Glenda Jones Johnson
CEO
Ascension Business Capital LLC
Glenda Jones Johnson is passionate about helping small business owners obtain capital to run and grow their business and also educating those who need assistance to become bankable – read lendable – by providing tools, tips and strategies.
She’s the founder of two businesses herself:
- • Ascension Business Capital, a national commercial lending firm providing capital to small organizations and massive corporations to fund their unique business needs and meet their monetary objectives; and
- • JumpstartingU, a consulting firm helping people start-up or start-over in business, career or life.
“Glenda’s career spans 32 years in banking, finance and commercial lending for global financial institutions such as JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, BBVA Compass, the Small Business Administration and other alternative lending institutions,” says Alex Fichera, who nominated her.
She uses her vast experience to not only provide capital for businesses, but to also coach owners on helping their company thrive financially, Fichera said.
Johnson is an ordained Elder, serving in various areas of ministry at The Potter’s House Church of Dallas for more than 10 years, and serves as an Instructor in the Potter’s House School Of Ministry.
– Paul K. Harral
What advice would you give young women rising to a position of prominence?
Become invaluable. Everyone is replaceable, but if you’re the kind of employee (or even the employer) who becomes invaluable, your presence will be appreciated, but more importantly, your absence will be felt. Smart management will find ways to keep and reward you.
You could choose to spend your time many ways; why do you choose to spend it the way you do?
I love everything about small business and small business owners. Small business is the engine that moves the American economy. Small business owners” are the most creative, innovative and resourceful players in our country. I love financing their ideas and dreams, which, in turn funds employment, manufacturing, distribution, trade, retail, medicine and everything connected to a consumer. I feel blessed to support them.
And the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. are women, with minority women taking the lead. That is remarkable. And I’m thrilled to be counted in those ranks.
Who is the most significant role model and/or mentor in your life?
It sounds cliché, but my father and mother, Earnest and Myrtle Jones. They were born in the early 1920’s, and lived through the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Era, and the beginning of the Millennium. I’ve learned so much about what it takes to be successful in one’s life on your own terms. My father could be considered a pragmatist, and my mother could be considered an empath. Drawing from the best of who they are, I’ve learned that I can dream big, love people and keep my feet planted firmly on terra firma all at the same time.
What book, movie, TV series or play influenced you growing up? Why?
My all-time favorite movie is It’s a Wonderful Life. As a pre-teen and teenager growing up in Little Rock, on Christmas Eve I’d help my mother late into the night with cooking, wrapping gifts and decorating. I was reminded that every person’s life is important, because our presence makes a difference in someone else’s life. That is why I love to serve in my community and in my church.
What would you like for us to know that we might not know to ask?
I am the youngest of 10 children, raised by blue collar parents. I do have some college experience, but I do not have a college degree. And yet, I out-paced many of my peers, operated in management of sizeable teams, won awards, created great career relationships, developed a loyal client following, and launched my own successful business – all without a degree in my field. Once you realize that you are the catalyst to your own success, you can achieve anything.