We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sheena Parker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sheena thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
Although I could go on and on about the crazy daily activities my business has seen; one story that comes to mind is very positive. I can only categorize it as divine! When first starting in government contracting, I won a six-figure contract to replace flooring for several county buildings. However I only had about $4k in my bank account to get started; materials were going to cost more than 10x that amount! The contractor that I was working with, suggested I ask the awarding agency for an advance – They approved it! They handed me a $70,000 advancement check and I was in complete disbelief! Without that advance, I would have never been able to buy materials for that contract.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Sheena Parker and I’ve always been an entrepreneur! lol I am a wife, mom, dog mom, plant mom and retired Signal Army Warrant Officer. I have had many businesses throughout my life and plenty of side hustles. It’s good to note however, there can be a major difference between being an entrepreneur and running a business. I had been dabbling in Real Estate for a few years when I was approached a few times regarding government contracting. I had to research what government contracting actually was. I wanted to stay in the real estate/ renovation space. I discovered the closest transition from my favorite part of real estate renovations was Facility Support Services. 4SYT Industries was then born. The 4SYT Industries name is an amendment to the 1st name I used when I first started in Real Estate. 4SYT represents my strongest support system.
-Myself – “S”heena
-My Daughter – N”y”a
-My Husband – “T”errell
-My Son – “T”errell Jr
The 4 of us is why this company is so successful. We are a Service Disabled Veteran Owned, Woman Owned, Minority Owned Facility Maintenance & Real Estate company. We provide Real Estate and Facility Maintenance services to federal, local and corporate departments. Our services include, but not limited to, janitorial services, pressure washing, facility & property management, landscaping services, painting and more. What’s different about 4SYT Industries is we have a unique path to success. We work exclusively in the government space as prime contractors. I’ve taken this business from $0 to $100k plus with my first contract. Every document was built and submitted by me; then later my teenaged daughter assisted me doing data entry. In only 5 years, my company was able to pivot during COVID into disinfecting, on the fly, while building tremendous relationships with our government clients. We have been able to triple in 2021 by implementing hard work and having the “foresight” to predict how to adjust and bring in experts to help us scale. Now with a team of 20+ employees and 7 contractors, the future is bright. I am up every day at 4am to ensure I am putting in enough work for this business to succeed. I have employees who depend on ME!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
In this climate, it takes special skill to keep employees motivated; or to keep them at all. We as a society however, have broken social norms and give the grace of being yourself and encouraging creativity. An important key, is to ensure every employee is heard; feels appreciated and important. Gone are the days of “an employee should be grateful for a job”. I encourage my employees to build on their skills and go after bigger and better things; even if it’s not with 4SYT. I try my best to foster a culture of personal growth.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Coming from a military background, you are trained to give the BLUF (Bottom Line, Up Front); meaning, less fluff and little explanation. As a CEO, it’s important to share the WHY with your team members and your audience. There has been 20 years of unlearning I’ve had to do in the last 5 years of building 4SYT. In the military, we are trained to lead fighters. As a CEO, we are trained to lead LEADERS!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://linktr.ee/sheenaparker
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/sheenapreneur
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/sheenaparker