Dashboard: Follow the Money. Then Try to Get Paid

When Jessica Johnson-Cope took over her family's security business in 2008, she inherited a company with just 16 employees and no succession plan. Today, Johnson Security Bureau has more than 150 employees operating in four states, generates $10 million to $15 million a year, and gets about 80 percent of its revenue from government contracts. Along the way, Jessica has learned some valuable lessons: Follow the money to find opportunities. Don't get fixated on landing the biggest contracts. Pay attention to the people in the room who aren't doing the talking. And just because you've done the work doesn't mean you're going to get paid anytime week, Jessica tells us how she rebuilt the family business, why she's gotten better at saying no, and how her Black- and woman-owned business, which relies heavily on government contracts, has continued to thrive in the era of DOGE and the DEI backlash. Surprisingly, she says, neither has had much impact on her business—although government staffing cuts have complicated the process of getting paid, and she knows that some people assume she's won business because of her race or gender rather than her company's performance. The episode is brought to you byGrasshopper Bank .