I help corporations and government organizations connect to small businesses to gain access to opportunities that allow them to go beyond their current status quo, and expand the possibilities for success.
My story begins in 1984 when my father started a security guard business. He launched the company with very little outside assistance while also working full time.
At the time, I had a great job working in the marketing department of a large publishing house. It was, I felt then, the job I had always dreamed of… full of glitz and glamour. I had a nice office, wore fancy suits, and had an expense account. Yet something kept calling me back to my fathers’ security business. At first, I just worked with him on weekends, taking calls and meeting with employees. Until eventually it was obvious that I needed to join the company full time.
After completing my first task of getting the company certified as a Minority Business Enterprise with NYC, NYS, and the federal government, I thought the business would start pouring in. It didn’t.
We were right back where we started – struggling, unable to meet payroll, and facing the worst. It was then that I made the critical decision to immerse myself into learning how to make our business succeed.
To leverage our certifications, I created a marketing strategy to demonstrate our value to government agencies and large corporations that had expressed interest in working with diverse suppliers.
Through these efforts, we grew the business from 5 to 500 employees. I had found a way to successfully navigate the corporate and government agency world to increase contracts for myself, and my community.
Our lives changed drastically. We become a multi-million-dollar firm; creating jobs and empowering the less fortunate. We worked with unemployed, underserved populations and trained them for careers in law enforcement. Many of our friends and colleagues went on to get jobs with the Federal Protective Service, Customs, and other Law Enforcement Agencies.
However, I have not always had instant success, I have failed many times, and I’ve learned much from those failures. It’s my belief in the power of possibilities that keeps me motivated. I know when we change mindsets around minority and women-owned companies from a scarcity perspective to the see power of potential in these small businesses, so much is possible.
It is now clear to me that my dream job really wasn’t being part of some fancy marketing team.
My purpose, as the founder of JKA, is to serve minorities and women as a trusted guide, to help them navigate through the complexities of connecting with the right partners to create a sustainable and prosperous business.
