Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812, if you want to come by and check us out. We are proud to have Pam Prince-Eason. Welcome, Pam.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:00:31] Oh, thank you for having me. I’m super happy to be here with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:34] Well, I’m excited to be talking to you. You’re the President of WBENC. When you look around at this conference, is this a few weeks ago, a few months ago, it was kind of chaotic, and now, here we are with just literally thousands of your closest friends around you.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:00:49] Yeah. So, we have 3,800 people that are registered for it. And I’m sure on any given day, there might not be quite 3,800 people, but we’re definitely over 3,000 every day. Yesterday was the first day, and today, it just keeps getting more and more excitement going. So, we’re glad to be here in Atlanta. What a great place to be for an event like this. We’re at the GWCC, as you said, wonderful venue for what we’re trying to do here. You can see we’ve got a new concept going on. After COVID, things are changing, right? And so, we had to change with it. When we booked this property, we were supposed to have been here in April of 2020. And so, they were gracious enough to work with us to rebook. But when you rebooked, you didn’t know like the virus was staying with us or what. So, we opted to come out of your normal format, where you have a lot of smaller rooms and that sort of thing, and take all this wonderful space.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:45] Right. This big, open air space.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:01:47] It’s great, isn’t it? And so, then we could make it what we wanted it to be. Even with that, the chaos has been real, right? Because it was really January 1st when we decided we think we can pull this off safely. So, will COVID occur? I would imagine that it would in any large group, but are we going to be this huge super spreader? I don’t think so, right? And people are being super careful. We’ve got a lot of precautions in place. And so, you can do business and do it safely.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:13] Right. And this is living testament to that. I mean, you’re seeing right here, it feels like a reunion, doesn’t it?

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:02:19] It does, doesn’t it?

Lee Kantor: [00:02:19] It feels like we’ve been so kind of locked in for a year-plus, and then seeing people, little squares on your computer, and now, you’re here, and the hugs are real, they feel real, right?

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:02:31] They sure are.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:31] The first time probably you’ve seen some of these people maybe in person, right?

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:02:35] Three years, it’s the first time I’ve seen people I knew pretty much in person in three years, because our last event was in another state three years ago in June, right? And so, that’s very real. And then, there’s been very little opportunity since then to be in person. So, as you said, it’s all been Zoom, and now, we’re finally here, and we have 200 new corporate members, right? So, we’re up well over 500 active corporations wanting to make a difference.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:04] Isn’t that amazing? I mean-

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:03:06] So, those 200 people, I’ve only seen them via Zoom, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:03:09] Right.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:03:09] And so, now, I’m seeing them and the teams that they have with them, and I’m seeing their commitment come to life. It’s amazing.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:15] Yeah. Now, for you as the leader of this organization, what’s kind of your dream of dreams? How do you want to leave this at the end of your tenure? What do you see? Is it more corporate, more WBEs? How do you want to see the growth of the organization?

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:03:28] So, just this week, our overall.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:30] Overall. You’re kind of over your dream of how this could be at the end of your tenure.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:03:35] Okay. There are millions of women-owned businesses out there, and those businesses could be Caucasian businesses. They could be women of color. They could be disabled businesses. They could be veteran businesses. They could be LGBT businesses. And those are all women businesses. I want to see every business that wants to grow in scale be certified by this organization, because we are by far the best at connecting you with Corporate America, and, oh, by the way, with the federal government as well. The women-owned small business program is one that we support with our certification. And so, the opportunities are there. I have 14 great regional partners, one of which is Roz Lewis, who you know here in Atlanta, and they work with us all during the year to make sure that we’re getting opportunities available to women-owned businesses. So, what I’d love to see is millions of people certified.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:27] Right. And that’s what you’re talking about. A universe of it could be hundreds of thousands of women-owned businesses. That’s not a dream that’s impossible, it’s possible.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:04:35] It’s not impossible.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:37] Right. But I mean, we’re at—it seems like there’s a lot of people here, and there are, and there seems like there’s a lot of certified businesses, and there are, but there’s tremendously, a vast majority are not certified, and they should be considering it at least to go through the process. I mean, it’s for their own good.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:04:54] Yes, exactly. And I hope that you’re getting the opportunity while you’re here to talk to new corporate members who had not been a part of anything like this before, as well as new WBEs. The new WBEs that I talked to yesterday, there were just a plethora of them, and they all said, I had no idea that getting certified would lead to this type of connection.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:18] Right. It’s game-changing.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:05:18] It is game-changing.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:19] I’ve interviewed enough people to know, I’ve interviewed small businesses, I’ve interviewed corporates, the budgets that corporates have are tremendous, and if they could just take a small sliver of it, it’s pennies on the dollar or even fractions of pennies, it makes a world of difference to these small business people. I mean, it’s not like these small business owners are saying, here, give me $50 Million, I mean, $50,000, $25,000, $10,000 is game-changing for a lot of these folks.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:05:48] Absolutely. And that’s what we want, right? Every one of us really cares about making an impact with either our customer base or our community in which we live in, right? We want to see that impact. It is much easier for a small business to add just one employee than it is for any of these large businesses to add 10, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:06:09] Right.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:06:09] And so, if we can get some of that money flowing toward smaller businesses, so that it can impact the community, so that they can spend it in those communities, it’s amazing. And what you see when you look around here at the great large corporations here supporting this, that’s what they’re trying to do, right? They’re trying to—if you’re not large enough to take those large orders yet, then they’re working on executive education programs with us, right? They’re working to scale those businesses. So, we’re super proud about being the representative for all women-owned businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:37] Well, it’s more than a representative. I mean, you’re kind of the community builder for both sides of this kind of matchmaking marketplace that you’ve created here, because in order for the small business to do business with a large business, they have to be trained, and educated, and certified, and be legit so that they can really serve them. And these large businesses have to kind of learn how to work with the small businesses, and they have to get together, and everybody has to kind of communicate, and there has to be kind of this center part, where everybody can go in one place like this and learn how to work together.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:07:09] Yeah. Over a decade ago, I was vice president of global sourcing at Pfizer. And I’ll admit that initially, I mean, Pfizer was very smart, they recognized that I was great at large business interaction. But I’ll be honest, I wasn’t great at recognizing all the innovation that’s there with a small business, how much of an impact they can make, how quickly they can pivot for something needed. And really, that fluidity that those businesses have make great solutions for us, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:07:38] Right.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:07:38] And so, luckily, they put me on the board of this organization and it’s led to being here all the time.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:42] Right. It probably changed the trajectory of your career.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:07:44] It did. Never would I have imagined this, but I’ll tell you, there’s no more work that you can be so gratified by than seeing a small business owner get an order.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:55] Right. Look, every large business start as a small business, right?

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:07:59] They sure do.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:59] So, they need an opportunity. They need the chance to meet that kind of corporate that says, hey, I can do this, I can solve this need. And a lot of these corporate, I’m seeing are very creative in the sense that they’re using these smaller businesses as kind of beta testers of ideas, and, hey, I’m doing this thing, you might be able to use this. It’s like their R&D budget for some of these folks.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:08:22] That is absolutely true. We have—I won’t out any names right now, but we’ve got some pretty progressive corporations here right now who have their innovation department here, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:08:31] Exactly. It’s not an accident. That’s on purpose.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:08:34] Yeah, it’s not. We have two great pitch competitions going on. One is with our college students. The other one is with other women business owners who are here. And those innovation teams are watching these pitch competitions, and they’re saying, oh, is that something that can happen in my industry? Is that something that would be totally different if I brought it into my industry? So, again, I think that we are a wonderful organization, and throughout the year, we have about 850 things available either nationally or with my 14 regional partners. And every one of those gives a WBE the opportunity to interact with corporate partners who care about them becoming part of the supply chain.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:13] And it’s important for every business out there, every woman-owned business to get certified. I know it’s a bit of a pain. There’s paperwork, there’s stuff, hoops you got to jump through, but the payoff is so large, it can be game-changing. And one account from one of these corporates, where you would never get to meet them in real life unless you were certified and working with one of your RPOs, it can change the trajectory of yourself, your business, your community. It can really—it’s big if you do it and take the time to do it. Do you have anything actionable that you can share with that women business owner that may be kind of heard of certification? Is it clear how to do it? What should they be doing to get involved?

