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Minority Owned Business
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Article 7: A Business Success Story
Donna Reddout, the founder of Eagle Systems and
Services, Inc. in Lawton, Okla., faced a crucial
turning point for her company in the early ‘90s,
about five years into the life cycle of the
business she started in 1986.
Eagle Systems provides logistics, training,
information technology and program support
services primarily to government agencies. But
trouble hit in the early ‘90s when, as Reddout
explains it, the federal government began
cutting out or bundling small contracts into
larger ones.
“That basically eliminated the types of
contracts that make up the bulk of our
business,” she says. “I had to decide right then
whether to just give up and close the business,
or try to find some way to stay in the federal
procurement game.”
That some way turned out to be the Small
Business Administration’s 8(a) Small Business
Development Program. But in order to qualify,
Reddout had to sell a majority ownership stake
in her company (51 percent) to someone who would
qualify as a disadvantaged business owner.
Fortunately, the perfect person was available
for the job: Rhonda Clemmer, a Native American
who had been working with her for two years as a
training developer.
“I wouldn’t have gone out and sold controlling
interest in my company to just anyone,” says
Reddout. “Rhonda is extremely sharp and capable,
and we have complementary capabilities and are
able to work together well. That is the move
that really put us on the road to success.”
With a big boost from its status as an 8(a) and
Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) company,
Eagle Systems has soared over the past decade,
growing to 270 employees and about $14 million
in annual revenue. The company graduated from
the nine-year (8a) Program last June.
“We still have a lot of 8(a) contracts that will
run another three to five years, so we’re in
pretty good shape,” says Reddout. “And I’m
seeing more small business federal government
contracts now than I’ve ever seen before.”
Reddout’s advice to other businesses that are
considering applying for 8(a) status? In short:
Be persistent.
“Just reading through the rules and regulations
may not be good enough,” she says. “We followed
the process step by step, but our first
application was denied. A consultant helped us
figure out what the snags were and we made the
changes that were necessary to get qualified.
But it can be a cumbersome process, so you have
to be persistent and determined.”
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