Stewart says it’s the small businesses that actually keep our local, state and national economies alive.

On December 26, Janita Russell Stewart will celebrate a milestone that most employees never reach: she will celebrate 50 years of service in the U.S. government, including nearly 30 years as District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Mississippi.

I can’t remember a time when Janita wasn’t the head of SBA Mississippi. She presented me with the SBA Mississippi Small Business Journalist Award in 1999 and 2006. The recognition was very encouraging to me as an entrepreneur, as it has been to countless other small business owners. Then I took a long siesta and came back to be saddened to learn that our SBA colleague Gary Reed had passed away, and she is still there, kind and supportive as ever.

Janita is a Vicksburg native who earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) while serving in various capacities with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Vicksburg and New Orleans districts, most recently as special assistant and advisor to the commander and district engineer for the Corps’ multimillion-dollar small business programs.

After graduating from the highly selective U.S. SBA District Director Candidate Development Program, she rotated between SBA offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina. She joined SBA Mississippi as District Director in the mid-1990s. For 2021, the Biden-Harris administration appointed Janita to an additional role as acting regional administrator for the SBA’s Southeast Region, which includes Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The region includes 6.9 million small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Janita’s countless connections and memberships through the SBA include: former member of the Governor’s Special Task Force on Economic Development Planning; named Federal Executive of the Year by the Greater Jackson Area Federal Execution Association; recipient of the Pacesetter Award from the Greater Jackson Area Federal Executive Association; named among Mississippi’s 50 Most Influential African Americans and 50 Leading Business Women. Gateway Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity Women Build, Mississippi Food Network, LIFE Outreach International and Doctors Without Borders are among her favorite charities and ministries.

Janita chatted with Magnolia Tribune about her career path, preparing for her role as SBA Mississippi District Director, how her work fits into economic development and programs that benefit the state’s small business community.

What did you do between your time with the Corps as a Contract Specialist Trainee and the SBA?

After participating in USM’s Cooperative Education Program, I worked semester-long shifts – one semester with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the other semesters in college. After graduating from USM, the Corps hired me full-time as a contract specialist trainee. From there, I was promoted to contract specialist, then procurement analyst, and special assistant and advisor to the commander and district engineer for the small business agency’s multimillion-dollar contract programs. I held this position in Mississippi and Louisiana, which led me to the SBA.

How did you prepare for the position of SBA Mississippi District Director?

I applied for the SBA’s District Director Candidate Development Program. I was one of over 250 applicants nationwide, was shortlisted, interviewed, and was one of only four accepted into this program. I was assigned as my mentor a very experienced Senior Executive Service District Director from Georgia who graciously guided and guided me through this program while also providing me with real-world work experience in leadership as his Deputy District Director.

How does your work fit into economic development?

The SBA’s mission is to help people start, grow and expand a business. Is economic development. Sounds like a cliche, but small businesses are truly the backbone and engine that drives the economy. Small businesses are what actually sustains our local, state and national economies. In Mississippi, 99.3 percent of all Businesses are considered small, and nationally that number is 99.9 percent. There are very few businesses in Mississippi and nationwide that we consider “other than small or large businesses.” Of course, another important part of the SBA’s mission is disaster assistance for individuals, homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits during federally declared disasters.

What are your most popular programs? What programs are the most underrated? What programs should be better known?

I began my career in the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, where I was trained and involved in the area of ​​federal government contracting. Although programs have long existed in this area, I believe there are still small businesses that do not want to do business with the federal government. This means they are missing out on opportunities to grow their business and they are missing out on a revenue stream that could be lucrative for them.

Of course, our lending programs are critical because when someone starts a new business or wants to expand an existing one, they rely on financing unless they can self-fund. The SBA’s flagship programs – 7(a) Guarantee, 504 Certified Development Company and microloan programs – are designed for eligible, creditworthy small businesses and entrepreneurs, and the proceeds can be used for legitimate business purposes.

Our business development programs, which include support from our funded resource partners – the Network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), SCORE – America’s Counselors, our Women’s Business Centers (WBC) and our Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) – are critical because support from these organizations gets the business off to the right start. These are the organizations that people need to turn to through the SBA for advice, training, management and technical assistance. And the support provided is free (paid for by the taxpayer) and confidential.

Which area(s) of the state need more attention?

Each state certainly faces its challenges, and in the case of Mississippi, the Delta seems to be an area that could use more support.

First, always use the resources available to you and mentioned in this article: SBA, SBDC, SCORE, WBCs and VBOC. There are others, for example in the state of Mississippi. We are happy to help and support you.

Second, if you have not yet established a relationship with a lending institution, please do so. The SBA partners with numerous domestic and foreign banks, as well as non-bank lending institutions and certified development companies, to provide much-needed financing to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Third, if the products you sell or the services you provide are purchased by the federal government, you should apply for any federal contract certifications you are eligible for. If you own a small business with no other hallmarks (e.g., woman-owned, veteran-operated, etc.), you should register to bid on federal contracts. It’s a roughly $500 billion-a-year market, and you could be missing out.

— Article courtesy of Lynne Jeter of the Magnolia Tribune —