A Failed Business Partnership Didn’t Deter Wife From Making Husband Her Business Partner

Charlotte, NC -- While many people’s dreams for owning their own business are dashed by friction with a partner, that didn’t deter Saba Kennedy Washington from trying again with her husband Jerome. While some couples say "I married you for better or worse, but not for lunch," the Washingtons discovered together they could be a winning combination as partners in business and in life.

Jesa, the name created by combining the first two letters in Jerome and Saba, is also the name of their seven-year old daughter and inspiration for the business. One of 111 companies profiled in the newly-released book, The Entrepreneurial Parent: How to Earn Your Living at Home and Still Enjoy Your Family, Your Work, and Your Life (Putnam/Tarcher, 2002), Jesa Promotions -- and the parents behind this business -- are prime examples of what the authors call "EPs" (Entrepreneurial Parents), an emerging workforce trend that is 12.6 million strong.

"Having to choose between work and family in the high-powered corporate world became too stressful and we knew we had to find a different solution if we wanted to keep our family together," explains Saba, who resigned from her job at a downtown Mahattan-based global securities firm in 1997. The search began for a way to generate income while being available to their child. A year later, Washington recalls, "I was packing up my promotions and marketing briefcase and left Wall Street behind. Armed with contracts and a business partner (Greg), we named our company Superb Promotions, which was strictly a promotional product company. Within the first year, my partner Greg and I had generated sales of $100,000!"

Unfortunately, differences caused that partnership to be dissolved. Seeing the opportunity in the business, Jerome, who has a strong sales and marketing background too, decided to join forces and fund his wife on a pending project. With that move, Jesa Promotions was born and the project was produced without a hitch. "Working together in business has been a blessing in that it allows the family to come together for a common cause. To watch the labor of your hands grow every year, and for the children to see the relationship between work and money, is a true life lesson," says Saba. As transitioning EP’s, the 4 year old business has been both full and part-time endeavors (depending on career opportunities). For the Washingtons, Jesa Promotions has been empowering financially and spiritually.