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Name: Stephanie L. Elder, Carla S. Mowery
Business: Gallant Background Checks
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Industry: Professional Services
Reason for starting? We wanted to provide a service that was truly for the client’s needs. We started in a recession when organizations were needing background checks but they didn’t have the funds prior to the recession and were not getting quality checks. We wanted to give them a comprehensive but cost effective search so they could sleep at night knowing they were getting a good service and shielding their organization.
We like that we can make a difference with our client’s wellbeing which includes their employees, patrons, clients, congregation and safety of their organization. We give old fashioned customer service and believe the customer’s needs come first. Our clients are a part of our Gallant family and a part of our team; a team where we work together and know our client’s needs and have a personal relationship with them.
Related: Read about another female entrepreneur working to make people safe here.
How do you define success? Being able to sleep at night knowing that we provided the best service to shield our clients and having a team that believes in our values and wants only the best for our clients and for Gallant. Being able to give back to our community and Indian Country.
Biggest success: Having 100% client retention rate and having our peers look up to us with respect.
What is your top challenge and how you have addressed it? Capital to grow to the next levels especially in the beginning. The SBC with the tribe has been an important part of helping us grow and giving us opportunities.
Related: Being an Immigrant and a Woman: Double Advantage or Double Disadvantage
Who is your most important role model? Pamela Huddleston Bickford who picked us to be our mentor and her companies (Cherokee Data Solution) 7th protégé’ company. We listened to every nugget of information and executed with determination everything she said to do. We wanted to make her proud she chose us to be her 7th protégé’ company. We lost Pamela in March of 2016 succumbing to a battle of cancer of 2 years. She kept up with us to the very last day of being here on earth. To this day we ask ourselves what advice would Pam give us.
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Twitter @gallantchecks
Facebook www.facebook.com/GallantBackgroundChecks/[/box_light]
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Edited by The Story Exchange