Owner/President: Winnie Ma Root Company: O’Neal Electric Service Address: 3073 Merriam Lane Kansas City, KS 66106 Phone: (913) 789 8169 E-mail: Web Site: www.oeskc.com Type of Business: Electrical construction Year Founded: 1996
O’Neal Electric Service (OES) is a full-service electrical construction company. We provide 24-hour electrical and technical services, seven days a week to our commercial, institutional and industrial customers. We offer complete electrical installation, plus control systems design, fabrication and integration, along with voice, data and video services. We have significant experience and expertise in construction, technical service, graphic arts and communications.
Our professionally trained electricians travel around the country and internationally to perform world-class electrical work. Our customer roster includes Fortune 500 companies.
I earned an MBA at Avila University and I have been in the electrical construction industry for nearly five years. Before purchasing OES, I worked at another electrical contracting company as vice president of operations. When the previous owners of OES decided to sell the company, they hired a management consultant to seek a buyer, and contacted several electrical contracting companies, including the one I worked for.
I had always wanted to get back into entrepreneurship. During the dot com boom, I started an Internet company, which turned into a Web development company and then an Internet software development company.
After I met with the staff at OES and evaluated the company’s potential, I decided to purchase the business. The business is financed by my personal savings and banking arrangements.
Personal Wealth My focus right now is to increase the net worth of the company. Revenue had been declining over the past few years before I bought the business, and right before I took over, the company had lost a couple significant accounts. I was determined to turn the business around. I became the sole owner of OES in August of 2004 through an asset purchase, and I am proud that we were able to turn a profit the first year.
Community and Social Wealth OES steadily employs a staff of 50, including electricians, administrative staff and executives. But during the summer months, we increased the staff to 60 to handle the increased workload. We hire union electricians and have the advantage of having access to a readily available and skilled pool of electricians on an as-needed basis.
I am a member of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce and have been involved in organizing various functions. It is my goal to contribute more of my time to help increase the membership size and strengthen this organization. I have received tremendous support from this wonderful group of people. Support Systems I am certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council as a Woman-owned Business Enterprise and by the Kansas Department of Transportation as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. I’m always looking for procurement opportunities. I have found several women’s groups helpful too.
Over the past year, I have met several women in the construction industry with whom I have become good friends. They provide me with the comfort that I’m not alone. My husband, although not involved in my business, has been very supportive and understanding.
It was quite a bold move for me to purchase an existing business, but I am glad that I did. I retained all of the employees and have gained their support and loyalty. Together we have turned a profit within the first year of the business, and it has been a fun experience.
Challenges The first challenge is being a woman in this traditionally Caucasian, male-dominated industry. To try to minimize the effects of the stereotype, I joined two industry-related organizations: the National Electrical Contractors Association and National Association of Women in Construction. I also established relationships with vendors, customers, general contractors and competitors by attending business lunches and setting up meetings. Whenever I can, I attend different networking functions and events to market the company.
Personally, I have a new challenge coming up. My husband and I are expecting our first child. It will be interesting to see how I juggle running a business and taking care of the family.
I was born and raised in Hong Kong. After finishing high school, I tried to figure out how to get into a university to further my education. Back then, there were only two accredited universities in Hong Kong, and competition was fierce to be accepted. My other option was to go abroad. I had relatives in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Switzerland, so those countries would have been logical choices. By chance, while waiting for a friend in the lobby of her office building, I picked up an Ottawa University brochure.
The brochure was impressive, and the campus looked very big to me then! I did some research on the university, discussed the idea with my parents, filled out an application, gathered my paperwork, got accepted, went shopping for winter clothes and left home within a month. Since then, I have embraced new experiences and never looked back.