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:09:53] Yes. So, the easiest thing that I can say is our website is wbenc.org. So, that’s wbenc.org. Again, wbenc.org. When you go there, there’s a tap for certification. If you go to that, it will simply say, if you need to be certified, this is what it requires to be certified. It is laid out there step by step on what you need. And there are questions at times, about do you need that much paperwork? Do you really need my minutes of this? Do you need various parts of what we ask for? Well, we do, right? We need to know you’re owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women. And so, what I would say about that is we intend to grow you, and as we grow you, you’re going to potentially need a loan. Well, the paperwork you do for me to get certified, you just keep it in a little file, and you’re going to be able to just walk right into the bank with that, and have everything you need. So, we get you organized. And so, yes, it can be daunting if you’re one of the people who’s had a business, and you don’t know where any of your records are, and that sort of stuff, but once you’ve done that, it is well worth it.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:58] Absolutely. And you have to do that to get certified, but once you’ve done it, you’ve done it, and the next time is easy.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:11:04] That’s exactly right.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:06] Alright, Pam. Thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Pam Prince-Eason: [00:11:10] Thank you for covering us. We really appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:12] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC booth 1812. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business. And we’re broadcasting live at the Georgia World Congress Center for WBENC’s National Conference. I think this is their 25th year of doing this. It’s a great event. The conference floor is humming with people getting set up. And our first guest today is Allison O’Kelly with Corps Team. Welcome, Allison.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:00:41] Hi. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:42] You got to get in there, rock star close.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:00:44] Alright. Rock star close.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] There you go.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:00:46] Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] Well, I’m so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Corps Team. How are you serving folks?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:00:51] Yes. So, we are a professional staffing and search firm, so we help companies find talent, which, as you know, today is kind of difficult to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:00] That’s right. So, you’re probably a leading indicator of when the economy is doing great and when employment’s kind of full.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:01:07] You’re absolutely right. We know pretty quickly when our mix of contract labor and direct hire labor starts shifting, it shows that things are happening.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:17] Things are happening. So, where are we at right now?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:01:20] It’s still wild. People are looking for both, contractors and direct hire. And more direct hire than typical, which is a good sign for the economy, but you’re starting to hear a little bit of layoffs, but we haven’t seen any yet.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:37] Now, is it across all industries? Is this kind of industry agnostic growth, or is it kind of, oh, it’s only like you’re coders, you probably never have enough coders in technology, things like that, but is it across the board?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:01:49] It really is across the board. I mean, of course, you had some industries slow with the pandemic, travel, hospitality, that kind of stuff, but other than that, I mean, everything is really taking off. I mean, you are starting to hear of layoffs in the tech sector. We’re not hearing that in our other clients at all.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:10] And then, are you saying the rate that people are being paid, is that increasing a little bit?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:02:17] Very much so, yeah, which is a real struggle for companies, because the pay rates are going up a ton and maybe they haven’t been able to increase their prices as much yet, so it’s a challenge. You hear a lot of hiring managers saying, but this person isn’t worth that amount of money, and you’re like, well, if that’s the going rate, they are worth that amount of money.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:38] Guess what, that’s the new rate

Allison O’Kelly: [00:02:39] That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:40] Now, what about the work from home? Are you finding kind of push-pull in that regard as well in terms of our people saying, hey, look, I’ll take the job, but I’m working out of my house, like they’re kind of adding that into the negotiation now?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:02:53] Yes and no. I would say companies at this point are pretty much saying what they’re doing, but the more flexible the companies are being, the more talent is going to be interested in their opportunities.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:08] Right. Are people switching to a hybrid? Are you finding that where it’s like they’re making them come in the office for some, but then it’s back and forth?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:03:16] We have a lot of hybrid. Our clients who want all in-office are few and far between at this point. Most have some sort of hybrid or what they’re calling now remote first. Meaning, remote.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:31] Right. Exactly.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:03:31] Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:32] Because people are like, no, I want to only go in the office, but that’s a short list, right?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:03:36] Where you find it, and this is a challenge, is for people who are newer in their careers, younger people right out of college because they need the training. So, it’s really tough for them to-

Lee Kantor: [00:03:49] Do that remotely.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:03:50] Right. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:51] Now, so what’s it like when you’re working with a client? So, they come to you, they’re like, hey, I need five, blah, blah, blahs, and they’re like, okay, Allison, my team are going to jump in there and find you. Those folks, like how does it work?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:04:03] Those five, blah, blah, blahs?

Lee Kantor: [00:04:05] Right.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:04:05] Yeah, exactly. I mean, it really depends. So, for larger clients, they tend to work through a large staffing firm. And then, we support those large staffing firms for their regular contractor needs. For the smaller and mid-sized growing firms, yes, they’ll come to us and ask for the specific roles, and we’re helping with those.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:26] And then, so you’re just kind of do that—you’re part of their team?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:04:31] Yeah, absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:32] And then, do you have a specialty, a niche that you’re like, okay, we’re great at this type of person?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:04:38] Everything.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:39] Everything?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:04:39] We do—our history has always been in professional staffing, so that would be your accountants, marketing, HR, strategy, higher-level admin. We don’t do low level, but maybe like an executive assistant. And then, about three or four years ago, we added engineering and IT, which of course, as you can imagine, is our fastest-growing area. So, we do a lot in financial services, we do a lot in logistics, but as far as industry goes, it really doesn’t matter. It’s more the functions within the industry.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:13] Now, how would a candidate stand out to you? Like how do you find those candidates, because a lot of them right now, I would imagine, have jobs?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:05:20] They do. And so, that is why companies are coming to us more now than they had in the past, because people are not applying to jobs as they once had. And if they are applying, sometimes, that’s not a good sign. Why is somebody actively looking for a job at this point unless their company decided to be all in person or whatever? But we are actively sourcing those candidates. So, we have our own talent pool of over 300,000 employees—not employees, candidates who we have access to, as well as all sorts of subscriptions with LinkedIn Recruiter, and CareerBuilder, and Indeed, and Dice, and everything else, so we’re going to go out and actively search for candidates.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:05] So, now, if you’re a candidate out there or you’re working and you’re like, I want to be—I want to know what’s out there, what can I do on LinkedIn specifically to stand out so that Allison and her team call me?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:06:17] Yeah. I mean, there’s a couple of things. Number 1, and this, it all depends if you’re employed, if you want to do this or not, but you can flag yourself as open to work. So, recruiters definitely sort by who’s open to work and who’s not. But again, if you have a job, you might not want to do that. But the biggest thing is keywords. Everything is done by keywords these days. So, if you’re looking for a particular type of job, even if that’s not in your history, putting in your summary, looking for a job in X field, and putting words as often as you can without being completely obnoxious, they’re going to come up.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:54] That helps?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:06:55] Yeah, they’re going to come up in the search.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:56] So, you’re doing a search, like what would be a search term you would look for if you’re looking for somebody?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:07:01] Maybe I’m looking for somebody from a big four accounting firm, right? So, I might look up big four, I might look up audit, I might look up KPMG specifically, and maybe that person really wants to go into finance and that’s not where they were, then they should put in there, seeking financial analyst position, something like that.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:23] Right, because you might search for a financial analyst and that would bubble up.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:07:27] That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:28] So, now, what brings you to this show? Why is it important for you to be here?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:07:32] Well, we are an Atlanta-based woman-owned business. And so, we have been WBENC-certified for pretty much since our inception 17 years ago. And so, we’re part of the host committee for the Atlanta market, who is bringing this conference.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:49] Right. So, welcome all these people, because this conference is for people all over the country, right?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:07:53] Absolutely. So, part of it is to welcome, and part of it for us is we do a lot of work with large companies, so meeting new large companies and seeing some of our clients as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:03] So, now, what has been the biggest impact from being part of GWBC?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:08:09] I think the big thing is events like this where you’re able to meet people in procurement and supplier diversity who are really going to look out for women-owned businesses. I think for us, especially in search and staffing, it’s not as rare as it may be in some organizations, so it gives us a leg up, but it certainly isn’t going to open the doors necessarily, but it helps.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:35] Sure. But they have programs in place that help you kind of have conversations with enterprise-level organizations?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:08:42] Absolutely. Yeah, most of them, and these are the people who are exhibiting here or if they might have a whole supplier diversity department or certainly part of procurement, where they’re looking, if they’re going to do business with 10 staffing companies, they want to make sure a certain percentage of them are women-owned, diverse, whatever else that might be.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:04] And you’re getting conversations, and building relationships, and you can’t have too many of those, right?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:09:08] That’s exactly right.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:09] So, if somebody wants to get a hold of you and learn more about Corps Team, what’s the website?

Allison O’Kelly: [00:09:15] It’s corps like Marine Corps, corpsteam.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:20] Well, Allison, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Allison O’Kelly: [00:09:23] Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:24] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference in the GWBC booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:17] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference, and we’re in the GWBC booth, booth 1812, if anybody’s listening, and wants to come on by and check us out. Right now, our guest today is Kayla Dang and she is with GMI Group. Welcome, Kayla.

Kayla Dang: [00:00:37] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] So excited to have you here. Before we get too far into things, tell us about GMI Group. How are you serving folks?

