A Manassas woman finds her niche

You can learn a lot about Janet Chihocky just from looking around her office.

First, there's the loan rejection letter taped to a bookcase. That shows her triumph over adversity.

Not far away, on a shelf, is a dictionary of space technology. Chihocky memorized it when she worked at Orbital Sciences Corp. Just so she could converse intelligently with the experts there.

Then, near a window, is a photo of JANSON Communications' founder and chief executive officer in Bagh-dad, where she went in June 2008. Because that's what she had to do to learn about a client.

The mementos help to tell the story of the woman who has navigated the male-dominated defense and aerospace industries -- and found success.

Chihocky, who will turn 39 on Monday, was born at Prince William Hospital and grew up in Nokesville and Gainesville.

Later, she went to work at Orbital, which manufactures space and launch systems. She was employee No. 71. The Dulles-based business now has more than 3,000 workers.

While at Orbital, Chihocky obtained a business degree at Strayer University.

Then, when she was 26, she decided she would either pursue a master's degree or start a business.

The latter notion prevailed.

Chihocky was working in marketing for Orbital, and she realized a company focused on providing such services to the defense and aerospace industries could make a go of it.

There were lots of good advertising and PR firms, but they didn't target the clients Chihocky wanted, the organizations with which she enjoyed working.

"I saw an opportunity," she said.

Combining 'two worlds'

So she started JANSON with Jeff Lawson (the J-A-N for Janet, the S-O-N for Lawson).

Chihocky would later buy out Lawson, but she's continued her concept of combining employees from the creative side of ad firms with veterans from the defense and aerospace sectors.

"I felt like you had to bring those two worlds together," she said.

JANSON now boasts a staff of nearly 20. Its headquarters is near Interstate 66 just outside Manassas, and the com-pany also has an office in Huntsville, Ala., and one employee in Dallas.

Chihocky hired Orbital's former chief financial officer and another employee who used to work for invest-ment giant Bear Stearns.

"I surround myself with very smart people," she said.

Chihocky said she hopes in the next four to five years that the business will be at the point where it brings in reve-nues of $8 million to $10 million. It boasts a 45 percent gross profit margin right now.

She said JANSON's success has come in its passion for the mission of its clients.

Its knowledge base, too, allows it to jump right into projects, she said, whereas other, one-size-fits-all communica-tions companies could run up a client's bill getting up to speed.

About 60 percent of the firm's work comes from the private sector, and 40 percent from the government. Its main governmental customer is the Army.

"No one is more customer-focused than Janet Chihocky," Army Col. Anne L. Davis told the firm recently. "She listens to her customers and gains an understanding of their perspective and place in the market before making recommendations. She is the expert in strategic communications, and her enthusiasm for getting it right is unmatched."

Destination: Baghdad

That characterization underscores that trip Chihocky took to Iraq.

When she asked client R4 Inc., which makes counter-improvised-explosive-device systems, how she could learn about the business, she was told, "You've got to go to Baghdad."

So she did. She covered her short, brown hair with a wide-brimmed hat to block out the desert sun, and she talked to troops, went through the chow line and generally got a feeling for the war zone.

"I was there to understand their business and their challenges," she said of the defense contrac-tor.

Some business leaders focus on quickly building the biggest company they can just so they can sell it and make lots of money. But Chihocky said she's never wanted to do that. She wanted to build a strong operation and sup-port the work of her clients.

That doesn't mean, however, that times have always been easy. In years past, Chihocky tried to rely on one large client, and that created a situation where she almost lost the business after 9/11.

She was $450,000 in debt, and accountants encouraged her to file for bankruptcy.

But Chihocky didn't want to do that. So she cut operational expenses by 60 percent, and she got a helping hand from someone she had never met.

His name was Bill Dixon, and he lived in Georgia. He learned about Chihocky's situation from Jim Rismiller, who had been an accounting teacher at the now-closed Bethlehem Baptist Christian Academy in Fairfax, from which Chihocky graduated.

Without as much as seeing a business plan for JANSON, he co-signed a seven-year loan for Chihocky. She paid him back in 2½ years.

That toughness has doubtless helped Chihocky in business. And the reality that she is a female entrepreneur moving in circles traditionally populated by men isn't lost on her.

But she seems more adamant about how some women cheat the system.

Oftentimes, women will be listed as the "owner" of a company just to acquire tax breaks or preferential treatment from the government. But they're just figureheads for the men who are really running the operation, Chihocky said.

"It's fraud to me," she said. "It's absolute fraud."

It's not surprising that she feels this way. She leads JANSON and is busy away from work, as well.

Chihocky, who splits time between homes in Gainesville and in Utah, is active at McLean Bible Church and is on the board of her homeowners' association in the Somerset neighborhood.

She also supports worldwide missions, even paying for schooling for a family in Kenya.

"While this company is a blessing for me, it is not my purpose for being," she said.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.