Opportunity plus Preparation equals Success. Shanita R. Johnson, Owner of BKJ Global Management Consulting, LLC is a prime example of how a small, minority- or woman-owned business can achieve success with Port Houston.
Business Growth with Port Houston
In her journey of growth, Shanita connected with Port Houston staff to learn more about the Port Houston Small Business Program and how it could help her business when applying for contracts with the port. She attended training classes, workshops, events and networked as much as she could to spread the word about her venture.
“The port small business team helped me by first confirming the areas where I was ready, and the program gave me the tools to strengthen our responses to requests for proposals (RFPs),” Johnson said. “For example, the mentor-protegee program has a workshop on responding to RFPs. This helped me to better understand the importance of each RFP component.”
Shanita’s persistence and hard work would pay off in 2017 when she became a subcontractor, supporting the Port Houston information technology team to perform IT project management services. Then in 2019, she was awarded her first prime contract with Port Houston and in 2021 she again received a prime contract award for coordination services. Johnson states “We are currently handling the project coordination services for the NextGen ERP Phase II project. With this award we were able to hire a full-time employee to perform the services.”
Moving the Business Forward
Leveraging the connections made through the program, Shanita now holds certifications from the City of Houston, METRO, the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance, and the State of Texas HUB Program and is registered as a small, minority- and women-owned business with Port Houston.
Through the program, Shanita has expanded her network and reach to continue providing cutting edge information technology management solutions for growing businesses around the country. She has used her 20 years of information technology experience to lead multi-million-dollar projects for Fortune 500 clients and knows her team can deliver large scale IT projects thanks to their passion for excellence.
“Get involved with Port Houston’s Business Equity team and the Small, Minority- and Woman-Owned Business program because they are here to help us succeed,” Johnson avows. “They offer many opportunities like Port University and the Mentor Protegee program to help us better understand Port Houston’s procurement process, how to do business with the various departments within the Port and most importantly they help us get prepared. To the MBEs looking to win contracts with Port Houston, my advice to help you succeed is to prepare, persevere, show up and show out, understand the business culture, and prepare again!”
Learn more about BKJ Global Management Consulting, LLC by clicking here.