Djenaba Johnson-Jones Spills The ‘Best-Kept Secret’ To Get That Coin For Your Company
When Djenaba Johnson-Jones was trying to get Hudson Kitchen, a food business incubator and shared commercial kitchen based in Kearney, New Jersey, off the ground, she never expected that one...
Black News 
When Djenaba Johnson-Jones was trying to get Hudson Kitchen, a food business incubator and shared commercial kitchen based in Kearney, New Jersey, off the ground, she never expected that one of her biggest sources of support would be her local government.
“I had actually worked a corporate job for 15 years and was laid off at the end of 2014, and I was like, I can’t go back.”
At first, Johnson-Jones decided to launch a personal training business that included a healthy meal delivery service, but she couldn’t find a commercial kitchen to make the food.
“At the time, there were six commercial kitchens in the state of New Jersey, so most people were using church kitchens or restaurants after hours,” she says. “And I was like, we’re going to build this thing. I’m going to build something that I can use for my business, and then I can bring it to others.”
Ten years later, Hudson Kitchen is a thriving membership-based commercial kitchen and successful incubator, having taught its Food Business Bootcamp course to more than 300 entrepreneurs, created almost 60 jobs, and generated $9 million in revenue.
But to get here, Johnson-Jones needed help. And she found it in a place that many small business owners overlook.
Johnson-Jones spoke at the recent How I Got Here Small Business Summit and shared how she used public resources, from both her state and local government, to fund and grow her business.
Here are her lessons for other entrepreneurs.
Talk up your business; you never know who’s listening
“I started a survey for my business to find out who’s interested in a shared commercial kitchen, how they would use it, and what they would pay. And when I posted it online, the deputy mayor of Jersey City invited me into the office and said, ‘We’re interested in this business.’ That’s how that got started. She reached out, and I got to go to their office and present my idea of what I wanted to do. From there, they connected me with Rising Tide Capital [a nonprofit that transforms communities through entrepreneurship], and then I just started attending every entrepreneur event that I could possibly attend, wherever it was.”
Make use of your local government connections
“I worked with Hudson County Economic Development and Union County Economic Development to obtain an SBA loan for the business. They really took my business plan, reviewed it, made some updates, and then they made introductions to banks on my behalf.”
Apply for grants like it’s your job
“There’s money, a lot of grant money, available. There’s one specific grant, the Small Business Improvement Grant, that, when I bought desks, chairs, and tables, I was able to get reimbursed for all of that stuff. Navigating the grant process is challenging, but all of these organizations throughout the state do webinars, and they post the application in advance. So I would print the application out, watch the webinar, fill out the application, and then when applications opened, it was on my calendar, and I was sitting at my computer refreshing, and that’s the way I was able to get it.”
Don’t forget about local universities
“I didn’t know anything about opening a shared kitchen. But Rutgers University is here, and I was able to work with them and with Nolan Lewin [executive director of their Food Innovation Center]. He gave me some advice, and they were very helpful.”
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