Jeanne Johnson Sells Server Centric To Start Her Next Venture

When the World Trade Center was attacked in 2001, life changed for millions of Americans. For Jeanne Johnson, she had a realization that led to a new business and unprecedented success. Now, eight years later, she’s sold Server Centric Consulting and is using her success to start her next venture.

“Right after the attack on the World Trade Center, I saw that people would rather work at a job where they would be at home more, even if they were earning less,” says Jeanne. “I wanted to develop software that would allow for the secure remote access of any server, at any time, on any feed.”

After the company she worked for at the time decided to not pursue the endeavor, Jeanne decided the idea was worth going after on her own. “I sold my home and used the proceeds to open the company with another investor,” she says. “I believed it would be huge and the company I worked for at the time didn’t think it would be so I knew I had to try it for myself.”

Sever Centric opened in October of 2002. By 2003, they earned $1 million. It was then that they started doing remote access for Fortune 500 companies, like Energizer, Emerson and H&R Block. Last year, they landed the pandemic plan for the Department of Homeland Security, and were then nominated for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. “It was at that point that everything hit a high,” says Jeanne. “We knew that to keep growing, we would need another layer of support, management and expansion that required a big influx of capital.” That’s when she decided to sell the business.

“I work from home because that’s what I sell,” says Jeanne. “Every day I worked, I rarely put my shoes on—that’s the way America will be soon.” Now, Jeanne has structured the sale so that her company’s engineers will continue on with World Wide Technology, Inc. as she launches her next business venture. Jeanne explains that when she sold her business, she had to share all her existing business ideas so that the purchasing organization could offer to buy them. “I started 11 new companies right before I sold,” she says. “Motorcycle companies, a concierge business, an online bill pay company, a mentoring program for girls—I have a bunch of stuff going on.” It’s that creativity and optimism that’s taken Jeanne this far. “You have to have optimism out here—it’s the small business owners who will pull this country out,” she says. “I’ll carry some on my back if someone else will carry some on theirs.”