Alicia's 15th Anniversary Letter and Invitation to Virtual Celebration on June 10
This June 10th will mark KC’s 15th anniversary. Considering I didn’t start my career with a goal to be a small business entrepreneur, I feel pretty fortunate to have survived the ups and downs of small business ownership - and a consulting firm specifically - for that long. I’ve been reflecting on what’s gone well, what’s been tough, and what I’ve learned from many of you along the way.
First, there are a few people I’d like to thank because without them I would not be writing this anniversary reflection. Number one (literally KC Employee #1) I would like to thank our Vice President of Finance and Operations, and my dear friend, Christina Watson. Titi, as our Ivorian friends named her, brings out the best in me and our team, and sometimes our 8:30 touch-base calls are what I look forward to most in my day. I would also like to thank our very first client who really gave me my start, and also a dear friend, Stacy Dean. Back in 2009, when Stacy worked at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, she reached out and invited me to help her with a study that eventually led to the Work Support Strategies Initiative and KC’s first contract. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Sekou, our Vice President of International Affairs, and our three sons - Devin, Isaac, and Zoumana - for their support and encouragement. All three of my sons directly contributed to our success by working at KC during their college years. There are many more people I could mention. Thank you all!
I have a lot of accomplishments to celebrate and to share with the many people who have worked with me either as employees, subcontractors, prime contractors, or collaborators. I asked Christina to look back on our first 15 years and provide us a snapshot of what we’ve done and who we’ve done it with. Since our start in 2010, we’ve successfully completed 100+ projects for 66 different government or non-profit organizations in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Over the years, our work with those organizations has helped to improve:
Government and non-profit organizational cultures & business processes
Teamwork and communication between managers and staff
Data collection from people with lived experience that is trauma-informed and focused on justice and belonging
Programs that serve low-income people
Community assessments that lead to more effective municipal plans
International ties with Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa
We’ve generated over $8 million in gross revenues, and employed 22 people in living wage, family-friendly jobs with benefits. We’ve subcontracted with 52 different independent consultants or firms - many of them women, minority, or veteran-owned small businesses - providing them with $1.1 million in revenues. We’ve paid approximately $1 million in federal taxes, and over $100k in state taxes in 6 states and the DC, and almost $1 million in payroll taxes for our employees.
Starting out I imagined growing a business was like climbing a mountain - there would be peaks and valleys but revenues and growth would be on a steady upward trend if I worked hard and made smart decisions. Turns out it’s not that straightforward. Now, I think of owning a business more like navigating against a strong current in a tumultuous sea. We’ve survived through sea monsters of uncertainty like recessions and government shut-downs leading to stop-work orders. After all, we are battling one now. But it turns out the sea monsters aren’t the hardest part. There are other realities in our environment that have posed greater challenges. Systemic things like:
Government Contracting - nearly all of the 100+ projects we’ve done we’ve won through competitive procurement. I don’t mind the competition, but a big chunk of the cost of that competition is borne by small businesses. We lose more bids than we win, and we tend to lose to the same bigger national or international male-owned companies. What’s more, we’re not alone! For two decades, federal contracting with women-owned firms has not achieved even the most paltry 5% goal. This opportunity loss costs women-owned firms billions of dollars every year.
Affording Equitable Compensation - 70% of women work. 72% of mothers work. 60% of our staff members have identified as female. Yet women’s compensation, advancement, and earnings continue to lag. It is vital that we achieve fair pay and positive, family-friendly workplace policies for women in this country. At KC we’re committed to being an equitable, family-friendly employer, but it’s hard to afford it when women-owned business revenues lag behind male-owned businesses. For example, we’ve invested nearly half a million dollars in employee benefits (including medical, dental, vision, and long-term disability insurance) so our employees have access to the healthcare they need to thrive.
Lack of Access to Capital for Women-Owned Businesses - Women business owners need access to capital, markets, and affordable benefits. Women-owned businesses make up about one-third of businesses. Yet, as a whole, over the past decade the revenues of women-owned businesses made up just 3.95% of the market whole, and less than 1% of women-owned businesses made more than $1 million a year in revenues. During more than a decade of tremendous growth in the number of women-owned firms, our revenues-based market-share dropped 10%. Unfortunately we are losing ground. Women invest most of their business proceeds in the support of their families, so if women-owned businesses increase revenues, whole families do better!
Even with all those challenges, I am grateful to do the work we do every day at KC to solve the social problem of inequity in income and opportunities and to do that with respect for people. The immediate future is uncertain for government contractors, but there is so much good work to be done and so many good people who have benefited from our work, it gives us the courage and conviction to continue navigating our little consulting company through choppy waters for at least another 10 years.
Please join us on June 10th at 2:30 PM PT / 3:30 PM MT / 4:30 PM CT / 5:30 PM ET for a virtual open house celebration. We will have an opening panel discussion at the top of the hour. Meet up with former colleagues and clients and get a chance to win some prizes, too! Drop-ins are welcome!
You can register for the webinar here.
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to our success these past 15 years!
Sincerely, Alicia Koné