We had the good fortune of connecting with DonYae James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DonYae, what is the most important factor behind your success?
One of my most important factors behind my success is continuing education and my drive determination and persistence to be one of the largest women owned construction firms in the world. That might be 4 factors but it all goes hand and hand in my eyes.

Operating in a male dominated industry like construction can be very rewarding but can also have its challenges. There’s no cheat code, you have to know what you’re doing. To this day I continue to research, attend all seminars work shops and networking events. I over educate my self for any unforeseen challenges that this field may render.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The name of my business is International Construction Solutions ltd. ICS is a full service construction company that service city, state, and federal organizations as well as corporations in the private sector. I started ICS 10 years ago as a commercial janitorial company and later grew to offer construction, landscaping and snow removal service’s. We strive to serve our market by providing all year maintenance and high quality services that is cost-effective.

I am most proud of the reputation I’ve built for ICS. We are known for quality work, competitive pricing for our clients as well as building up our staff. We are always pushing our staff towards their personal goals and implementing strategies to help them achieve what ever they set their mind too. Our goal is to help our employees achieve owning real estate, improving credit and promoting them in the company.

To get to where I’m at now took a lot of hard work, long hours and dedication! Through this process one thing I never did was give up or ever accept defeat. I take pride in my work, I stand behind the quality of every project and never leave a site until I confirm that our client is 100 % satisfied, even if that means taking a loss on a project. I have never left a project incomplete.

Some lessons I’ve learned along the way is the importance of effectively communicating with everyone, to not look at failure as defeat but as a stepping stone and also never underestimate the power of networking!

I want the world to know if I can do it, you can do it too! I know it sounds cliche but please remember hard work beats talent any day!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Cleveland is fun and full of diversity! Some places I would take them would be Pine Crest located in Beachwood Ohio and Downtown Cleveland. Both of these places are full of retail shops, restaurants and lots of entertainment.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shoutout to two people and organizations. The first is Brian Hall and The Presidents Council Business Chamber. This chamber was the first organization I joined when I started my business. They have provided so many resources that was crucial to entrepreneurs. They provided mentoring programs, networking opportunities, access to capital and business development. This chamber is one of the best organizations I’ve joined thus far.

The next person and organization is Ronda Barber at OhioMBE. She owns Ohio’s largest Black-owned business newspaper. I just met her recently and learned more about her business. She provides a gateway for businesses owners looking to get into government contracting.

Website: www.icscleanup.com

Instagram: ics_cleanup

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