On When Katherine K. O'Neil, president of KKO, started her business in 1984 at home, she relied on her professional training and technical background to earn a foothold in the industry of transportation planning and analysis. Once this reputation was established, she found that the excellent past performance of her business and continued competence keeps the work rolling in. These certifications in 23 different states allow KKO to participate fully in contracts that have DBE and WBE requirements. Working with larger companies in a prime-subcontractor role has been of significant importance in advancing KKO's business.
Many contracts contain the small business stipulation that encourages primes to form partnerships.
This has meant a lot for our business. A strong partnership with larger companies also reduces marketing expense, always a concern for small businesses. KKO's marketing dollars are spent on high visibility, high payoff efforts such as a quarterly newsletter, the KKO Newsline, distributed to both clients and employees. Although they work with all modes of surface transportation, their focus is in the steel wheel or rail industries. They have worked on projects nationwide from Florida to Alaska, New England to Southern California.