Ep 18 | Janice Bryant Howroyd
How a $900 Loan Turned Into a Multi-Billion Dollar Business
Listen on
Janice Bryant Howroyd is the founder and CEO of the ActOne Group, a multi-billion dollar global business providing workforce solutions.
Janice’s entrepreneurial journey started with very humble beginnings. As a temporary secretary for her brother-in-law’s company, Janice saw an opportunity in the market where other executives were looking for quick and effective clerical help. She decided to branch off on her own and start an employment agency with only $1,500 in her pocket - $900 of which she borrowed from her mother. 40 years later, the company earns over a billion dollars in sales and is in 19 countries with over 17,000 clients.
Janice has been recognized on Forbes list of America's Richest Self-Made Women and is known to be the first black woman to own and operate a billion-dollar company. Her success has taken her and her company from boardrooms to the floor of the U.S. Senate, to a presidential appointment, to being sought by international organizations who seek to garner her influence to change government policy.
Show Notes
How Janice’s childhood and Southern upbringing during the civil rights era impacted her as a person & leader [3:20]
Why Janice’s college experience was instrumental in her adult framing [8:24]
Janice shares how a quick trip to LA became a career defining moment and led Janice to start her first business [15:13]
Advice on how to create a sustainable business and why it’s important to build a company around your own personal values [25:30]
Janice describes how she started her business with a $900 loan from her mother [27:53]
Why COVID is the best time for anyone to pivot their career or start their own business [36:23]
Janice describes what it was like to be a young woman founder in an industry that was dominated by older white males [37:37]
The most important advice that she wants every woman to know [40:35]
How she learned to be unapologetically herself in life and business [42:59]
Janice shares tips based on her journey on managing motherhood and entrepreneurship [45:47]
Follow Janice:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jbryanthowroyd/
Personal Website: http://askjbh.com/
Company Website: https://www.actonegroup.com/
