Janet Chihocky founded JANSON, a Warrenton-based company that provides communications and workplace transformation solutions to clients in the defense industry and beyond, 25 years ago. In April of 1998, JANSON’s first clients were in the aerospace industry, but Chihocky always knew she wanted to break into defense. As a woman, and one without a military background, this was no small feat.
Now, she’s offering advice to other aspiring business owners.
“At the time, when we broke into defense back in 2006, I don’t know if I can say how many females I knew that were really in prominent positions at the time. … It’s a very crowded male market. It was then and it still is today,” Chihocky says.
To gain understanding of the industry, she worked with Ret. Col. Mark Flavin, who filled her in on the specifics of the industry, an experience she says was invaluable. Over the years, JANSON has grown to hold a presence in Virginia, Georgia, and Florida. Several factors have contributed to her company’s success, the founder and CEO says.
Location, location, location! Being headquartered in Virginia, close to both the Pentagon and Capitol Hill, is advantageous. The area also benefits from a wealth of specialized knowledge workers.
Business size is also key, Chihocky says. She made the decision to keep hers on the smaller side, with a full-time staff of 30. This means that the company is competing against other small businesses, rather than competing with large companies like Deloitte or Lockheed Martin.
“Small businesses have to be very mindful of resources, your resources being money [and] capacity,” Chihocky says. “I like JANSON being a small company so we can compete as a small business.”
The smaller model allowed the company to maintain a more personal, family-style atmosphere, she says.
Of course, 25 years in business always comes with some ups and downs. Chihocky says that, with experience, she’s come to understand the ways that unexpected changes in the market (things like inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, or changes in government funding) can influence a business. She stays alert to market changes that may be coming.
What other advice would Chihocky pass on? For those who want to break into an industry they don’t know much about, she urges them to align themselves with someone who knows the industry and can teach them what they need to know (much like she did with Flavin).
In business, Chihocky says, it’s always important to listen to your client, to think, and then to always deliver on your promises. Listen. Think. Deliver.
“Take the time. Invest the time. Learn. Listen. Ask questions. Do your research, follow through, and perform very, very well,” she says. “I think that’s the key. Performance will speak for itself.”
Feature image courtesy JANSON
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