Tag: entrepreneur

Kizzy Parks, Ph.D.: The Hustle Gets Her Company to the Inc. 5000 List!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Hustle your way towards success like Kizzy Parks!

BACKGROUND

Although an adopted child, Kizzy Parks, Ph. D. grew up in a family who encouraged her curiosity in terms of excelling in school and being entrepreneurial. 

She used to collect and clean golf balls that she saw in an alley behind her friend’s house and resell them to golfers, as a kid. 

Kizzy then went on to earn her bachelor’s, masters, and a doctorate degree in psychology and established K. Parks Consulting, Inc. (KPC), a management consulting firm providing professional services including staffing, IT, training, and curriculum development. 

Over the years, KPC has trained and coached thousands of students and increased their list of customers in both commercial and government spaces including the United States Army, Department of Education (ED), and several non-profit and Fortune 500 companies, among others. 

KPC was also recognized by different organizations such as the Association of Employee Resource Groups and Councils and the Society of American Indian Government Employees.

The company was also awarded as the 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year Award and ranked in the Inc. 5000 “Fastest-Growing Private Companies” List twice!

“Everything is possible. Hands down. If you want to succeed, you’re going to succeed. If you want to fail, you’re going to fail.”

K. PARKS CONSULTING

  1. Parks Consulting started as a company expert in diversity and inclusion. However, when Kizzy noticed a slight shift in the landscape, she decided to move to training and development.

“I knew if I continued down that path, I was going to be so pigeonholed and I was never, ever, ever going to get out of it.”

  1. Parks Consulting then decided to become part of the 8a program, only when a client in the Navy asked them to. They are actually in their last year in the program.

“It goes along with the lean startup approach, we hands down a practice which is an essence. You may build a prototype, your minimal viable product, but you don’t go out there and spend all this money and resources to build something that nobody wants or you don’t know if they really want it.”

HIRING MISHAPS

Although K. Parks Consulting is considered as an expert in training and development, the company has also its fair share of mishaps in terms of hiring people. 

One particular employee who has a lot of corporate experience was removed by a client and caused the company to suffer for three years.

The other hiring mishap that Kizzy also experienced was when he hired a company to do a background check for finding people for government contracts. However, they weren’t able to do their job perfectly and she fired the company. 

So, Kizzy advised to hire slow and fire fast because she had been there and she faced a lot of problems.  

ADVICE FOR BUSINESSES

1. Know your why.

In everything that she does, Kizzy always goes back to her “why.” She knows that she wants to help others, that’s why she has aimed to be an entrepreneur ever since childhood. 

“So my why has always been and always is to help people. That’s why I went into… psychology is about helping. So for me, all of the ventures that I pursue, all of the contracts, I go after all the opportunities, it all is around helping. It’s all around helping. That’s my why.”

2. Create your own ocean.

Kizzy doesn’t go after shiny objects because it’s too much competition. Rather, she goes to opportunities that most people overlooked. 

“So, I go after things that many people overlook. Also, I don’t like to get involved in protest and drama and, you know, everyone fighting for the same client. There’s too much, just because there’s so much, there are so many agencies in the government that buy as well as CBREs and all these other ways to get business that, you know, focusing on that one agency, because they’re within an hour drive from you, I  just, I don’t do it. I don’t do it at all.”

3. Work on your skill set. 

We often lead with our set asides, but you should be working on your skill set, so that you’ll be able to execute the responsibilities being given to you. 

“All these other little things, there’s little techniques to get them closer to wanting to work with you, not just because you’re an 8a or service-disabled or because you have 20,000 years of experience with the FDA, doesn’t matter. They have to want to work with you because at the end of the day, you have to have a solution to their problem.”

4. Hit the ground running. 

Don’t directly go to big contracts without doing small projects because these may be small, but this will be able to start building your past performance and get a little bit of money.

Don’t be afraid if you think that this will derail you towards your goal. As long as it helps you build your business while making money, then it is worth it. 

“There are other ways to obtain your goals, it just takes a lot of sweat equity.”

5. You can have more niches. 

You can have more than one niche if you can’t choose one, as long as you are able to fulfill your promises and can work on it. 

“The point is, I look at it from that perspective, if these big companies are diverse, why shouldn’t I be diverse? As long as it makes sense. You know, again, it has to make sense for you. If you feel uncomfortable pursuing staffing contracts, then don’t do it. If you feel uncomfortable providing ammunition, then don’t do it. But if you feel comfortable filling, you know, computer technology opportunities, then why couldn’t you?”

6. Build your network. 

Your business won’t grow without you networking yourself and your business. So, while you’re still small, you need to start communicating with decision makers and other people in your industry. 

“Because you think about it, you hit 30 a day, let’s say 10 of them say yes. How much work is that? You are probably almost close to 50,000.”

4. Exceed people’s expectations. 

Provide the best products and services because whether you like it or not, people have their own biases. 

