The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Jeremy Harris, owner of IT Mindshare, as the SBA West Virginia 2018 Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year. Harris was nominated by Jesse Bumps from Clear Mountain Bank and Todd Crump, a business coach for the West Virginia Small Business Development Center.
IT Mindshare is a Morgantown-based technology company specializing in responsive local and regional IT services, including core onsite Information Technology, phone & voice services, data cabling & relocation, strategic consulting, and web design services. Their IT consulting services help commercial, government and non-profit organizations formulate a scalable, cost-effective, and efficient technology strategy.
Jeremy Harris’ time in the U.S. Army was spent working with technology and analytics in remote parts of the world as a part of a very small team. It helped ingrain a mindset of “this must be done,” knowing that there often wasn’t a backup plan and people were depending on him to be successful and carry out his mission.
“This same mindset is often needed as a business owner, knowing that employees and clients are counting on you and you have to perform,” Harris explained in a recent interview. “Our people, processes and company culture are the separating factor between IT Mindshare and other area IT firms. We have invested a great deal of strategic thinking, time and money to achieve a company culture that attracts the best talent and rewards them for being team players and treating customers well. Our processes ensure that we are able to perform excellently while meeting budget and timeline requirements. We are fully aware that with great people we can provide great service to our clients and that is the core of our decision making process at IT Mindshare.”
The SBA West Virginia 2018 Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year award honors one veteran-owned and operated business that has sustained growth and thrived in all aspects of business including sales, employee growth, expansion in service area, financial performance, and innovation in product offerings, among other variables. Since 2015, IT Mindshare has almost doubled in every way; from employees, clients, gross revenue and office space.
“We currently have thirteen awesome employees and have open career postings to keep up with our growth,” says Harris. “But we’re very selective. Our employees have to align with our company culture or we don’t hire them. We have a saying that we picked up from Patrick Lencioni, a well-known business author, and that is that our employees have to be ‘humble, hungry and smart.’ In short, they have to think of others, be willing to work hard, and have the technical skills and professional skills to do a great job. We have a very open format at IT Mindshare and suggestions for improvement are welcomed from any team member. It’s truly a great place to work and build a career.”
Because innovation is of paramount importance in the IT field, Harris and his team are constantly evolving the organization in order to stay at the forefront of technology and the services they offer clients. Currently, they are completing HIPAA compliance certification which will make IT Mindshare one—if not the only—HIPAA compliant certified IT company in the region. “We already offer a great security solution to clients and soon we will be able to remove the intimidation and mystery surrounding HIPAA and guide them through the compliance process as well,” explains Harris.
When asked about what this award means to him and his team, Harris said:
“IT Mindshare is truly honored to be recognized for this award from the SBA. I believe that this award is a testament to our awesome employees that work so hard to build trust and loyalty with each other and with our clients. We feel very fortunate to have the support of the SBA and our clients to enable us to do great work. A special thank you to Todd Crump at the WV SBDC for his business coaching, nomination and assistance with this entire process.
We’re proud to be in Morgantown where we can continue to grow and serve clients in the local region. I honestly can’t say ‘thank you’ enough to my wife for going on this journey with me, for our team that continues to work hard to deliver for our clients and better themselves, the families of our team for supporting them and their career, our partners like Jesse Bumps at Clear Mountain Bank who have come through for us on several occasions, and finally, to our clients who place a great deal of trust in us to handle a very important and sensitive part of their business. Sincerely, a great big thank you!”
More information about IT Mindshare and their services is available over the phone at 304-658-7600 and online at www.itmindshare.com.