Renee Johnson

Founder uses extensive technical experience in successful design business

Working with small businesses to assess and meet their technical needs is proving to be a fulfilling post-retirement career for Marla “Renee” Johnson.

After 38 years as an electronics technician and manager for the Navy and Federal Aviation Administration, Johnson performs website design and related tasks for small businesses in the San Jose area.

“I do a lot of work for people who are just starting a business,” Johnson said. “I like to work with businesses that are small. Many of them are operated by a sole provider, and others have about four or five employees.”

That arrangement is familiar to Johnson: She has operated Renee J Designs in San Jose for almost eight years, and she’s the company’s lone employee.

Johnson is a member of the board of the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley, which she joined several years ago, in part because it provides a connection with the LGBT community. She also is a member of an LGBTQ Rotary Club.

“When I was with the Navy, I had to kind of stay in the closet because, until President Clinton ended it in 1985, a gay person could not have a security clearance,” she said. “When I went from the Navy to the FAA, they were much more welcoming.

“The Rainbow Chamber was my way of being a part of the LGBT community. I’m now giving back to a community that I had been required to say I was not part of.”

As the sole proprietor of Renee J Designs, Johnson finds herself working from 15 to 60 hours a week to meet the specific needs of each client at the lowest cost possible.

“I mostly do website design, but I also can provide site maintenance, video editing, copyediting, branding and photography,” Johnson said. “I give them a very honest estimate of the cost of the services. I can maintain the company’s website, for instance, but most of them cannot afford that.”

A native of Hawaii, she lived in San Diego, Memphis, Tennessee, and other locations where her stepfather was stationed with the Navy. After that, she served as a flight simulator technician before becoming a tech representative for Navy aircraft and helping sailors prepare for promotion exams. She moved to the FAA as a communications, radar, computer and navigation technician and later became a manager.

Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in web development while working as a technical operations manager for the FAA, then retired three months later and founded Renee J Designs.

“I get a lot of satisfaction from working with the owners of small businesses,” she said. “I set up a website and provide education on how to use it. I’m trying to make it as easy as possible for them because I know how hard it is to be a small-business owner with all the things that requires.”