You have to hustle. You have to take care of your clients. You have to resolve their pain points. You have to make their lives easier, so that they won’t replace you. 

“That’s why you have to be even better because everybody makes mistakes. There’s no perfect company out there. So, you have to be ready to deal with it. So, kind of just being “okay” is just not going to suffice because, then, what they’re going to do is take you out of the picture, take your work, and award it elsewhere, or just remove it from the 8a program.”

4. Be in a support group. 

You are not alone in this journey of building and managing a business, so it is recommended to have an outlet or a group of people to receive support from. 

“What’s great about them is regardless of our industries, we all have the same kind of problems, right? There’s you need to hire, you need promote. How do you let somebody go? How do you deal with when somebody committed fraud or, you know, natural disaster or something like you described when there’s literally a fire and how do you handle it, or if you’re being sued or you’re going through a divorce. I mean, we talk about everything in there and we also learn.”

5. Have faith. 

Be thankful for both opportunities and challenges in your life and have faith that you will be able to overcome every challenge.

“I really started to focus more on my real… on my faith and having a stronger connection to God and working on a lot of things internally.”

RESOURCES

If you want to hustle your way towards success like Kizzy M. Dominguez, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

The Hustle Gets her Company to the INC 500 list

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=065GN7dRqGU

076 & 077: Kizzy Parks, Ph.D. – The hustle gets her company to the INC 500 list

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/076/

How to Believe in Yourself? (First Steps)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVf0tcHRK1A

Darcella Craven—Chief Fear Conqueror and President of the Veteran Resource Business Center

Posted on by Linette Genao

Darcella CravenDarcella Craven, President and Chief Fear Conqueror of the Veterans Business Resource Center, VBRC, is a real champion for veterans. With a colorful personality, she shared exceptional and valuable information with us on the GOVCON GIANTS Podcast.

Thanks to Public Law 106-50 in 1999, the non-profit agency was created. Since 2004, Craven has assisted veterans with startups and expansions of small business, in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Southern Illinois.

However, they are also part of the nationwide Veterans Business Outreach Centers, VBOC, where they basically work as business consultants and assist in transitioning military members and their families.

Under that program, they conduct two-day entrepreneurship trainings on the military post, called “Boots To Businesses,” where experts in different fields come in to speak on a variety of topics and the directions you can go once you exit. They equip veterans with the knowledge and communication skills needed in their entrepreneurship journey.

With more than 18 million veterans in the US, either you or someone you know will be able to benefit from the information Darcella Craven gifts.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT ABOUT VBOC?

  1. If you’re in the military, the TAP office will be the first place as you transition out.
  2. If you’re not on the military post, “Reboot Boots to Business” is the way to go.
  3. Sign up on their Facebook page, “Vetbiz.”
  4. Check out the website for a list of classes across the country.

TRANSITIONING OUT OF THE MILITARY, FEAR, AND STRUCTURE

american flagWith all of the resources available, it can become overwhelming to know which way to go. Naturally, there can also be a feeling of fear when trying to leave something you’ve been exposed to for so long and are transitioning into something new and less structured.

“In the military, I know when I’m getting up, where I’m supposed to be, what clothes I’m wearing. Someone tells me when I go to the dentist. Somebody tells me when I go to the doctor. Someone tells me when it’s time to eat and when it’s time to go home, right? Now, there’s a lot of flexibility in there doing my job, but quite frankly, it’s structured. One of the biggest things that we do hear from our clients is just the interpretation of when I get out, what? Who’s going to tell me what to do and how do I find that structure?” states Craven.

This can be scary. However, with proper guidance and community, it doesn’t have to be.

VBOC has 22 centers and while they all work a little bit differently, Craven focuses on “the why” of small business and directing people on a clear path. She focuses on mindset change and management of your language in small business.

“How we do it is, I don’t just say, ‘Hey, here’s a new resource, good luck.’ I say, ‘If you’re looking for this, use this resource. If you need this, go to this webinar.’ I try to make clear paths for people. There is so much information out there. You can completely get lost in it and then, you’re just swimming around in information and you don’t know how to use it.”

YOUR GOALS

goals- dart board

Identifying your goals is major when transitioning and to help keep you on track. Having a certification doesn’t automatically mean you will be making millions.

So where does this myth come from?

“It’s the guy in the question mark suit who at two o’clock in the morning. He said, ‘You’re missing out on all the free money.’ It’s bad information passed down from person to person. And quite frankly, it’s our American belief that there’s something out there that we’re all missing because I read a book and the guy said he was homeless one week and four weeks later he was a millionaire and he found the secret and I don’t have it.”

But according to Craven, that isn’t enough. It’s not concrete information.

“That’s wonderful when you’re reaching and you’re striving and you’re going for goals, but unfortunately, if we don’t also shore that up with actual facts and information and how to, then all you basically do is dream all day. So, part of what we’re supposed to do is help them go, okay, yeah, this is the big goal. The dream. The moonshot. Now, let’s see how you get there, right?”

