Pierre Williams, has always embraced the challenge of facing and beating the odds – from his childhood in a crime-laden neighborhood in Los Angeles, California to making his mark during more than a decade of service in the U.S. Army – half of that time as a member of the Special Operations community.
But his focus has long remained on forming his own business and achieving success – something which he says many of his peers, sadly, could never dream was possible.
After leaving the armed forces, Williams joined a local union in 2007 and became a plumber apprentice. Challenges with PTSD and TBI resulting from his time in the service forced him to step away after 15 months and explore other options including college. In late 2009, he became the director of security for the matriarch of the Jackson family, Katherine Jackson – a position he held for four years.
But he wanted more – he wanted to build his own company.
In 2016, with less than $20,000, he and his brother teamed up to begin a union plumbing company, taking advantage of skills Williams had secured a decade earlier. By 2017, the business had grown and increased its estimated annual revenue to nearly $2.1 million dollars, establishing itself as possibly the only Black-owned, disabled veteran union plumbing company with multiple designations in the state of California that is currently taking on new commercial construction projects.
Williams continued to look for other opportunities. So, during the pandemic, he decided to take on a totally different venture which resulted in his founding Seale Gadsby Publishing where he currently serves as president.
Did he make the right move? Consider that his publishing company recently published the English version of the memoirs of former German president Christian Wulff in a book titled, “All The Way Up, All The Way Down.”
In the book, Wulff, the youngest president in Germany’s history, candidly relates his turbulent time in office from 2010 to his resignation in 2012. Accused of corruption during his prior role as the premier of the State of Lower Saxony (in northwestern Germany), the media relentlessly and viciously attacked the president’s personal life and his integrity. But he would be acquitted of all charges in February 2014.
Williams’ publishing company, based in Los Angeles, specializes in publishing the memoirs of prominent international figures.
“Being a disabled veteran and coming from a disadvantaged community, it was important to show others in the community that achieving success can be accomplished with hard work and timing. The opportunity to publish a former president of a first-world country’s memoir is an honor,” Williams said.
Wulff added the following: “If the book inspires young people to become socially active despite temporary hurdles, I would be additionally pleased. Above all, in today’s Internet age, it is important to always form one’s own opinion and not hastily spread opinions unchecked.”
The book can be purchased on Amazon. For more information about Seale Gadsby Publishing, visit www.sealegadsby.com.