Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alicia Makaye. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alicia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.
GXA is a local managed service provider which provides IT consultation and support for businesses in the Dallas and beyond the local area. A client success story, GXA was brought on board to assist a local popular museum a couple weeks before their grand opening because they were experiencing critical network issues. The museum was not a GXA client. If not addressed correctly then museum’s opening night and overall exhibit performance was at risk. GXA came in and reconfigured VLANs, implemented QoS policies and replaced undersized equipment the weekend before the grand opening. This was a temporary solution that allowed them to welcome some very important community members into the museum, show off their amazing exhibits and collect much-needed donations to sustain their operations. As a permanent solution, GXA came in and replaced all aging or undersized network equipment to ensure the museum’s infrastructure was up-to-date and able to support their ever-growing technology requirements. After the successful execution of the project, the museum became a Platinum Managed Services client with GXA and still is today. We are very happy the GXA played such a critical role in our local community and many members of our community our enjoying the museum daily and the museum is very successful.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
GXA is a business founded on a passion for giving to the underprivileged. For an IT services company, that may not seem logical, but GXA was actually inspired by a desire to have the freedom of time and resources to invest in philanthropic endeavors. My husband and business partner, George Makaye, and I both have the hearts to serve and give on a much larger scale. We experienced and witnessed firsthand the devastation of poverty that children around the world face every day. How does that translate into an Information Technology business? George and I realized that by becoming entrepreneurs, we could take control of our time and our income. Together, we possessed the talents to start our own business – George is an IT genius with impeccable customer service skills. I am an Air Force Veteran with a Ph.D. and expertise in business operations, strategy and people. We are a formidable team, serving our customers – and our community – diligently for the past 17 years.
In 2021, I took the helm as the CEO of GXA (www.gxait.com), which is an award-winning IT services company (Managed Service Provider, MSP) headquartered in Dallas that provides managed IT services and solutions to small-to-medium size businesses in DFW area and beyond. Inc. Magazine has named GXA one of the fastest growing companies in America 2014/2019/2020. Inc. also included GXA as 1 of the 250 “Most Inspiring Companies in Texas” in its inaugural ranking of this state’s most successful companies. My business partner expanded the family IT endeavors and increased their services in Cybersecurity.
My background is extensive and varied. After serving for four years in the United States Air Force, I earned two degrees, including a doctorate in Public Affairs from University of Texas at Dallas. A lifelong learner, I am a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business alumna (cohort 10). I’ve received numerous awards over the years, including the Green and Orange Award at UT Dallas in 2022; Dallas Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader; Minority Women Business Entrepreneur of the Year; Alumna of the Year at UT Dallas; Air Force Achievement Medal. I was Nominated for a Women in Technology Luminary Award as well as the Collin County Most Influential Women Awards. I appreciate every one of these accolades, but among the labels I value most is “Philanthropist.”
My charitable work began in childhood but expanded as an adult in 2003, shortly after I met my future husband George, who shares my dedication to philanthropy. We’re committed to investing in our community and lifting others up. Over the years, my husband and I have traveled to Mexico, Kenya, South Africa, and Swaziland trying to make a difference in those communities. We continue to serve our community in various roles, sometimes rolling up our sleeves and working, or mentoring, public speaking or donating monetarily. In 2018, I was featured as a guest on “The Word Network” for giving back to my local community. We have touched over 30 non-profits locally and internationally and have been instrumental in establishing computer labs in Kenya and Nigeria with the help of our local non-profit partnerships. GXA was recognized by a local nonprofit featuring Oprah Winfrey for providing over 75,000 meals locally.
GXA is not just about the intricacies of IT, but about the building of stronger businesses and communities. At GXA, we have a deep passion for solving the business challenges of today by applying our advanced IT knowledge, years of experience, and determined capabilities to help our clients succeed. Because of our own success, we are able to help sustain a better world for the next generation through charity. It is no secret that GXA has had an impact in both local and international communities, providing monetary support, as well as dedicating over 200 hours in the service of those communities since our inception. We sent three employees to Nigeria to deliver and build new computer labs for the underprivileged, in partnership with a local nonprofit. These labs were part of a larger, transformational facility designed to empower the people of those communities to earn a living income.
Our commitment to community also means we must build a strong company team, where employees feel valued, heard, and have a sense of pride in the company and each other. At GXA, we believe that to achieve our purpose we must build a community for our employees that is founded in respect, promotes diversity, pursues growth and learning, is positive and fun, embraces responsibility by doing more with less, builds open and honest relationships, and seeks adventure and creativity. We believe that each employee is a leader and that their state, story, and strategy are very important.
Charity begins at home. This has real meaning for GXA where we build community by sincerely caring about our team members. For instance, when one of our employee’s personal belongings were stolen during a relocation from Houston to Dallas, the leader of our Tech Team stepped in to help, inspiring several other GXA employees to offer some their personal belongings to make life more comfortable for our employee. He wasn’t alone. He was part of our GXA community.