Kayla Dang: [00:00:45] We are commercial janitorial, cleaning services, and serving through the southeast of the US.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:50] Now, how did you get involved with GWBC?

Kayla Dang: [00:00:53] My company was certified back in 2005 as a WBE certifications, and since then, I’ve been involved with GWBC.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:02] Now, what drew you to getting certified and getting involved?

Kayla Dang: [00:01:06] Well, I found out about the organization and how I could leverage my—I guess, in the to-do business with corporations and with government agency. And so, I did the researching in the organizations, and so it drew me to that, and I have certifications then.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:23] Did that help you actually—like you hope that that would happen, did that really happen?

Kayla Dang: [00:01:27] It did. At the beginning, it did not serve the purpose, because I was not involved and I did not use the certification like it should. And then, once I found out more about the certifications and what it can do for me, so I really leveraged that as my marketing tool, my proposal tool, and then target that, and it has helped me—my growth.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:51] And that’s a great lesson for other women-owned businesses to not just sign up and join, but to actually immerse yourself in it, get involved, and you’ve taken on a variety of leadership positions over the years you’ve been with them, right?

Kayla Dang: [00:02:04] That is correct. In the beginning, I mean, the certifications was not widely known as before, but now, it has a lot of leverage, has a lot of benefits to that. And you really have to get in, and be active, and be involved in organizations, and find out what is there, and what corporations, what government agency is using that, the percentage set aside, and you really need to do your homework. And once you do that, your sort of location is a great benefit.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:30] So, when you started and you weren’t getting the results you wanted, what kind of was the clue? Like, okay, let’s try to really get involved and let’s really give this a fair shot.

Kayla Dang: [00:02:41] Well, in the beginning, I didn’t know a lot of—as I tend and got more involved in the GWBC, that’s the IPO I’m with ,is the southeast, so once I jumped in, and find out about the certifications, and find out about what government agency is using it, what kind of percentage is set aside for a WBE like myself, so when I found that out, and then that’s more eye-opener for me, is for me to target that.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:07] And then, at that point, you started getting traction and started getting better results?

Kayla Dang: [00:03:12] That is correct.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:13] And then, when that happened, you were like, oh, this is fantastic now, right? This is worth my time.

Kayla Dang: [00:03:17] That’s correct. Because when I was awarded one of the contract, it was set aside for like a shelter contract, and it set aside for like a 5% for WBE like myself. And then, when the price comparisons, when you take that off, I became the lowest bidder, so I was awarded a contract.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:34] Wow. Congratulations. So then, that really kind of opened the doors, and now, you’ve kind of figured out the system and how to operate, and then that’s kind of helped catapult you to this great success that you are today?

Kayla Dang: [00:03:45] That’s correct.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:46] So, now, when you started getting involved in the leadership role, talk about your role here at this conference. What are some of the stuff you’re doing?

Kayla Dang: [00:03:54] Well, I’m one of the co-host for the southeast for the GWBC. I’m one of the eight of our organizations. So, I have a booth. My booth is 2113, so anyone’s looking for me. So, we have—we don’t just do janitorial services, we also do painting, and then we also have products, mosquito big shot products that we have pivoted during the COVID. So, we’re providing other products, and then include it with our company.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:20] So, now, who’s the ideal client for you now?

Kayla Dang: [00:04:23] Everybody is my ideal client, who’s-

Lee Kantor: [00:04:25] Any size?

Kayla Dang: [00:04:26] Any building that needs cleaning, so yes. And anyone looking for products or any services, so everybody’s my client.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:35] So, you’re based here in Atlanta. Are your clients only in the metro area or are you all over the place?

Kayla Dang: [00:04:40] The southeast.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:41] Southeast?

Kayla Dang: [00:04:41] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:42] So, anywhere in the southeast as a business that has a need is prospect for you?

Kayla Dang: [00:04:48] That’s correct.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:49] So, if somebody wants to learn more and get a hold of you, what’s the website?

Kayla Dang: [00:04:52] It’s gmigroupinc.com. Gmigroupinc.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:59] Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today and congratulations on all the success.

Kayla Dang: [00:05:04] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:05] You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Kayla Dang: [00:05:07] Thank you very much.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:07] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference in the GWBC booth, booth 1812. We’ll see you in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business, but this is a special one because we’re broadcasting live from 2022 WBENC National Conference, and we’re in the GWBC booth 1812 if you want to come by and check us out. Right now, on the show, we have Nino Campos and he’s with Randstad. Welcome.

Nino Campos: [00:00:39] Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:41] Well, for the two people out there who don’t know, tell us a little bit, kind of the elevator pitch for Randstad. I know you guys are serving people all over the world.

Nino Campos: [00:00:50] All over the world, globally. So, we are the leading, in the top 50 in Diversity Inc as the top staffing company in the world right now, diversifying the world as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] So, this is a perfect conference for you to be at. Talk about your involvement as a corporate partner. Why was it important for you to kind of lean in and immerse yourself in the WBENC world?

Nino Campos: [00:01:13] Yeah. So, I’ve been in this industry for the past 13-plus years, serving the supplier diversity, the diversity and inclusion world. Very important being part of the GWBC is that they are not only the leading organization here in Georgia, but one of the ones that are very—where the rubber meets the floor or the rubber meets the street, right?And really advocating for the women businesses, business entrepreneurs out there, and making us work, making us think, making us be creative, making us go out there and serve the right way as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:48] So, now, any advice for a small business that wants to do business with Randstad, what do they have to do to to be ready for you to say, okay, this might be a good partner for us?

Nino Campos: [00:02:01] Well, it used to be a difficult—that’s a difficult question, usually. Usually, there’s a gantlet of things for a small, diverse business or a woman-owned business to get an opportunity, what they call a Fortune 500 business, get those opportunities, get that million-dollar revenue. And so, Randstad leading and best in class in providing opportunities has opened the doors in digitizing their supply chain.

Nino Campos: [00:02:28] So, offering opportunities to all comers, meaning these women businesses who have an idea, or have the opportunity or services that they could provide large businesses like Randstad to come and develop a digital portfolio for themselves. In doing so, getting mentored and developed on working with big large companies, not just ourselves, but with our client base as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:51] So then, it’s that simple, they go to a website portal, and then they can sign up and put their information, and then they kind of have the chance?

Nino Campos: [00:02:58] Yeah, believe it or not, it is that easy. It is going to our register on our external website. Enter your business name, see if you’re already there. If you’re not, you will meet supplier diversity immediately. There is no black hole or lag time. It is quite quick. So, immediately, you’ll start developing a digital portfolio at no cost and have a live consultant, someone on my team that will start to build out your portfolio to be able to network, if not mentor you for opportunities.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:24] So, that’s game-changing, because one account for a small business that could change the whole trajectory of their business.

Nino Campos: [00:03:31] Oh, of course, because now, we don’t have to network or market these suppliers to a line of business, or even a buyer or procurement, we’re going to the executive c-suites to introduce these suppliers for an immediate decision, find those opportunities immediately.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:47] So, if there’s other kind of enterprise level companies that want to streamline their process and create this kind of elegant solution that you have, are you talking to them as well, because I would imagine this is almost a competitive advantage for you?

Nino Campos: [00:04:01] Yeah, there’s really no one that I know of yet that is doing what we’re doing. We are digitizing the complete diverse supply chain, so that means every diverse supplier that’s certified, actively certified, and doing successful work has a digital portfolio. That digital portfolio, that information is on 340-plus databases to be located.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:21] Oh, so it’s not just Randstad?

Nino Campos: [00:04:23] Not just Randstad. When we say socioeconomic growth, we don’t mean only Randstad, we mean for the world.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:29] Uh-huh. And then, so how do the enterprise-level companies get involved and get their kind of information in part of this portal?

Nino Campos: [00:04:36] So, they would, hopefully, with the right third-party solutions that is accurately scrubbing their data, and those suppliers or the supplier that we utilize would be able to provide them that access to that database.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:50] Okay. So then, you’re all kind of in it together and you’re all sharing the information, sowhen like one of the WBENC folks or the GWBC folks puts their name in the portal, it’s giving them access to Ronstadt, but also several hundred other companies that kind of believe what you believe in, that this is important.

Nino Campos: [00:05:09] Yeah. So, what we’re doing with these digital portfolios, so let me give you a picture of it. Historically, what we would do, would give somebody an opportunity, would be they’ve come to us ,and say, I have something in IR. And so, you have a buyer, you have lines of businesses, and you have to sell.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:24] And it’s like on a one-on-one and it’s a one-off kind of thing.

