interview, Shalisha Morgan talks about the challenges she faces as a woman in the tech repair business and also how she deals with the offensive questions she’s asked by some of the passers-by at the mall. Also, she shares her idea of a geek, and once you see the video, you decide if she fits the image. You’ll truly enjoy the interview. Go to our YouTube page at WinstonsalemChronicle. The Geek in Heels is located in Hanes Mall on the second floor near the food court. You can reach her at (336) 794-6762 or www.TheGeekInHeels.com