Finalist
Real Estate and Construction Services
Jose Morales has discipline.
A childhood friend challenged Morales’ discipline and it put Morales on the path that led to his founding J2 Engineering Inc., a design-build consulting firm.
After more than 25 years in engineering, Morales wanted to build a company that provided quality engineering consulting services to the environmental and construction market. So he used personal property to secure equity loans and founded J2 in 2001.
It was through the use of business and financial programs offered by the Small Business Administration that Morales was able to truly grow J2 from a small engineering firm to the midmarket firm it is today.
During the company’s early stage, J2 participated in programming offered by the SBA on the topics of marketing to governmental agencies and working with the federal government. It was an SBA program that first linked J2 with subcontract work at federal installations and ultimately fueled the company’s success. The foundation J2 has laid over the years and the relationships it has established with federal project managers and contracting officers generated about 95 percent of the company’s earned sales in 2009.
Morales set high growth expectations for J2, which he believes are possible if the company stays committed to its employee-based culture, communicates its successes, identifies good leaders, maintains its core business model and expansion plans, and listens to its stakeholders.
Morales likes a good challenge. After all, the challenge from his childhood friend was that Morales wasn’t disciplined enough to succeed in the military. But Morales joined the U.S. Air Force, which eventually gave him a scholarship to pursue his engineering degree.
How to reach: J2 Engineering Inc., (813) 888-8861 or www.j2-eng.com
