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Many business leaders have tales of hardships both great and small, but how do the odds stack up against if you’re a Black woman trying to stand out in a field dominated by men? Necole Parker, founder and CEO of The ELOCEN Group LLC, has eclipsed all the barriers before by crafting a unique blueprint of success after years behind the scenes in the field of construction management.

Black Enterprise profiled Parker and her rise in the world of government contracting, noting that the single mother of one son, Jordan, worked extremely hard to turn ELOCEN into a multi-million dollar company. Launched in 2006, the firm offers a wide range of services including construction management, interior design, real estate support, information technology, logistics and more.

“We’re called the ‘tenant rep’ on behalf of the government,” Parker said to Black Enterprise. “We manage all of the trades on the interior side from start to finish.”

Parker’s path to becoming a business owner was a carefully planned move, and she started ELOCEN in her parent’s basement while she was living there. Using resources made available for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) nine-year 8(a) Business Development program, she learned the proper steps to grow her business. In just four years, Parker was able to quit her part-time day job and compete for valuable federal government contracts. In 2010 alone, the company earned 9.7 million based on a couple of key deals.

A quick look at ELOCEN’s web page lists a number of the project management firm’s exceptional achievements, including a marketing line that states the group has worked on or oversaw 35-plus projects totaling 45 million square feet. The growth of the company has captured the attention of the business world, with Parker winning “2012 Woman Contractor of the Year” from American Express OPEN for the Victory in Procurement (VIP) award series.

A noted speaker and lecturer, Parker spreads the gospel of entrepreneurship for women in various venues around the country. She also leads workshops, delivers keynote addresses and sits on panel discussions regarding business.

Based in Washington in a thriving section of town, ELOCEN hauled in $6 million in 2012 in revenue and Parker expects that figure to rise in 2013 after expanding her market to the Southeast region of the states and commercial contracts.

The ELOCEN Group’s Necole Parker: A Major Player In Business  was originally published on newsone.com