CQR was founded in 2024 as a deliberately lean nursing staffing firm. Owner Mike Roberts wanted a business he could operate independently—without employees or the fixed cost and complexity of an internal back office.
The company focuses on travel nursing for long-term care and geriatric providers, placing CNAs, LPNs and RNs. Its model emphasizes direct client relationships rather than high-volume VMS environments.
From the outset, Mike understood that payroll funding, receivables, insurance, workers’ compensation, unemployment, taxes and multistate requirements could consume both capital and management attention. He needed a structure that would let him launch responsibly while focusing on clients and placements.
Building those capabilities internally would have required substantial startup capital and ongoing oversight. Mike estimated that his other startup expenses with Signature were roughly $5,000, compared with $100,000 or more to fund and support the operation independently.
Healthcare staffing added another hurdle: new firms can struggle to secure professional liability and other coverage. Expanding into each state also introduces new registration, insurance and employment requirements.
For a one-person company, those responsibilities would have competed directly with winning clients, recruiting nurses and filling jobs.
CQR partnered with Signature from the beginning, using its EOR and back-office model as the operating foundation for the business.
Signature supports payroll funding, onboarding, employment administration, workers’ compensation, unemployment and multistate infrastructure. CQR retains its client relationships, and receivables. While Signature can manage the healthcare credential collection process, Mike has chosen to do that personally so he can engage with the candidate during the process.
With that infrastructure in place, CQR can pursue opportunities beyond its home market without first building a separate operating footprint in every state. That flexibility helped the company develop a niche in Michigan while preserving the option to enter other markets as demand changes.
“On a day-to-day basis, I’m really just focused on clients and filling jobs knowing Signature has my back.”
Mike Roberts, Owner, CQR
The model allowed CQR to open quickly and operate as intended: a focused, owner-led staffing company without an internal administrative team. Instead of spending each week coordinating payroll funding, insurance and employment administration, Mike can concentrate on running a full desk—developing clients, recruiting nurses and making placements.
Signature’s multistate infrastructure also broadened CQR’s practical sales territory. When business in one market slows, Mike can prospect in another state without first arranging new insurance or completing the full administrative setup on his own.
That foundation has supported meaningful early growth. CQR generated approximately $1.6 million in billings in 2025, its first full calendar year in business, while remaining a one-person operation. The company typically serves six to ten clients billing in a given week.
For CQR, outsourcing the back office was not simply an efficiency decision. It made the company’s lean business model possible and gave the owner the freedom to build around the work he does best.
Today, CQR continues to serve nursing clients through a relationship-driven approach, focusing on accounts where personal attention and consistent delivery can create a lasting advantage. With Signature supporting the employment and back-office foundation, Mike can keep the company intentionally lean while remaining open to new clients, new states and future growth.
