Jeannette King, President and CEO of Strategic Resolution Experts, Inc. (SRE) in Martinsburg, WV is winner of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s West Virginia District Office 2015 Small Business Person of the Year. King was nominated for the award by Jamye Eells, operations manager of the company. King also holds the title of SBA WV 2014 Veteran Small Business Champion.
In 2007, as a single mother and honorably discharged Navy veteran with only $10,000 in her bank account, King started her own business emphasizing her strong belief in the values of integrity, quality, and performance.
After getting her business on its feet, King entered the SBA 8(a) small business development program; a nine-year platform created to assist eligible socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in developing and growing their businesses.
SRE has received contracts from Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Safety Administration, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Treasury, United States Coast Guard, Navy Seaport-e IDIQ, Department of Veterans Affairs, NASA, Air Force, FBI, and the Internal Revenue Service with the help of the certification.
King also knew the importance of having credit as a security when taking on new contracts. In 2013 she worked with SBA to secure a $350,000 line of credit for unexpected expenses. SRE was able to use their line of credit at the end of FY2014 when they received several contract awards. The money was used for a short time while waiting on contract payments to come in, and was then paid off.
“Having a line of credit allows SRE to be able to bid on more contracts and those with larger dollar amounts than we would normally be able to,” said King. “While our financial strategy is to have cash to carry our contracts, the line of credit is a backup in case there are payment issues.” King notes that SRE has a stringent process in place to bill their customers within 5 days of the end of every month. Being a small business, the (federal) government pays in advance of Net 30 in most cases. The strategy of billing on time has helped to maintain the cash flow and the legislation to ensure small businesses are paid on time has been critical to their financial success.
Strategic Resolution Experts, Inc. has 22 employees in five states; West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, and Alabama. More than half of SRE’s employees are veterans and/or military spouses and almost half of SRE employees are residents of West Virginia. King has a dedication to keep West Virginians and veterans employed.
“Winning the 2015 SBA West Virginia Small Business Person of the Year is an incredible honor, as I know the businesses in our state and the hard working dedicated people who lead them,” said King. “My business model is about helping people and doing the right thing and this proves that you can be honest, have integrity and be successful in business in this country and in our state.”
King actively supports service members in the United States and overseas. She supports veterans through mentoring, providing employment opportunities, and through the financial support of various charities focused on Active Duty military, families, and veterans. Two organizations close to King’s heart are Final Salute, Inc., which provides safe and suitable housing for homeless female veterans and their children, and Honor the Sacrifice which provides support to active duty soldiers deployed overseas, as well as veterans and their families.
“When describing Jeannette King, one cannot do so without discussing her generosity,” Eells wrote in her nomination letter. “Ms. King is one of the most generous people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She gives her time by advising young or new entrepreneurs on how to get started or best practices,”
SBA’s West Virginia District Office celebrates King’s award during a luncheon at the Canaan Valley State Park & Conference Center in Davis, Wednesday, May 27 at 11:30 a.m. during the 25th Annual Teaming to Win Conference. The awards luncheon will be emceed by Secretary of State Natalie Tennant. Visit www.sba.gov/wv for a list of the 2015 West Virginia District Small Business Week winners.
