Stacey Magovern Featured Champion

Taking point with Stacey Magovern

“However, I believed in this idea and I believed in myself, so I never gave up.”

What is your story?

I ’m a small-town girl, born and raised in Abilene, Texas. My story is really all about believing in yourself and never giving up. Everyone in my family-owned retail clothing stores so I grew up thinking that was my destiny. However, going to college was not a choice it was mandatory.

After earning my BA in Communications, I bought my first retail clothing store Chantilly Lace a lingerie store in my home town. After running my store for a few years, I realized I could never compete with the lingerie store chain that opened in every shopping mall across the country. I learned many things during my time as a store owner, the foremost being I hate retail. Yes, the career choice of my parents, my grandparent and my aunt and uncle just weren’t for me.

It was soon after I was contacted by a recruiter and introduced to outside sales. This was a huge game changer for me. I spent many years with a cellular company as an outside sales person. I won many awards and set several unsurpassed sales records. I was continuously told if I was that successful in Abilene, Texas what could I do in a bigger market. This really stuck with me as I always wanting to get back into business for myself.

In 2005 I met and later married the love of my life Michael Magovern, a police officer. We moved to DFW not knowing what my next adventure would be. Becoming a police wife was eye opening. I learned that these amazing people that put their lives on the line every day in many departments are paid very little. They rely on off duty work to make ends meet and some make more working off duty than they do in their department. I watched my husband work off duty jobs like traffic control and security with no guarantee of work and very random opportunities.

A market place for off duty work for police officers. A place where officers can schedule their off-duty work and know exactly how much additional income they would have each month. This became my next big idea and I dream big. It made perfect sense. My husband had all the police contacts, and with my sales experience I could get the clients. I did it. I started a company, Point Blank Safety Services. I formed an LLC, purchased a website and created a business card. Now What?

Well, I spent the next two years, while working a full-time job, raising two boys, running a household reaching out to construction companies that use police officers for safety on highway construction projects. Keep in mind this was a very slippery slope because you can’t really get a contract until you have a staff of police officers and you can’t really get police officers until you have work.

However, I believed in this idea and I believed in myself, so I never gave up.

Those two years were very difficult, but I knew it wouldn’t be that hard forever. Two years in: I will never forget what happened next. It was a normal morning in August 2014. I was getting ready for work and the doorbell rang. It was FedEx with a package for Point Blank Safety. Remember at this point my company didn’t get packages. I opened it to find a 1.5-million-dollar contract to use Point Blank Safety police officers for traffic control on the 35E managed lane project in Dallas. I did it! I believed I could, and I did.

The next few weeks are really a blur. There is a saying be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. That was so true in this case because they wanted us to start work in two weeks. Well with allot of prayer and support from family and friends we were able to make it happen. This wasn’t just life-changing for my family, but also for all the officers we were now able to provide steady off duty work.

Since 2014 Michael and I have been able to grow our company to a level of success I could have never imagined. We now have a pool of 200 officers that work multiple projects all over Texas. Due to all our success in 2017 Michael and I decided we wanted to do more or pay it forward. We founded Blue Family Fund, Inc. a self-funded 501c3 nonprofit that provides scholarships for dependents of first responders and financial aid to families of fallen or injured officers.

How did you become a Badass?Don't be humble unleash!

My Mom was the original badass.

She ran 5 retail clothing stores for 44 years in Abilene Texas. I can remember wrapping gifts in the backroom as young as 8 years old. She taught me work ethic, commitment and that you are the only person that can change your life. She was very successful and an Abilene icon. With my entrepreneur mindset,I went to my mom with many business ideas over the years and she was ALWAYS supportive, positive and confident I could do it. This encouragement is the reason I have my never give up inner drive.

What has been your greatest failure?

I have tried many businesses over the years, and they weren’t successful. However, I don’t see them as failures. I learned from every mistake and every business that didn’t make it. I also believe life is a lot about timing. I run Point Blank Safety completely different than I did my other business because I learned what not to do. If you learned from it then it’s not a failure.

What are your likes and dislikes around common things?

I love all things Texas. I like summer, hanging by our pool or our lake house, cheese, potatoes, dogs, work, making money, giving back, shopping, country music and Coors Light. I dislike winter, snow, cleaning, negative people, traffic, laundry and filling my car with gas.

What motivates you to keep moving forward when you face an obstacle?

My biggest motivation is knowing we have 200 police officers that rely on Point Blank Safety for off duty work. I am also motivated by the fact that I like nice things. My Mom always said money won’t make you happy, but the lack of money will make you miserable.

What do you do for fun?

In the summer I spend all my free time either in our pool or at our lake house. In the winter I spend my free time at the casino.

What do you do and how can you potentially help another person in the group?

I am great at connecting people. If there is a client you are trying to contact or business connection you are seeking - reach out to me. I would love to help. I also have over 20 years business-to-business sales experience if you are struggling with sales, I can help.

How did you start your business?

I started my business because I wanted a life where I didn’t have to worry about being able to pay the bills. I spent many years where there were more bills than money.

The amazing thing is how much more fun life is when bills don’t matter.

What obstacles have you had to overcome?

Our biggest obstacle was when we started reading that 1.5-million-dollar contract and realized it required 5 million dollars in insurance. That level of insurance is almost $15,000. Some people would have just given up at that point. I didn’t give up; I wasn’t going to let $15,000 stop me from changing so many lives. I sold everything we owned and borrowed from credit cards and made it happen.

What would you do differently when it comes to how you have moved forward with your business?

The only thing I would have done different in my business is, I should have switched from an LLC to a corporation much sooner.

What is your succession plan?

I’m not thinking about a succession plan yet I’m having too much fun. I love what we do, and I love working.

What is your favorite money growth tip?

Cashback credit cards! It is FREE money. Of course, this is only if you can pay the balance in full every month. Last year I made $2680 in cashback on my credit card just by using it to pay my regular bills for my business.

What is your true WHY for starting your endeavor?

My why is freedom. What are you going to do when the shit hits the fan? Our business continues to grow year over year. We continue to evolve and expand offerings to ensure stability. We recently added Active Shooter Response Training to our product offerings.

What is your 10-year vision for your business and life?

In 10 years, I hope our nonprofit Blue Family Fund is well known, thriving and able to help every family in need. As for Point Blank Safety Services, my vision is continued growth and expansion into more markets. I would love to be the “go to” brand for all thing’s safety related.