Jennifer Kayden’s life has transformed from dire just a few years ago to more than hopeful today.
In 2007, Kayden was a single mom of three about to lose her home, not knowing where she and her kids would sleep next. Today, she’s president of an electrical contracting company.
Kayden, 41, heads Mundy Township-based IAM Unlimited, which she and longtime friend Sandra Aulbrook, 42, formed in fall 2008.
It was that friendship with Aulbrook of Lapeer Township – whom she met years ago through church – that has helped to guide Kayden through her darkest hours.
“Sandy and her husband were there at the worst time in my life,” Kayden said, tearing up as she sat in a floor-to-ceiling windowed conference room overlooking busy Interstate 75.
The transition from stay-at-home mom to boss hasn’t been easy for Kayden or her children. Kayden’s life changed around 2004 when her marriage came to an end.
Jobless and with three other people to feed, Kayden was able to land work with Aulbrook’s help.
“I became a floral designer when I never touched a flower in my life,” she said.
But making $9.25 an hour had its challenges as the bills piled up and her old house needed work. It was 2007, and Kayden was facing foreclosure.
Kayden’s late grandfather, Robert Morgan, had served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and that qualified her to apply [at the VFW National Home for Children in Onondaga Township]. Kayden was accepted to live at the home with her three children – two daughters, now 20 and 14, and a son, 12 – just before she had to be out of her house in Garden City.
Soon, Kayden will be leaving the home and branching out on her own.
Kayden now is heading the company, which aims to create safer and greener companies. IAM Unlimited can help businesses with safety measures to get them up to code and can design safety programs for new businesses, she said.
Screenshot from IAM Unlimited