Nino Campos: [00:05:27] Right. And you have those RFPs and you have multiple suppliers. Those preferred suppliers are on that RFP, right? If you want that business, continue business, how do you introduce a new business to that? How can you provide credibility, accessibility, all those things that would make it easy to make a decision? So, this digital portfolio is relationship-building, too, meaning that you put their capability statements in here, you put their NICS cost, you upload their certificates, their active certificates.

Nino Campos: [00:05:55] They’re being validated immediately through a third-party solution to certify that they are certified, and they can actually put their video, they can actually put their photos. It actually gives you a demographic of who they are ethnically, gender-wise. And so, it’s an enhanced way of doing an interview, per se, a presentation. So, here you are-

Lee Kantor: [00:06:15] And it’s so much more efficient. They don’t have to do this 300 times. They do it one time and it’s going out to 300 people.

Nino Campos: [00:06:21] It’s a URL, right? So, I directly report to the chief diversity officer of Randstad. Now, she’s the global equity officer of Randstad, the first of her. She now only expects a URL, right? And so, that URL provides a visibility to her best suppliers that are out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:42] Right. And then, this makes it easy for the Randstads of the world to say, okay, who do we need? And we can say, okay, we want to attract more Hispanic-owned businesses, so we can kind of target that, right? You can get as granular as you want to get, because it’s digital.

Nino Campos: [00:06:59] Yeah, it’s also instant governance or what we call scorekeeping. There’s an opportunity to score there. Actually, it needs notes.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:04] So, it’s almost a dashboard, too, where you can see everything, and see where you’re at, where you need, hey, maybe we should put a little more emphasis over here and less over here?

Nino Campos: [00:07:14] That is correct. And it’s also able to provide as visibility onto how much spending we’ve had with them already, finally, so we have a good visibility of what we have. And so, the scorekeeping that we do is non-corrective criticism, meaning that we only add in success and achievements to it. Now, if there isn’t any, that means—or they have dropped expenditures like we see-

Lee Kantor: [00:07:36] The trends, right?

Nino Campos: [00:07:37] … we go back and mentor them. We don’t just drop them. We go back, and mentor them, and find out what has happened on the client side or internally, and then mentor them. And we have now—developing right now, we’re creating a mentorship development-certifying program that will certify three curriculums of phases for the supplier. So, those top tier ones won’t get something they already have known for years.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:57] Right. But then, these newer, these emerging brands get an opportunity to learn and grow.

Nino Campos: [00:08:02] Correct.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:03] And then, everybody wins again when all the people are working together like this, it’s amazing. Congratulations on this. It’s a big initiative.

Nino Campos: [00:08:12] Thank you. Well, I want to level the playing field a little bit. I want everyone to understand that we are inclusive of all. Everybody has a thumbprint, right? Everybody has a niche service. Let’s not to call it an umbrella of things that you do, but what do you do best, and how can you do it best for us?

Lee Kantor: [00:08:26] Right. What’s your superpower, and how can we kind of match you up with the right person on our team, so we can kind of create this win-win?

Nino Campos: [00:08:33] Yeah, because we don’t have the time to play. We don’t have time for RFP these days, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:08:37] Right.

Nino Campos: [00:08:37] When someone says a new normal to me, I think like, well, then we’ve got to take away this RFP process and just put the right person in place, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:08:43] Right.

Nino Campos: [00:08:44] So, we’re in talent management, we’ve got to put the best talent in place.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:47] Right. And that removes a lot of bias and it removes a lot kind of the I know a guy kind of situation.

Nino Campos: [00:08:55] Exactly. And you start removing the tearing, right? If you remove the tearing and you put in the best possible service or individual, you’re going to have success.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:05] Right, and you get that win-win outcome that everybody’s looking for. Well, if somebody wants to learn more about this process, what’s the coordinates? Should they just go to the Randstad website and they can kind of find it from there?

Nino Campos: [00:09:15] Yeah, it’s very easy. Randstad.com, supplier diversity, and there is a registration there for you to just register your name, and you immediately will be entered into creating a digital portfolio.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:26] Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Nino Campos: [00:09:30] Thank you very much for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:31] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference in the GWBC booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor live from WBENC’s National Conference in the GWBC booth, Booth 1812, if you want to stop by real quick. Right now, we’ve got an old friend, Tammy Cohen, with InfoMart. Welcome, Tammy.

Tammy Cohen: [00:00:30] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] I’m so excited to see you. Before we get too far into things, just a brief elevator pitch for InfoMart, tell us how you’re serving folks.

Tammy Cohen: [00:00:39] InfoMart is a global background screening company, so we do background checks for new hires, we do vendor screening, and we also do continuous monitoring on your current employees.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:50] So, there’s a lot of job security in that service. There’s a lot of folks that need that.

Tammy Cohen: [00:00:55] Definitely, over and over again.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] Now, how has it changed since you started? You’ve been doing this for a minute.

Tammy Cohen: [00:01:02] Oh, wow. Well, see, I’m going to date myself, but you can probably remember this, when there was no internet and no email and there was just fax machines, so it was just a paper shuffle. And it was even on the fax paper that was thermal.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:16] The rolls.

Tammy Cohen: [00:01:17] Yeah. It would lose its color after so long. So, I’ve been doing it a very long time. So, mainly just, you know, everything is electronic now.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:25] And then, now, I’m sure people demand this service faster. The speed is an important component of this.

Tammy Cohen: [00:01:33] Just like the mail. You remember when you used to send something out, you had three or four days? Now, you send something out and they email right back. So, it’s the same thing. So, we generally get information out to our clients in a day.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:45] So, here we are at the WBENC National Conference. Have you been to these before?

Tammy Cohen: [00:01:51] Oh, yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:52] Because with the pandemic, there hasn’t been an in person one like this.

Tammy Cohen: [00:01:56] No, there hasn’t. But, you know, I’ve gone to the ones years before. I go to a lot of tradeshows, and this is actually my favorite every year.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:06] And the energy seemed so high. Everybody is so optimistic and looking forward to this and connecting. It seems like there’s hugs happening everywhere. Everybody’s been holding in all these hugs for two years and it’s kind of exploding out on the conference floor.

Tammy Cohen: [00:02:19] Yes, it is. It’s so good to get to see people and be able to hug them, and everybody’s excited. You know, this is one of those few shows you really do business at this show, especially for women. I mean, you walk in knowing you’re going to get business, and so it’s exciting.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:39] So, how do you attack the show?

Tammy Cohen: [00:02:41] I basically create my strategy before.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:45] All right. So, what’s the Tammy strategy?

Tammy Cohen: [00:02:47] Well, my strategy is, I focus on a vertical. I’ve had verticals that I’ve made friends, so I’m going to go drop in on those verticals, say hi. And then, I’ve got a couple of new verticals that I want to start building relationships. Because, really, if you want a larger account, you have to build a relationship. It takes many years, and get to know you and your integrity. So, I just take my time and get to know people.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:11] So, you pick out a vertical and then spend time kind of getting to know the players and who’s here. Obviously, if they’re here in a booth, they think this is important, too.

Tammy Cohen: [00:03:21] Yes. And I spend time getting to know that vertical, the lingo, what is happening in the industry, what is their pain point, what types of background checks are they going to need. Are they doing retail where, you know, theft is really important or do they have drivers? So, I try to look really deep and focus on that so I can really be a benefit to the organization.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:45] Now, what about from an educational standpoint, is there any kind of speaker you’re excited to see or hear?

Tammy Cohen: [00:03:50] I always like the fireside chats because you get to really know somebody. And I think I just love that and I love panels. I always get so much out of a panel and a fireside chat.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:04] Right. Because this is stuff where you can get some actionable information that you could just put back into your business tomorrow.

Tammy Cohen: [00:04:09] Yes. And learn something that, “Wow. I need to contact them because I’ve got a solution for them.”

Lee Kantor: [00:04:17] Right. Now, talk about GWBC a second. Why should a woman business get involved with GWBC? Why should they kind of invest the time it takes to get certified and actually go through the process?

Tammy Cohen: [00:04:29] So, you know, a lot of people always think, “Oh, you’re just here to get contracts.” And I think everybody joins for that reason. But what you really take away is, you learn how to sell, you learn how to pitch on the fly. You know, a lot of the corporates here I have had that have been great mentors that would say at the beginning, like, “That was horrible.” And you’re like, “What?” “You know, that was a horrible pitch.”

Tammy Cohen: [00:04:54] So then, actually my very first WBENC meeting was a meet and greet table, and I sat down and everybody pitched. And I was nervous and I did horrific. I walked away so embarrassed. And I was like, “I will never do that again.” So, I really refined, refined, refined. Two years later, I end up being in the final five on the perfect pitch competition on the big stage. And I thought, “That all came from WBENC.” You know, they have so many webinars and meetings, and you get a chance to constantly pitch.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:28] Now, any advice for the listener about that perfect pitch? What are some of the most important do and the most important not do?

