JLAN Solutions: A Company To Watch

By Lamont Hames

Having spent a good portion of her career at the San Jose Air Traffic Control Tower, Ronnette Meyers, President and CEO of JLAN Solutions, knows the challenges that a control tower operator or system engineer faces on a daily basis in providing the public with “the safest national airspace system in the world,” which is part of the mission her client – the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – must fulfill. Ms. Meyers’ ability to approach a problem from close up, or from 30,000 feet, has enabled her to bring JLAN from a one-woman consultancy to a thriving business providing just the right solutions to meet the client’s needs.

Now in its seventh year, JLAN Solutions provides program management, financial management, and system engineering support to the FAA. JLAN engineers are part of the engineering team that manages an enormous amount of data – synchronized with the FAA – which airlines depend on to move thousands of aircraft safely every day. JLAN acquisition specialists and program managers are similarly immersed in each client’s unique approaches and systems. Meyers’ extensive networks allow JLAN to attract and select the most highly qualified and sought-after personnel.

Meyers does not shy away from a challenge. In the competitive government contracting market, small businesses like JLAN rely heavily on multiple “set asides” given to disadvantaged businesses to break into the market, but, Meyers says, JLAN competes on its own merits and leverages the relationships she has cultivated via networking. “JLAN is a certified HubZone, a differentiator that allows us to target set asides. However, my focus is two-fold: organic and strategic.  I grow the company organically by expanding our role with existing clients, and strategically, by looking for projects where I can leverage my existing business relationships.” She adds, “Our strategy is not only to meet, but to exceed, our customers’ expectations.”

While JLAN is expanding its FAA presence, it has strategically targeted a few other agencies in the District of Columbia, where Meyers is a resident.  Meyers is proud of JLAN’s “family focus and 100 percent employee retention.”

Hailing from a family of entrepreneurs, including her grandmother and mother, Ms. Meyers hopes to pass the torch to the next generation. “I named JLAN after my children, Jamie, Lenae, Asia, and Nia. I just want this business to continue to grow so they can say, My mom is an entrepreneur; maybe I will be too,” Meyers said proudly.