Judy Sheppard President & CEO , Professional Services of America
Tell us about your business .
Professional Services of America provides services in professional recruitment , contract employees and project and facility management .
What inspired you to start your own business ?
When you ’ re working for another company and you put in numerous hours , you start asking , “ Should I start doing this on my own ?” Starting my own company sounded advantageous .
How has being located in West Virginia been beneficial to you ?
Being a West Virginia business has actually helped me more than anything . I will just tell it like it is — West Virginia likes to do business with West Virginia . We like to keep the money here . Senator Joe Manchin once said that if we would all take care of our own back yard , everything would go great . That is very true . If we can partner , if we can work together and keep West Virginia strong and keep the dollars here — that ’ s what it ’ s about at the end of the day .
What advice would you give other West Virginians interested in entrepreneurialism ?
The best advice I can give anyone is to look for good teaming and strategic partners . Honesty and integrity are the most important things . If you can ’ t do something , tell them you can ’ t do it .
How can West Virginia encourage more entrepreneurs , and why is this important for the future of the state ?
We need to encourage people to start businesses because that ’ s really what ’ s holding America together . West Virginia could also really help its people by encouraging West Virginia companies to do business with West Virginia companies . Another opportunity is small business roundtables where we can bring to the state ’ s attention what we ’ re struggling with and let them know how they can help us overcome some of these obstacles . •
Entrepreneur Spotlights
For more stories on West Virginia entrepreneurs , check out our Entrepreneur Spotlights at www . wvexecutive . com / category / executive-exclusives .
To suggest an entrepreneur for our spotlight series , send an email to Samantha Cart at sdc @ wvexecutive . com .
WWW . WVEXECUTIVE . COM FALL 2017
35