Tammy Cohen: [00:05:35] I think, first of all, keep it short, keep it sweet, keep it factual. And don’t say, “Oh. We’ve got the best quality.” No. No.
“Our turnaround time is a day.” You know, give them the facts. Especially here, I mean, this is a tough sell because the corporate see so many pitches and they talk to so many people, they have an expectation. But the benefit is when I go to do a sales meeting outside of WBENC, I’ve got it. I know what I’m doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] So, if somebody wants to learn more about InfoMart, what’s the website?

Tammy Cohen: [00:06:11] backgroundscreening.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:14] Well, Tammy, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Tammy Cohen: [00:06:19] Thank you, Lee. Well, so do you, we appreciate you.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:21] All right. This is Lee Kantor broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022. And we’re inside the GWBC booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022. And we’re inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812 if you want to stop by and see us. Right now, we have a great guest, Anita Davis, President, Chief Funding Matchmaker with Praxis Strategic Solutions. Welcome, Anita.

Anita Davis: [00:00:38] Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:40] So, how’d I do with the name? You challenged me.

Anita Davis: [00:00:43] I did. I did. Don’t get tongue-tied, so say it slow. You did excellent.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:47] Alright. Well, tell us a little bit about Praxis. How are you serving folks?

Anita Davis: [00:00:51] So, I serve clients that are ready to scale and grow their companies. I work with clients that need capital to be able to fund the growth of their business strategic growth.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:04] So, there’s one or two people out there that probably need capital. Does anybody say, no, I have enough capital, I don’t need anymore?

Anita Davis: [00:01:11] You’d be surprised, some people like to grow organically, and I think organic growth is fine if you want to grow slowly, but I believe that women business owners, in particular, need to consider rethinking growth and to think about growing through acquisitions or maybe growing through a expansion of territory, buying a competitor, doing things like that that make them accelerate their growth. And here at the conference, we’re focusing on corporate contracts. And so, they really do need to have some funding secured to be able to execute on those contracts.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:50] So, let’s think about this from a strategic standpoint. I’m a small business owner. I always thought, oh, I’m going to just grow organically. You’re saying think bigger than that, because maybe I’m aiming too low, maybe there’s a lot of opportunity out there if I just kind of open my eyes to what’s around me, talk about that conversation you’re having with that person who hadn’t even considered strategic growth and using capital to grow in that manner.

Anita Davis: [00:02:13] Those are great questions, and that conversation is my favorite conversation to have with clients. I want you to rethink the way you think about debt. In most cases, most companies think, oh, debt is bad, and debt can be a dirty word for some people if you’re not a smart business owner. But these women here at WBENC, they are brilliant business owners, and they have thought about how to scale their companies, and that’s why they’re looking at corporate contracts, but you do need to have resources available to you to fund that growth.

Anita Davis: [00:02:49] And so, sometimes, you may need to consider, what would it be like if I bought another company that can give me those complementary services or solutions that a corporate officer may be looking for, but I don’t have in-house right now, and that can allow you to accelerate your growth, versus someone who’s saying that, okay, this year, I’m going to grow 5% year over year, it may not enable you to execute on a corporate contract.

Anita Davis: [00:03:20] And some clients don’t really even think about, well, what would it be like if I strategically purchased another company and made an acquisition? What would it be like if my competitor is thinking about retiring, because they’re in that silver tsunami and they haven’t even thought about it, but they’re ready to exit. And then, if you position yourself with the right capital, then you might be able to make a strategic acquisition, buy a new territory, get into a new market. So, those are the solutions that Praxis will help a client work through.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:55] So, your clients, what could they be doing today to make them a perfect fit for you tomorrow? What are some of the activities they have to do to kind of clean up their books, maybe to show that, hey, you can trust me with this capital, I’ll use it wisely?

Anita Davis: [00:04:11] What a great segue, because at the conference, we have a solution called our financial funding assessment. And assessment basically walks the client through, are you ready for funding now? Are you close, but not quite there, or are you not ready for funding? And then, we will—through either one of those scenarios, we can walk a client through the process of positioning their company for funding. So, we help you either with some education, some financial literacy education, some strategies, some tools in our tool kit, so we offer a resource kit. So, if you come by booth 2312 here at the conference, then you can talk with our team about strategic growth.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:04] And talk about the show for a second. Is this the first WBENC show for you or you’ve been coming to these for a while?

Anita Davis: [00:05:10] So, I actually launched my business at WBENC in 2016, didn’t know what I was doing. I just used to be a banker, and I’m like, oh, these people must need money. Yeah, this must be my jackpot. Okay. Life doesn’t work that way. And so, I have come to—I think this is my fourth or fifth conference, and I’m on the host committee with Roz Lewis. And so, the host committee, we basically are here to help anybody who is from out of town and sponsoring this event, but also to make sure that they know what’s happening here in Atlanta.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:44] And then, for folks that are from out of town, how would you kind of attack the show? And maybe around town, what are some things you’d make sure to see?

Anita Davis: [00:05:55] I think at the show, you need to be prepared for who you want to meet. You can’t meet everybody, and everybody is not necessarily a fit for your company, even though they may have a big corporate name. So, you really need to decide, do you have the solutions that the corporations are looking for and have a strategic plan on how you’re going to convey that in a brief nanosecond, because that’s about all the time you’re going to get?

Anita Davis: [00:05:55] And when you do that, then that’s the best strategy for being prepared to be able to address what the conference is going to mean to you. And also, make a plan to meet all of these other brilliant business women owners around here. So, I tell people, it’s the 25th anniversary, make a plan to meet 25 people a day. If it’s not 25 people a day or that’s too aggressive for you, but make a plan for the whole conference to meet at least 25 people. Just go with the theme.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:55] Yeah, it’s right there for you. So, now, talk about GWBC. For women who haven’t joined yet, tell them why they should join.

Anita Davis: [00:07:04] I would tell you that this whole organization here, GWBC, from Roz, who is the president, all the way down to her team, the certifying team, they all want us to be successful. And I’ve had nothing but really great support from the organization and the people in it. They know me. I know them. And they want to see us grow. And if you’re in business here in Atlanta, you need to join GWBC. I just brought somebody over here with me just now to introduce her, because she wasn’t certified. I said, let’s go over here and let’s meet the team.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:40] That’s right. It’s one of those things. There are a lot of women businesses out there that haven’t taken the time to be certified. Talk to that. That’s an investment worth making. It is strategic solution.

Anita Davis: [00:07:52] It is a great investment. It was hard because I’m in the financing business, and I’m like, maybe these corporations don’t need me, but I’ve strategically figured out how to be able to provide solutions for them, for their suppliers that are in their supply chain that need—that might be creating some financial risk to the supply chain. So, you really just need to be able to think through, how can you serve the client? And it’s really about the client. With GWBC, they help you move along that track to be able to offer solutions for corporate, and then tell you how to make that strategy work for you.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:32] So, if somebody wants to get ahold of you, learn more about Praxis, what’s the website?

Anita Davis: [00:08:37] The website is, it’s a brand new fancy website, you guys, but it’s under Praxstra, P as in Paul-R as in Robert-A-X as in Sam-S-T-R-A. So, we, praxstra.com. If you go to praxstra.com, it’s a little bit unique, then you can have access to our site and see what we have to offer you as a business owner.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:05] Well, Anita, thank you so much for sharing your story, doing important work. We appreciate you.

Anita Davis: [00:09:09] Thank you very much for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:12] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from 2022 WBENC National Conference, live from the GWBC booth, booth 1812. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022. And we’re inside the GWBC booth and we’re joined with Jill Frey with Cummins Facility Services. She is with the Ohio River Valley. What is it, the group?

Jill Frey: [00:00:36] Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] What do they call them?

Jill Frey: [00:00:37] Yeah, it’s an RPO and it’s the Ohio River Valley. RPO.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:40] And then, you’re the co-hosts, right, of this whole event?

Jill Frey: [00:00:44] Yes, we are. We’re co-hosting with the Atlanta RPO and we are rocking it out. We’re having so much fun. So, we all have these awesome scarves that we’re wearing.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:51] I heard the scarf’s the giveaway.

Jill Frey: [00:00:52] Yeah, yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:53] Only special people get the scarves.

Jill Frey: [00:00:55] You are right, Lee. Only special people get to wear them.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:58] Well, before we get into that side of what you’re here for, talk about Cummins for a second.

Jill Frey: [00:01:03] Thanks, Lee. I appreciate your time. Thanks for asking me to be on your show. Super fun.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] Sure.

