Teamwork and counting on your team members seem like themes of any good success story. It’s bread and butter. Pitch and catch. Pick and roll.
But if you talk to a military veteran, someone like business owner Tamiko Bailey, the concept of teamwork isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s the difference between life and death, between keeping people safe and being that reliable, trusted partner needed to reach a goal.
Bailey had a great idea for a business, and today Bailey’s Premier Services provides aviation maintenance and parts, logistics and facilities support, as well as base operations management that assists servicemen and women.
Tamiko Bailey and Bailey’s Premier Services have been honored for their work with veterans, as well as their community involvement. Bailey was recognized by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as the National Small Business Person of the Year for Texas in 2024.
But running a small business is a difficult mission. Once you get beyond the great idea, then what happens? Because grit can definitely take you a long way, but it can only take you so far.
And there was some turbulence in her business’ climb. Maybe more turbulence than might be apparent to someone just seeing the results of the company’s efforts.
If I didn’t humble myself, if you will, and reach out and share my financials and have the conversation with Julie, I probably would be somewhere pulling my hair out.
Bailey’s Beginnings
“I fell in love with aviation,” Bailey said. During her time in the Air Force, in addition to maintaining aircraft operations and getting to experience the excitement and teamwork that makes aviation possible, she also had a chance to see opportunity.
“After I left, I was working in the corporate world, fun projects – working on jets and helicopters, contract management and negotiations,” she added. “And I just felt like this was something I could do, but I didn’t really know if I could afford to do it.”
In 2010, she bet on her own knowledge and skills and founded Bailey’s Premier Services.
“Raising capital was a challenge, just proving to people that I could actually launch an aircraft maintenance type business was difficult. I had to prove that Bailey’s was capable of doing the work.”
And there were a lot of closed doors, even from financial service providers, despite the fact that her business was established and already making a difference in the community.
“Sometimes, we find that competitor banks don’t pay attention to companies the size of Bailey’s,” said Trent Kimball, Regions SBA Banker in Fort Worth. “That was definitely the case for them.”
Regions and Bailey’s
As a bank relatively new to the Fort Worth area, Regions was not necessarily on Bailey’s radar at first. But she’d not had much luck getting help from other lenders.
But in 2024, Julie Cottongame, Regions Commercial Relationship Manager, saw an article highlighting the work and growth of Bailey’s Premier Services and reached out to introduce herself.
“Oh my, she was so fun! She has so much energy,” said Cottongame. “And we knew right away that for us to be successful, we needed to understand her business and bring in our specialists early on.”
There’s just something about Tamiko that is different. She has so much passion for what she does. My ultimate goal was just to be part of her story because you know she is going to do something outstanding.
“Julie, Trent, the whole Regions team – they really spent a lot of time trying to learn my business. What we did, how we did it, when we got paid, when we would need to make payroll,” Bailey said. “Just being able to call them up while I’m trying to catch a flight and say ‘Hey, we have payroll!’ and they’re like, ‘I got you.’ It’s easy. I’m not stressed out. I can run my business and can grow.”
Cottongame learned that Bailey had experience using resources from the Small Business Administration. So, she engaged Kimble, a Regions SBA specialist, early on.
“It was great for him to be involved in the very beginning so he could understand what her goals were, where she saw herself in the next two years and how we could help her get there,” she said.
In just a few years, Bailey has built a company that employs 160 people, many of them veterans, that has operations in 11 states and the United Kingdom. Now with the right team beside her, she has been able to access more capital to take off for her next steps – expanding her business and growing.
“And I will tell you she’s going to have a completely different business in the next two years. I’m just privileged that I was a part of her story,” Cottongame said.
Tamiko Bailey, a U.S. Air Force service-disabled veteran, is the President and CEO of Bailey’s Premier Services. The company provides aircraft maintenance as a defense contractor.
