JH

Jereshia Hawk (right). PHOTO: Jereshia Hawk

Leading hundred million-dollar projects as a transmission pipeline engineer for a Fortune 500 company in Consumers Energy did not cut it for Jereshia Hawk. Helping to provide natural gas and electricity to over 6 million people every day was not enough. She wanted more for herself and for the brands of other women.
“I was fortunate enough to be exposed to some of these larger-scale pipeline projects,” said Hawk, who has a degree in Civil Engineering from Western Michigan University. ”That exposed me to how these billion-dollar companies ran, how they dealt with business acumen and financial acumen, and I wanted to expose other people who look like me to that type of access.”
“I got pretty frustrated by the lack of representation of what I saw of women of color in higher-level leadership roles. That’s what really got me to start my own business while I was still working my 9-5 at Consumer’s Energy.”
While still maintaining an everyday job, Hawk founded Goal Getter Group in 2016, which is a monthly membership group to help members develop and grow their service-based businesses and generate income. Within a year and a half of Goal Getter Group’s inception, Hawk was able to quit her job, more than double her salary, and most importantly, help others build six-figure businesses online.
“I understand that there would be short-term sacrifices that I had to put into place for the long-term gain,” said Hawk, when she began to venture away from the corporate world. “I used to wake up 2-3 hours before I went to work because at the time of me starting my new business, I was also planning on going to grad school. Studying, responding to emails for my business, and driving and hour to job sites was a lot but I knew I was called to contribute in a way that I was not able to do in my 9-5 job.”

Her business has grown at a rate she did not expect it to but the leap of faith she took was well worth it. The income she is bringing in for herself and others is even better.
“We have a really big mission to increase the representation of women in higher-level leadership roles, particularly those women of color, teaching them how to build profitable businesses that are sustainable and consistent with their income goals,” said Hawk. “Every launch that we’ve done, we have doubled the revenue and doubled the profit on it since we started. We just hit over the six-figure mark and we’re scratching the edge of year two. It’s happened pretty quickly for us.”
Hawk will be the keynote speaker for the S.W.A.G. Awards (Students Wired for Achievement and Greatness) college scholarship program May 24 at the Detroit Athletic Club. S.W.A.G Awards’ winning recipients will be recognized and receive a scholarship grant in the spring of 2018. Hawk is a perfect example of black representation the younger generation needs to see, and her story will inspire others on their own journey to success.
“I think representation matters,” Hawk said. “Growing up as a kid, the media images shape so much of what we believe is possible for ourselves. Sometimes, we don’t have the belief that we’re able to do something but when we’re able to borrow or leverage somebody else’s confidence, we can begin to own that and step into that space. All it takes is to see people who look like us and have seen success at a high level.”