Jill Frey: [00:01:08] So, Cummins Facility Services, we’re actually celebrating our 50th year in business this year, so it’s a really great year for us. It’s also the 25th anniversary for WBENC, so they’re half of our age. Anyway-

Lee Kantor: [00:01:21] It’s not a competition, but if it was, you’d be winning.

Jill Frey: [00:01:25] I’d be the oldest. That means, I have more wisdom, right? Anyway, so we are a national facilities management company. We just branched off about four years ago, started doing technology, and we make buildings smarter. So, after COVID, that’s really been a popular thing. We can tell you how many people are in your building, how to better use your building during the hybrid situations that are going on now, how much food to make, how much energy to have every day. So, we let your building talk to us, so we can tell kind of what’s going on, what’s the temperatures in your building? What do you need more of? What do you need less of? How can we make it run better, cheaper, stronger, faster?

Lee Kantor: [00:02:04] So, 50 years ago, how smart were the buildings?

Jill Frey: [00:02:07] Oh, my, they weren’t very smart at all. That’s a really good question, Lee. So, a lot has changed. Actually, not a lot has changed in facilities management, in terms of technology, but now, really, with COVID and those new hybrid situations, we’re really trying to take advantage of that and show how we can offer more solutions in a building so they can be smarter. Because 50 years ago, everybody came into work, dressed in their ties, they smoked 50 years ago.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:35] Yeah, different problems to deal with then.

Jill Frey: [00:02:37] Right. The ceilings were black, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:02:39] You don’t have that problem anymore.

Jill Frey: [00:02:40] No. It’s amazing how evolution happens.

Jill Frey: [00:02:44] We’re all safer and we’re all healthier.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:47] Healthier. Wow. It’s a win-win.

Jill Frey: [00:02:49] That’s exactly right.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:50] So, now, how do you attack a conference like this WBENC Conference?

Jill Frey: [00:02:53] Oh, my gosh. We’ve had so much fun. So, I’ve got about six people here and we all have matching tennis shoes.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:59] Yeah. That’s a thing. What is that?

Jill Frey: [00:03:02] Yeah, they’re blue and pink. They’re really fun. So, that’s been awesome. We’re called the Blue Shoe Crew.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:07] Uh-huh. That makes sense.

Jill Frey: [00:03:07] Yeah. But we’ve really worked hard on making sure we’re targeting the people that we want to do business with, the people that are in our footprint, right? And we’ve been working every week for the last three months figuring out the booth setup, who we’re attacking, our marketing. We have these fun wristbands that tell you our booth number, and then we’re having happy hour every day at our booth 513 from 3:00 to 4:00. So, we’re having wine, and beer, and everything. We have couches, people can sit. So, we’re making it very easy to do business with us.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:39] That’s right. They’d hang out at least.

Jill Frey: [00:03:41] Yeah. We’ve got this beautiful green wall with flowers on it, so people can do like their TikToks, and their pictures, and things like that.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:50] You’re right.

Jill Frey: [00:03:50] Yeah. So, I’m going to give you guys one, so if you want to come for a happy hour, you can.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:52] Thank you. We’ll be there.

Jill Frey: [00:03:54] Yeah, you have to have one of these to get in.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:56] Oh, you can’t just walk in?

Jill Frey: [00:03:58] No.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:59] Someone’s got to invite you in?

Jill Frey: [00:03:59] It’s VIP.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:00] I can see that. Alright.

Jill Frey: [00:04:02] Thanks, Stone.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:04] So, now, at the conference, Ohio Valley decided to partner with Atlanta to co-host this. How did that come about, because there’s 14 of you vying for this co-host spot, I’m sure?

Jill Frey: [00:04:14] Well, it’s a really good question, Lee. Thank you for asking. So, we hadn’t been together for three years, because the-

Lee Kantor: [00:04:22] I know. It’s been a minute.

Jill Frey: [00:04:22] Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:22] There was a pandemic.

Jill Frey: [00:04:23] Yeah, I don’t know if you heard. Yeah. So, Columbus was supposed to host the event in 2020, and then that got canceled. And so,, Atlanta was on the ticket for 2022, so they said, Hey, Atlanta, we’re just going to split you up with Columbus—or I’m sorry, with Cincinnati, with the Ohio River Valley Group. And so, that’s how we got to share the hosting committee.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:44] So then, how do you share it here in this building today? Like do you split duties or is it kind of a free for all?

Jill Frey: [00:04:50] Yeah, we get to do it—we all do it together, so it’s really fun. So, the scarf has both cities on it. It has Cincinnati and has Atlanta skyline on it. And then, like today, for lunch, we were up on the stage. And so, both host committees from Georgia and from Ohio were both up there. So, it’s more fun. It’s more of a party. It’s more of a sisterhood. We get to know more people and we get to do fun things.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:14] And it gives you a chance to really get to know the folks, right?

Jill Frey: [00:05:17] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:19] There are 14 around the country, and they’re kind of doing your own thing in your own area, and this just kind of brings you together.

Jill Frey: [00:05:25] Yeah, that’s very good, Lee. We have 14 RPOs, and then we have our national convention. So, it’s been really fun to get to know the other RPO and they’re just like a sisterhood, so it’s really great that we’ve got to enjoy that and get to know another city. It’s kind of like our second city.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:42] So, now, here at the event, are there speakers you are excited to see? Are there panels you’re excited to hear?

Jill Frey: [00:05:48] Yeah. So, we had the CEO of Accenture speak today at lunch and he was fantastic, so that was really great. And there’s just a lot of people that are just so happy to be here. And so, they’re just—there’s, I think, five different stages, and we have to download this app to hear each person speak. So, it’s not like they’re speaking-

Lee Kantor: [00:06:09] They had to give you headphones in order to do it right.

Jill Frey: [00:06:11] Yeah. So, I really love it that WBENC is utilizing new technology to be safer and to make sure that we are getting everybody involved. And it’s just such a huge space, and we get to really throw all that technology into it, but yet just be one-on-one, so you can really feel like you’re in the space.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:30] Right, because relationships are important and this is the first time in forever that we all got together face-to-face.

Jill Frey: [00:06:35] I know. There’s a lot of girlfriend hugging going on, right? You’re just like, oh, my God, I miss you, I love you, right? I haven’t seen you forever. I have seen probably five people, and they didn’t know who I was, and I walked up to them like, oh, my God, you’re Jill Frey? Like, Yes. I talked to them on conferences like for years. They’re like, oh, my God, you’re Jill.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:55] There is a real Jill Frey.

Jill Frey: [00:06:57] Yeah. So, it’s been really fun to like—that’s what I’ve been doing, is just going around kind of meeting people that I’ve been talking to about the conference, or about different committees I’m on, or things like that. So, that’s been really wonderful, because my badge, you can’t really see my name or you don’t like want to stare at it, right? But then, I’m like, hey, Michelle Smith, I was just talking to her at Nationwide, so it’s just fun. You get to like meet an old friend that you never met, that it’s like a pen pal or something.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:25] Right. Now, talk to the women that haven’t got certified yet, talk about why that’s important and what you’ve gotten out of it yourself.

Jill Frey: [00:07:31] Yeah. So, that’s a really great question. There’s a new scholarship program that went on here called the Collegiate Scholarship Women, and they’re here, and they’re just out of college, and they have women-owned businesses, but they’re not certified. And so, I was really pushing hard for them, I’m like, hey, they’re here on a scholarship, but I’m like, yu guys got to take that next step and get certified.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:53] Right. You’re almost at the finish line.

Jill Frey: [00:07:54] Exactly. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:55] But you’re not there yet.

Jill Frey: [00:07:56] Yeah. So, even if you’re not just coming out of college, if you’re a woman-owned business, it’s so important, because that’s going to give you that documentation that that building needs, or that facility or that business needs to get you that business. So, it’s just kind of dotting the I and crossing the T. It’s just really important to get that certification. But then, it opens your doors so much to new women, and new friends, and new people to collaborate with, and just a whole new world out there. So, it’s worth getting your certificate and getting involved.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:26] So, if somebody wants to learn more about Cummins, what’s the website?

Jill Frey: [00:08:30] Oh, thanks for asking. It’s cumminsfs.com. And then, we also have Cummins—well, we have Facility Genius. You’ll see all those other companies on the Cummins website, but there’s a lot going on in the tech world of how to utilize the buildings with the hybrids and all that fun stuff. But go to cumminsfs.com. Cumminsfs.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:55] Good stuff. Well, Jill, thank you so much for sharing your story.

Jill Frey: [00:08:59] Lee, you’re awesome. Stone, you’ve been great, too. Thank you. So fun.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:02] Alright. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you in a few at the WBENC National Conference.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here on another episode of GWBC Open for Business. But this is a special one because we’re broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference. And we are live from the GWBC booth, Booth 1812, if you want to stop by and see us. Today on the show, we have the folks from Tempagenix. We have Shelly Heller and April Pollock. Welcome.

