Jim Norwood - A3 Missions
“If We Didn’t Have theClubhou.se, I’m Not Sure What We Would Do’
Low overhead and high-quality employees. This is how Jim Norwood describes the formula for success for his cybersecurity business, A3 Missions, which saw 40% growth just last year.
theClubhou.se is the common ingredient for both.
Affordable resources, including professional workspaces for entrepreneurs when they are just starting out, can make or break a business. “If you’re a small company, you want to reduce your overhead costs,” says Norwood. “If you have low overhead costs, you can typically pay employees a really good wage. And if you can deliver high-quality people and pay them really well, that’s a plus in this business. It’s very competitive, and it comes down to the quality of people you can provide and retain.
“theClubhou.se gives us a very affordable location and great services when we need a brick-and-mortar location to meet with potential clients or as a company.”
In 2015, when his remote employer, a cyber firm, began to hint at layoffs, Norwood and two other partners began to work on the clearances and certifications to open A3 Missions in Augusta. They began to officially operate the company in January 2017, joined theClubhou.se that March and landed their first client two months later.
A3 Missions now serves clients across the U.S., in Europe and in Southeast Asia, but theClubhou.se is still where Norwood and his partners hold client meetings as well as company strategizing sessions, using the facility’s large conference rooms. Employee interviews and onboarding take place there as well, and several employees have utilized theClubhou.se’s Code Boot Camp to amp up their skills.
He and his partners always knew that they wanted to partner with theClubhou.se, says Norwood: “As we were starting up our company, Army Cyber was coming in and the governor was talking about building the Georgia Cyber Center. We wanted to support the innovative aspects of what theClubhou.se brought to Augusta, so we said we really need to be involved in this local company—it just makes sense.”
And, at the end of the day, every business is a people business, he adds. “You can work remotely—you can do everything remotely that you want to—but there’s no substitute for getting together physically with your partners or with companies that you want to partner with. theClubhou.se allows us to do that through a location that’s accessible, affordable and hospitable.”
Jim Norwood and Jeff Williams of A3 Missions, members since 2017