Since the onset of COVID-19 the workplace has forever changed. We have done everything we could to maintain our connection with each other despite physical distances. During the pandemic, GXA shifted to virtual social events, which included trivia night, a scavenger hunt, happy hours, even a virtual White Elephant Gift Exchange. Employees received a free Door Dash DashPass and personalized appreciation gifts. Since we re-opened our offices in July 2021, we have held four socially distanced events: an onsite cookout, Harvest Party/Chili Cook-Off, Thanksgiving Luncheon, and White Elephant Gift Exchange. Seven team members competed in the “GXA Biggest Winner” weight loss/wellness competition. We have virtual, company-paid team lunches twice a month, are adding quarterly department lunches, and are now adding quarterly off-site events in 2022. GXA has offered our employees benefits through our growth partners (community partners that provide services to our staff), which includes financial training, discounted day care, and wellness body scans, fitness and health and wellness services. Our growth partners focus on giving our employees opportunities to grow and improve their own lives. Additional programs that we have put in place include the following:
– Additional mental health and wellness programs
– Access to Mental Health Therapist (for employees with insurance)
– Sharing information about COVID mental health therapist
– Weight Loss Support Group
– Weekly internal Company Newsletters to keep everyone connected
– Bi-Weekly Client Newsletters to keep our clients in the loop
– Monthly Newsletters to keep our potential clients in the loop
How’d you meet your business partner?
Ours was an almost immediate connection. We’d never met before, but we weren’t strangers. Our values aligned. Our goals were similar. Our drive to succeed was the same. And, we both wanted to live lives of purpose, to make the world a better place. George and I met in 1999 in a local club during happy hour. We talked for hours about things that really mattered. We were married about two years later. But even before we became partners in life, we began creating a detailed plan for our future that included starting our own company. We were extremely focused. We mapped out everything – when we would start a family; how we could start our own business; how we would save money to realize our goals; how we would create lasting impact through charitable giving and works. We didn’t have much when we began our lives together, but we still found ways to give back. We saved our vacation time to go on mission trips, traveling to areas of the world where people lived without having their very basic needs met. Back home, we began cutting every cost we could. We cut cable. We cut coupons (back when you actually had to cut them from newspapers!). We listened to cassette tapes on how to make money and grow wealth. We bought Entertainment coupon books. Sometimes we bought two books so we could eat out at our favorite restaurants twice for less money. If a restaurant didn’t offer a BOGO (by one, get one free) we didn’t eat there. We lived on one salary – George’s – and saved mine for a full year. In 2004, it was finally time to start our own business – GXA (the “G” is for George and the “A” is for Alicia.) We’re in this together. With George’s talents in IT and my background in business operations, strategy, and people, we became an incomparable team. That team has grown considerably since we founded GXA 17 years ago (we incorporated in 2008.) We have dozens of employees whom we feel are like part of a very large family. We also have two children of our own whom we hope will appreciate the legacy we are building.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
If you pay people well, they will stay. There’s a logic to that concept, but it isn’t true. Of course, most people do work to earn a living so money always plays a role in business. However, I have learned that employees often need more than a paycheck. At GXA we have created an environment for our employees that is intended to inspire. Our offices are comfortable and attractive with motivational art visible throughout our spaces. We provide opportunities and places for our employees to decompress in private – well-stocked breakrooms, Prayer/Meditation Rooms, and a Wellness Room. We often work at a very high pace, solving problems for business clients in crisis so it is important that our people have a way to recharge after intense work periods. We strive to provide fun, uplifting activities inside and outside of normal business hours. We have growth partnerships that offer our employees added benefits such as discounted daycare, financial training, and wellness and weight loss assistance. In short, we check a lot of the “best practices” boxes for employers. GXA is a great place to work. It is designed to be. However, here is the lesson we have learned, honed, in part, because of the isolation that was imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic – you cannot skip the relationship part of business. Our employees need more from work than the satisfaction of a job well done and the paycheck that comes as a result. They crave connection. They wish to be understood. They need to be cared about. They have unspoken needs that must be met, and those needs are unique to the individual. One simple fix we came up with that helped people feel connected during periods of remote work was requiring cameras be turned on during our Zoom calls with each other. It was important to some of our employees that they see each other to feel connected. When it was safe, we began to host socially distanced events to allow our employees to spend time together. Now that we are back working in our office, we focus on building stronger relationships and better teams. Once, I had underestimated the role psychology plays in our work lives. I don’t any longer. I now see that every employee has needs that they may not give voice to. You cannot lead people you have no relationship with. It is a leader’s job to find out those needs. Some crave spontaneity and enjoy the variety certain aspects of our work provide. Others seek security. The consistency of a routine makes them feel safe. Our company is large and growing so it isn’t possible for me to personally sit down and chat with every single employee on a regular basis, but my Team Leads can. It is my responsibility to strengthen those leaders. One area we work on is conflict management, meeting regularly. During those meetings each leader has permission to bring responsible complaints forward and we hash them out together. When we’re done, all department leaders know they have been heard. When they go back to their departments, it is their responsibility to strengthen the bonds within their teams. Ignoring problems, dismissing feelings, these cause resentment to grow and that impedes the work we must do. There is great power in the words “I understand”; “I appreciate you”; “I value you”; “I hear you”; “I care about you.” But they must be sincere. We are proud of the team we have built here at GXA. Some have worked with us for five years, others as many as 14 years. That loyalty is never taken for granted.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gxait.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gxait/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gxait/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gxa/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GXAIT
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gxanetworks
Image Credits
Kauwuane Burton Professional Photographer at Kauwuane Burton Studios Website www.ksbfoto.com