Shelly Heller: [00:00:44] Thank you.

April Pollack: [00:00:44] Hi.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] So, one of you – you guys can arm wrestle for this – tell us a little bit about Tampagenix. How are you serving, folks?

Shelly Heller: [00:00:51] We have a line of temperature regulating and monitoring products for the retail market.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:59] And then, how did you get into this line of work? What was the genesis of the idea?

Shelly Heller: [00:01:05] What year was it, April?

April Pollack: [00:01:06] 2015.

Shelly Heller: [00:01:07] 2015. So, we –

Lee Kantor: [00:01:08] She remembers. It must have left a mark with her.

April Pollack: [00:01:13] Trust me, there’s a lot.

Shelly Heller: [00:01:16] We have a temperature company that’s real close to our office. And we were thinking that we needed a thermometer that you could just put on your forehead and use no batteries, nothing like that. And one had already kind of existed, but we wanted to make it ours. So, we went over to our thermometer company – that we know – and we invented it. And by the grace of God, I will say this, the world shutdown. You couldn’t get any thermometers from anywhere all over the country and all over the world. And so, we sold – how many thermometers, April?

April Pollack: [00:02:05] Eight million in 2020. They’re made in the USA. They’re paper-based with a medical grade adhesive. So, they’re are a forehead thermometer strip.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:14] So, your book is called Timing is Everything.

Shelly Heller: [00:02:17] You know what? Honestly, what we’re doing right now, it’s going to be timing. We should do that. Absolutely. That’s a great idea.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:24] So, that was just pure random luck that that happened like that?

April Pollack: [00:02:29] It was. We both own separate businesses. So, I own a marketing, advertising and web design firm in Dayton, Ohio.

Shelly Heller: [00:02:36] And I own a shipping and packaging company in Dayton, Ohio.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:39] Okay. So, unrelated businesses and how do you know each other?

April Pollack: [00:02:43] We’ve been friends and partners. And she’s been a client of ours for almost 20 years. And we were actually at another woman-owned business conference in Columbus in 2015, and it was at that show we came up with the idea for the thermometer strip. And decided, “You know, this is something we should give it a go and see if there’s any interest.” And we called it our side hustle, until 2020 when it overtook our lives.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:13] It became your main hustle. So, were you certified businesses prior individually?

Shelly Heller: [00:03:20] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:20] And so, this has always been part of the DNA of both of your businesses?

April Pollack: [00:03:24] Absolutely.

Shelly Heller: [00:03:24] Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:25] Now, why was that important?

Shelly Heller: [00:03:27] Well, honestly, I mean, I don’t know how many years I’ve been coming, maybe 10, 15.

April Pollack: [00:03:32] Or longer than that.

Shelly Heller: [00:03:33] Yeah. And I learned more from women in here than I do from anybody that we do business with. I mean, the women in here are very intelligent. And when they say, “Oh, you’re going to be around a bunch of women.” No, no, no. It’s a different ballgame in here. We all want to help each other’s business. There’s no jealousy. There’s no you got more than me. It just doesn’t exist here. And so, we got a lot of ideas here, didn’t we?

April Pollack: [00:04:06] Absolutely. And our certification is the primary reason we were as successful as we were, because we were able to make it into national retailers through their supplier diversity channels. We’re in over 5,600 CVS locations. Were in Kroger’s.

Shelly Heller: [00:04:25] Target.

Shelly Heller: [00:04:25] We started in Target, Walmart.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:29] Because I’m trying to communicate – obviously, the folks that are GWBC folks, and people that are in this kind of inner circle that know what the deal is – there’s a lot of women-owned businesses, there’s a lot of businesses that don’t understand the importance of this.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:45] And how when you partner with a group, like GWBC or the Ohio River Valley Group, that you’re able to kind of have this edge that enables you to meet these enterprise level corporations and have conversations face to face, and talk to them, and get to know them, and do business with them. They can take your business to new levels that you almost couldn’t dream of. That you wouldn’t have access as a regular, “Hey, I’m going to knock on the door and see if these big companies are going to do business with me because I’m a small company and I have an idea.”

Lee Kantor: [00:05:21] Talk about that because I think that just that alone is worth it. You know, because it’s kind of a hassle to do all this stuff to get certified. But it’s worth it in the end because it can change your business.

April Pollack: [00:05:32] Well, two examples we can think of right off are, due to our certification and being active in this group, we get preferred payment terms from one of our national retailers. We get paid in ten days instead of 45 or 60. And another of our national retailers, we did not have to pay the $50,000 shelving, the slotting fee to be on shelf, because we were certified.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:56] And that 50,000, those add up, right?

April Pollack: [00:05:57] And those add up.

Shelly Heller: [00:05:59] Actually, really quick. Right. And another thing, too, is that, I think people misunderstand that when you become a women-owned business that you automatically get into these places.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] “Look, I’m a woman-owned business.”

Shelly Heller: [00:06:15] “Can you get me in?” No.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:18] It doesn’t work like that.

Shelly Heller: [00:06:18] No. I mean, yes, granted we get to go talk to some people and say, “Hey, we have this available. We have this available.” They’re either going to say yes or no. Or they’re going to say, “We’ll put you off for another year. Or, we’re going to do that kind of thing.” The fact that we’re allowed to be here is the blessing. It’s what we do with it. Then, the bigger companies decide to do with us. Does that make sense?

Lee Kantor: [00:06:39] Right. But the beauty of this organization is, not only do they give you access, they teach you how to get the most out of the access. This isn’t one of those associations or groups where you’re like, “Oh, I pay the fee and then I’ll get business.” It’s not an ATM machine. You have to do work in order to win. But they teach you how to do the right work so you can win, and you can win big if you do this right.

April Pollack: [00:07:04] Absolutely. At our last show, at our last national conference in 2019, we were connected with CVS. And they have an executive leadership series that over 2,000 businesses apply to. And we were invited as one of 15 businesses, and we did a five month course with CVS in their ELS program, where they led us by the hand and taught us about our product, how to pitch it. I mean, we still to this day – and that was 2019 – use our CVS pitch deck that they helped us handcraft in that series. And we use that for every buyer meeting we have.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:43] Right. And that’s the thing, in order to get the most out of it, you have to be coachable, you have to be willing to say, “I don’t know. I want to learn. I have to be vulnerable. I have to kind of be the authentic me in order to get the most out of it.” But if you do this, the win can be tremendous.

April Pollack: [00:08:00] Absolutely. And we always make fun of ourselves. Like, don’t be afraid to ask the dumb questions. Because, I mean, the first time we were trying to get on walmart.com, it took us weeks. Like, “What is a POD?” And we’re Googling. Because we did not have the retail background. And we’re not afraid to be ourselves and ask the questions. And people are more than willing to step up and help teach you.

Shelly Heller: [00:08:26] And it’s amazing. I mean, when we were at CVS giving our presentation to everybody, we’re not afraid to embarrass ourselves. That’s all I’m going to say. We had the entire room dying of laughter in the first sentence when I gave our presentation. I mean, I thought it was good presentation. But you can’t be afraid of these. They’re just people. I mean, they can say no. And we can say no.

Shelly Heller: [00:08:54] So, you really have to realize that if you have something great to pitch, pitch it. If they don’t want it right now, they may come back in two years. So, I mean, that’s the thing. I think what it’s taught us is that, it’s not always, “Oh, we’re going to put you in next week.” That never happens. So, yeah, we’ve learned a ton, for sure.

April Pollack: [00:09:12] We were invited out to Bentonville to Walmart headquarters, and it was our first manufacturing samples off the line, our first stab at packaging. And we went in thinking we had the best thing.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:25] We got this figured out. We’re going to be blown away.

April Pollack: [00:09:26] And Walmart, they saw it and they said, “We like the idea, but your packaging really needs work. And this is what you need to do, A, B, C, and D. And then, maybe we’ll talk to you.” And we took their advice and the packaging that’s on retail shelves today are by Walmart. Like, you can’t take offense or get your feelings hurt.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:47] Well, they might know a thing or two about selling in that environment.

April Pollack: [00:09:52] Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:52] So, if somebody wants to learn more about Tempagenix, where should they go? What’s the website?

April Pollack: [00:09:58] The website is tempagenix.com, and that’s T-E-M-P-A-G-E-N-I-X.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:06] Well, thank you both for sharing your story today. You’re both doing important work and we appreciate you.

Shelly Heller: [00:10:10] Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

April Pollack: [00:10:11] Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:12] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at WBENC National Conference 2022.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812, if you want to come by and check us out. Right now, we have Kanchana Raman with Avacend. Welcome.