SUPPORT

Continue reading “Darcella Craven—Chief Fear Conqueror and President of the Veteran Resource Business Center”

Top 5—”Launching a NASA Award Winning IT Security Company” With Narjis Ali

Posted on by Linette Genao

Temporarily leaving her family behind, Narjis Ali, the president and CEO of Sure Secure Solutions, packed her bags and moved from Pakistan to the U.S. to start her life over again.

Skilled in software programming and development architecture, she was a natural entrepreneur throughout her life, even introducing computer education in Pakistan for the first time. With a little push from her son-in-law, she decided to push forward and begin her business in the U.S.

I said, “Why not where I’ve moved now and made my country here in the U.S. I can also start business. It was just the fear of the unknown I suppose that made me take a few years to start it off, but once I was there, I was like, yeah, let’s roll.”

 

BACKGROUND

 

Sure Secure Solutions is an 8(a), Woman-Owned and Information Technology Security Company founded in 2004. The company’s core capabilities include Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Web Application Development, Data Analytics, Content Management, Information Management IT Security.

Her drive and work ethic has led to a number of awards dating back to 2012 and most recently the 2019 NASA Small Business Industry Award – NSSC Prime Contractor of the Year. In addition, the 2016 Small Business Administration of the Year Award, NASA Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year both in 2016 and 2017 and many more.

 

TOP 5 

 

1. Dig Your Feet Into the Ground and Stand Through The Tough Times

Ali immigrated alone leaving her family, including three children, back home. One by one, they made their way to the U.S. However, she recalls the difficulties within that first year and how she pushed though those tough times, serving as encouragement for others to do the same when things become difficult.

“When I was a child I would stand by the seashore and it was not close to where I lived. We used to always visit once in a blue moon, go to a beach. I used to remember standing there and the sand going from under my feet and remembering how it would make me fall and panic, but my mother and my sister were always there with me and my mom would tell me to hold my sister’s hand and just stand there and dig my feet deep into the ground and just stand. Right? That is what made me. Even when I came here. I went through some hardships, but I stood through that and I realized that if you work hard and your intent is good and you’re honest about things, things do have a way of working out. It worked out for me.”

 

2. Be Patient and Seek Information

“I feel that today I can just hold somebody’s hand and say, ‘Don’t do that.’ ”

Ali discusses how resources and mentorship are key so you don’t waste yours or others time and money. She encourages entrepreneurs to hone into their path and where you want to take your company and educating yourself on the path to get there.

“You have to first identify where you’re going, what your skills are, what you want to focus on and then just zoom in there. It’ll take you much less time if you do a handful of opportunities that you think you want to go after rather than just go after anything and everything that says 8(a) in it.”

 

3. Relationships are golden

Unless you have the money, you will have to find a few partners to come up with the equity to set up the infrastructure. Relationships are golden in order for this to work and be successful.

Not just relationships with the customers you’re selling a product or service to but as Ali states, “Customers in the way of the environment. That allows you to be there and create those relationships with coworkers, colleagues, other companies, and the customer.”

This is how former astronaut, John Mike Lounge became one of Ali’s first business partners when she was just getting started. He was introduced to her by a mutual friend. Meeting and working with Lounge, led to her fascination with NASA, allowed her to get NASA, and become the 2016 and 2017 award winner for NASA.

“By the end of it when we were paying the bill. He was like, ‘Okay, I’m sold. I’m your partner.’ I’m like, What?”

 

4. Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

Learning the hard way, Narjis Ali advises not to put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, first build a strong team and then divide and conquer. This will lead to the most success.

“It’s not about winning. It’s all about getting a team that will win. Whether you have a prime role or a sub role. One is survival. The other is to win and make money…You have to make your name. You have to get money for it and you have to be able to take different roles in different opportunities…We spread out, we team work and we look for teaming opportunities that offer us a swim-lane where we’ve got really strong qualifications and then we shine there.”

 

5. Filter out very quickly where you want to focus

“Stop bidding on everything that looks it’s in your domain. It needs to be in your domain, but it also needs to have a familiarity with the customer environment,” states Ali.

She advises mastering 1 or 2 companies and building the trust and relationships instead of going after all that you can.

“It’s better to focus on a few agencies and be persistent and get to know that very well. Know the gaps and try entrepreneurand be at places where you can get to know the small business office.”

NARJIS ALI

As a leader, Narjis Ali is focused on helping others and assuring those around her continue to grow.

Narjis Ali & Eric Coffie “The most important thing was that we want to take people that matter, to places that matter…I think that means the world to me. When I see people that we’ve been trying to grow, grow and go to places.”

Narjis’ story is truly inspiring and motivating. With such great advice, she leaves listeners and readers with a humbling message.

“I have to become the medium of receiving and then giving. That’s my life story. I listen, I hear, I see. I love and I know that I’m only the medium. So, I hope I can pass on whatever I get and model for someone else, somewhere.” – Narjis Ali

 

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