62-year-old started her business with $1,000—now it brings in over $25 million a year: ‘I just had to do this', the Washington, D.C.-based construction management and design firm behind some of today's most recognizable buildings — from building the Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture to repairing the Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson memorials.
"I remember in college, there were probably three women in my class, and my twin sister was one of them. So it's very rare that women are in this industry, but we're excelling," McKissack says. Lugging an old projector around, she presented slides of work she'd done for family members to help"sell my wares." She placed a job ad in the Washington Post, and hired an employee.
One successful job led to another, and McKissack built a portfolio of work to show prospective clients. She applied for jobs as a federal contractor, getting her foot in the door to work on construction projects at the White House and U.S. Treasury building. Larger federal projects followed. Despite the identical company names, McKissack and her sister do run separate businesses — but they've collaborated on several projects, and often"trade notes" with each other, she says.