10 Army Strong FROM PAGE 1
degree from Norfolk State University and a Master of Science Degree from Syracuse University, but I noticed you did not become an officer, would you like to share?
Answer: Today’s Army requires all leaders to be well educated.
The
Army encourages advanced education for all Soldiers (Officers and Enlisted). More importantly, the Army is making significant investments in our internal education system to ensure we are developing Soldiers and leaders of the future. To specifically address your question, staying enlisted was a personal decision and one that I’ve truly
enjoyed. Being an enlisted
leader allows me to stay close to our Soldiers, which is important to me.
Question: I believe you recently retired from IBM, what gives?
from IBM and returned
Answer: Yes, I recently retired to
the
Hampton Roads area. It was just time to leave. As I indicated earlier having fun is important to being successful and I stopped having fun. My time at IBM was outstanding; having the opportunity to move around and have different assignments gave me the knowledge and skills required to build JaNay’s Cleaners. Furthermore, at IBM I became a great leader and developed
outstanding management
skills which are critical when leading an organization and enabling a results driven culture.
Leadership skills are
Volume 11 Number 2
re-deployable and I use them every day.
Question: Now that you are back in the Hampton Roads area, what’s next for you and JaNay’s Cleaners?
Answer: deserve. First and foremost
I’ve been focused on the business and providing customers the service they
Re-focusing the
team on our founding DNA of cost, quality and delivery.
team understands we work for the customers we serve.
I’m also looking to support activities
Ensuring the The customer
may not always be right but they are the customer and we work for them.
externally community, for example:
within the I’ve
supported the Panthers Baseball Club in the local area by supporting their fundraising efforts.
to do this going forward; I’ve been desirous of adopting
I will continue a
school to
support and I’ve recently reached out to St. Helena located in Norfolk, Virginia. My first event with them will be PTA math night on November 16, 2016; I want to strengthen my relationship
with University (NSU).
Norfolk State Today I support
Question: You have now been in business for 8 years, what has been your greatest challenge?
Answer: I believe the
challenges are two fold; first, it’s finding the right people and building a staff that shares your values and vision for the business. Secondly, balancing cost and customer expectations. We have many dry-cleaners in the area, some have lower prices and some have a higher price. I believe our prices are in the middle. We have customers who tell us that we should charge more for the service we provide and others who appreciate the service but desire a lower price point. Although these are challenges, I also see them as opportunities to drive continuous improvements, which we will do.
Question: What advice do
you have for other Small Business Owners?
Answer: WOW! I could write a book on this, but here are a few quick hitters.
16 The Hampton Roads Messenger
many of their activities, however, I may seek an opportunity to join the NSU Foundation Board; In the pass I’ve supported many of the Greek letter organizations such as Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. I will reconnect with these organizations now that I’m back in the area; I will continue to seek opportunities to support our youth by engaging in the right opportunity for myself and JaNay’s Cleaners.
have the right people on the team. For example, when I opened the business the
1. Build a team and ensure you Volume 10 Number 4
team consisted of my Banker,
my attorney, my CPA or EA and our customers. Eight years late this is still the core team.
Transport Your Career to the
2. Build your staff and continue to invest in your staff. It’s important to get away from the business to have education sessions or just to be social.
3. Don’t be an absentee owner. The customers want to do business
Career and Business Opportunities 16 The Hampton Roads Messenger
Next Level Next Level
Volume 10 Number 4
For information on part-time and full-time career opportunities, call: 757-575-1863
Transport Your Career to the
with the owner. 4. Always
customer; to listen.
November 2016 listen to your
give you honest feedback if you’re willing
your customers will In like manner
take the feedback professionally not personally.
5. Assuming you have a
business plan, review your plan every year to assess adjustments that may be required.
willing to listen to and assess new methods business.
6. Be open minded and be and techniques of doing
7. This may sound strange to some but understand what GOD has to say about business and how we as owners should operate. I attended an SBA Conference many years ago and it completely reshaped the way I thought about business.
Question: What are the rewards of being a small business owner?
Answer: The greatest reward
is using the business to bless others. When I hire people I’m expecting them to use the opportunity as a means to continue moving forward. Several weeks ago I hired a homeless man.
he has a place to stay, a job and is doing extremely well. the end all.
Today, I’m delighted to say But that’s not
As the staff learned of
his situation they embraced him as well by providing food, gift cards for Goodwill, etc… I even had a customer give me $100 to support the employee as well.
December 2015
I was taught ARMY STRONG PAGE 11 December 2015
Train for rewarding careers that are ALWAYS in demand!
Train for rewarding careers that are ALWAYS in demand!
www.studytransportation.com AJ Jones
855.225.6378 ITI 855.225.6378 ITI
International Transportation Institute Imagine the Impossible
International Transportation Institute Imagine the Impossible
aj@studytransportation.com www.studytransportation.com 855.225.6378
aj@studytransportation.com
www.studytransportation.com AJ Jones
855.225.6378
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