We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jawann Graves. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jawann below.

Hi Jawann, thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

I’ve learned a lot from my experience as an SRE, but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the importance of staying calm under pressure. I’ve had to deal with a lot of emergencies, both as an SRE and as a business owner, and it’s important to be able to think clearly and make good decisions even when things are going wrong.

One of the most stressful situations I’ve ever been in was when I was working as an SRE for a government contractor. We had a server that was handling payroll that suddenly crashed, and I was the only one on call. I spent the entire night working with the vendor to get the server back up and running, and I was so stressed that I could barely think straight.

But I managed to stay calm, and I was able to troubleshoot the problem and get the server back up and running. I was so relieved when I finally got it working, and I realized that I had learned an important lesson about how to handle stressful situations.

I’ve also learned the importance of being able to break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable pieces. This is a skill that I use all the time, both in my personal life and in my professional life. When I’m faced with a complex problem, I start by breaking it down into smaller pieces and then tackling each piece one at a time.

I’ve learned a lot from my experience as an SRE, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked in such a challenging and rewarding role. I’m confident that the skills I’ve learned will help me to be a successful business owner.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started my career as an SRE right out of college, working in government contracting. I then moved on to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google, where I served as a manager for the last year. I recently decided to start my own business, Sparkle Squad, a window cleaning, power washing, gutter cleaning, soft washing, and holiday lighting service.

I’ve always been passionate about helping people, and I believe that my business is a great way to do that. We provide a valuable service that makes people’s lives easier, and we’re proud to be able to support our community.

I’m also proud of the fact that we’re able to offer our services at a competitive price. We’re able to do this because we’re able to do a lot of the work from the ground, so we don’t need to get on your roof to clean your gutters. This means that we can charge less than our competitors without sacrificing quality.

I’m excited about the future of Sparkle Squad. We’re a growing company, and we’re always looking for new ways to improve our services. I’m confident that we’ll continue to be a successful business for many years to come.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Starting a business requires capital, and I knew I’d need a significant amount to get Sparkle Squad off the ground. While I had savings, the idea of depleting them to launch the business made me uneasy. I didn’t want to be caught in a situation where I was cash-poor personally, or unable to invest further into the business if an unexpected opportunity or challenge arose.  

That’s when I discovered the ROBS program – Rollover for Business Startups. It allows you to use your retirement funds to invest in your own business without taking a taxable distribution. Essentially, you create a 401(k) for your company, and that 401(k) invests in your business. It sounded like the perfect solution, providing the capital I needed while allowing my retirement savings to continue growing.

Of course, ROBS comes with rules and regulations to ensure everything is done correctly. I did my research and ultimately chose to work with Benetrends, a reputable provider specializing in ROBS. They guided me through the entire process, ensuring I met all the requirements.

Thanks to the ROBS program facilitated by Benetrends, I had the funds to cover startup costs like equipment, initial marketing, and operating expenses. It gave me peace of mind knowing I had access to capital without sacrificing my personal financial security.

I’m incredibly happy with my decision to use ROBS. It’s been a fantastic way to fund my business and a strategy I’d recommend to other entrepreneurs looking to tap into their retirement savings.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Lawn signs have been our most effective source of new clients. We also use other marketing channels, such as Facebook, Google, and our website, but lawn signs consistently bring in leads. Within a day or two of putting out signs, we typically receive a call. We’re also planning to launch a mail campaign soon, so that may further increase our lead generation.

The key to effective marketing is to get your brand out there as much as possible. We use a variety of tactics to do this, such as placing lawn signs in high-traffic areas, running online ads, and distributing door hangers. We’ve also found that car magnets and driving around our company van with branded signage are effective ways to get our name in front of potential customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sparklesquad.com/ashburn-va
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparklesquad.loudoun_fairfax/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563414786512
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jawann-graves/