CJSeto Support Services, LLC (CJS) thrived under the auspices of the 8(a) program and continues to thrive after graduation.  Managing Director Chet Seto owes this continued success partly to a strategic shift from generating revenue based on a company profile to narrowing the company focus to areas with the strongest growth potential and where a successful track record of quality performance was evolving, as well as all of the help he received over the years from the U.S. Small Business Administration Los Angeles District Office and its resource partners.

“Since graduating the 8(a) program in 2013, we have won nine contracts worth a total value of $27 Million, and added 65 positions to the company,” said Seto.  CJS added three branch offices as medium and long term contracts supported the costs of expansion and commensurate increase in personnel.  “We have also leveraged our teaming arrangements to reduce the risk of overcommitting resources to expansion that is not warranted due to small numbers of personnel or delayed funding of a contract,” said Seto.  Since 2011, CJS has added 3,500 square feet of office space and is developing a national presence.

One of the more enjoyable services CJS provides is conducting chemical inventories for the Veteran’s Administration.  A small team of experience CJS employees have conducted this work across the entire country.  This work does not come without its challenges, however, as managing blended teams of experienced staff and casual workers drawn from the local area makes it challenging to ensure the integrity of the data that the collection process yields so accurate results can be vetted and merged with a national database.

In 1999, Chet Seto formed CJSeto Support Services, to provide assistance to public and private companies in the areas of environmental compliance, information technology, health and safety training, safety assessment, chemical inventories, and engineering services support. He is a first generation Chinese immigrant with more than 30 years of environmental, operations, program and project management experience, responsible for corporate management, strategy, business development, and technical quality assurance of all product and services. He attended and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor Degree in Oceanography and served in the Navy as a Naval Aviator flying the P-3 Orion aircraft. He recently retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Capt. with 30 years of combined active and reserve service to the country.

After rejoining the civilian workforce, Seto worked for a major defense contractor holding many roles including that of a Systems Safety/Nuclear Surety Engineer on an Air Force MX Missile Launch Vehicle project, a Total Quality Management Consultant on a Navy Engineering facility, a program manager for a classified DARPA program overseeing the research over 2- educational institutions throughout the country and as a test planner and test director for the Defense Contracts Management Organization (DCMO) as an Electronics Engineer where he acquired his government contracting experience.  He was then hired by the County of Ventura as their Hazardous Materials Manager responsible for the management and disposal of hazardous waste for the County as well as over 65 other public agencies throughout Southern California.

In 2015, Seto won the U.S. Small Business Administration Los Angeles District Office 8(a) Graduate of the Year award.