Kanchana Raman: [00:00:31] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] Well, I’m so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Avacend. How are you serving folks?

Kanchana Raman: [00:00:38] So, we have—this is our 25th year, just like WBENC.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:42] 25 years old as WBENC, congratulations.

Kanchana Raman: [00:00:44] Thank you. So, WBENC is celebrating for us and vice versa. So, it’s great. So, we have been in the ICT industry, so basically, primarily in telecommunications and technology, and serving Fortune 100 customers. And many of our customers are here today, so it’s exciting to stop by at everybody’s booth, and customers are also stopping by at our booth. So, it’s great to catch up with everybody after, I think, two years.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:15] A little pause. So, now, 25 years ago, were you always—were you targeting those Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies, or did you kind of work your way up the ladder?

Kanchana Raman: [00:01:27] So, if you look at the kind of skill sets that we have, we have always worked with Fortune 100 customers, so even my first customer was a Fortune 100 customer in 1996.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:39] Wow. And you’ve stuck—so they’ve stuck with you for all this time?

Kanchana Raman: [00:01:43] Well, what has happened in our industry is there is a lot of mergers and acquisitions going on, so many of my customers have been acquired, have gone through name changes, but they are still around, I think, in a different version or a different avatar.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:59] Right. Some part of them is still around.

Kanchana Raman: [00:02:01] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:01] Now, why is it important to you to be a certified woman business owner?

Kanchana Raman: [00:02:07] So, first of all, awareness. I wasn’t aware that I was a woman-owned business for-

Lee Kantor: [00:02:13] Well, you do, you’re a woman-owned business.

Kanchana Raman: [00:02:14] … almost 10 years. I know. So, I got certified, I would say, about 10, 15 years now. And one of our customers wanted us to get certified, and that’s when we knew that there was a certifying body, and you can be part of this.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:31] So, you weren’t aware of it. You were just going about your business, and then someone said, hey, if you’re certified, then this opens up other doors for you and it might be worth your time.

Kanchana Raman: [00:02:40] Absolutely. We would like for you to get certified, and I think that’s how we got into this. I’m just so thankful for that guidance, because I think one of the main things is somebody to educate us on what is out here. And so, that’s how we got certified, and I was on the board. Somehow, as soon as I got certified, I was on the board of the Georgia Women’s Business Council for three years, and I guess that also gave me a great insight as to how things work over here, and the partnerships, and the sisterhood. And also, I’m part of the forum here at WBENC, so it’s a national forum, so I’ve been part of the forum for about 10 years as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:20] So, once you got—once you joined, then it was like you really immersed yourself in it and you got really involved.

Kanchana Raman: [00:03:27] Yeah, it was instant bonding.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:30] Right. Like there’s a lot of business associations out there or business groups that you can become part of, but is this one of the ones, where you’re like, you’re kind of looking forward to going, where some of them, you’re like, oh, well, I got to go to that one.

Kanchana Raman: [00:03:43] I think most of them, I look forward to going, but this especially is about sisterhood, about friendship, about a support group, if you would, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:03:53] Mm-hmm.

Kanchana Raman: [00:03:53] I mean, everybody is very kind over here. And between the WBEs, we are always sharing lessons learned, best practices, and we’re always there for each other. I mean, even today, it’s like, like Roz said, the need of the day is support and kindness.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:11] That’s right, and grace. Sure. Now, for you, what is one of the lessons learned that you can share with maybe a younger person who is just launching their career?

Kanchana Raman: [00:04:23] So, this is not something that’s going to get you a contract instantly, right? You have to invest in the organization, invest in the relationships, prove yourself. And with time, magic happens.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:38] And then, you’ve seen that happen?

Kanchana Raman: [00:04:40] Yes, absolutely. I have gotten some of my big customers from these events. And again, for me, since I’ve been in business for a long time, this is a great opportunity for me to visit with a lot of my customers. Everybody is here under one roof.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:01] You can find them pretty easily.

Kanchana Raman: [00:05:02] Yeah. So, definitely—especially post-pandemic, with the travel restrictions and everything, this is really great that you can meet everybody here.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:10] And it’s in your backyard.

Kanchana Raman: [00:05:12] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:13] You’re down the road.

Kanchana Raman: [00:05:13] At home in Atlanta, yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:16] Now, is there anything at the event that you’re most looking forward to, any speaker or panel that you’re most excited about?

Kanchana Raman: [00:05:22] There are a lot of great panels all throughout the day, but it’s just that between meeting people that you haven’t met in two years, I’m pretty busy, so I’m hoping that there is a recording of everything that’s going on, and we can go back and learn from that because there are some great panelists and great speakers here today.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:43] So, if somebody wants to learn more about Avacend, what is the website?

Kanchana Raman: [00:05:48] It’s avacend.com. Avacend.com, and we are here in booth 1813.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:55] Alright. Well, Kanchana, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing an important work and we appreciate you.

Kanchana Raman: [00:06:00] Thank you. We appreciate the Radio Business X-

Lee Kantor: [00:06:04] Thank you.

Kanchana Raman: [00:06:04] … for being supportive of the women’s organization.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:07] Alright. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you in a few at the 2022 WBENC National Conference here in the GWBC booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center. We’re inside the booth of GWBC, Booth 1812, if you want to stop by and see us. Right now, we have Kimberly Bunton with TKT & Associates. Welcome, Kimberly.

Kimberly Bunton: [00:00:36] Well, welcome to me. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:38] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about TKT. How are you serving folks?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:00:43] TKT is a national full-service diversity firm. We have a whole suite of services and products, beginning with DEI, supplier diversity. We have a staffing organization called Astute Sourcing that does talent acquisition, full-service staffing. And then, we have another arm called TKT Connect that does workforce development and spin management.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] So, what’s your back story? How did you get into this line of work?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:01:11] The back story is that we were founded by this incredible woman named Tierra Kavanaugh. She was the Affirmative Action and Chief Diversity Person for the State of Kentucky. Once she left that appointment, she started TKT with the largest construction contract in the nation at that time, which is the Indiana and Kentucky Bridges Project. And from there, TKT has grown into what is TKT today, which is, in 2020, we were an INC. 5000 number 20 company, and we’re six years running on the Women Presidents Organization Fastest 50.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:53] So, now, for you, personally, what has kind of been the most impactful thing where you’ve seen real change?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:02:01] That’s a good question. There are several changes. I mean, obviously, all businesses are going through the changes in the last two years. We lost our founder. However, we didn’t lose our footing. And so, for us, it was a shift in how we did our staffing organization and then actually adding new products to our repertoire, particularly in our consulting business with doing influencer marketing.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:25] So then, how did that kind of evolve? Like, was the customer telling you, “Hey, we need help in this area”? Or was this something that just leadership said, “Hey, you know what? We should get into this area”?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:02:36] Well, you know, we were going through the pandemic, but we were also going through a racial crisis at the time. We had George Floyd going on. And then, in Louisville, Kentucky, where we’re headquartered, we had the Breonna Taylor incident going on. And so, while we were based in DEI, we hadn’t done much of that up until 2020. We had kind of backed away from that, spend more time doing talent acquisition and supplier diversity.

Kimberly Bunton: [00:03:02] But once the civil unrest came upon us, we were forced into really coming out to do more of the DEI work, particularly with our chamber. And trying to help other companies and corporations that were already in our client base do more with DEI. And found a niche in influencer marketing, because social media was so big anyways. But during the shutdown, social media became such a powerful force that DEI was expanded into that area.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:33] So, how do you kind of bring that service into your clients kind of sphere of influence where they see like, “Hey, maybe this is something that we should take advantage of”?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:03:44] We literally started with pitching with one of our largest clients. We formed a partnership with a smaller influencer marketing agency. We established a new area called the TKT Collab, where we partnered with small and mid-sized black and brown agencies across the country that would not normally have the opportunity to work with some of the Fortune 500 companies that we worked with. And we said, “Hey, we’ve got a new product that we think that you can benefit from that can help you with getting out there, getting your word out there, and getting the more diverse clients.” And literally started with one major client and started moving from there.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:21] So, how does it work? How does a firm kind of dip their toe into influencer marketing?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:04:29] You need to know influencer marketing, so we literally had an end with a smaller influencer marketing agency that had a niche that is in black and brown influencers over the age of 40. And so, we didn’t start, you know, trying to take on the big boys in influencer marketing. We really started with a gap and said, “Okay. This is a gap.” And we had a client that had a need in that particular area.

Kimberly Bunton: [00:04:54] And we had a niche in the types of events – we were doing events activations as well – in the events that we had access to and we just kind of made a marriage of it. It was very successful. And then, we just kind of stepped and repeat, and did it again and again.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:08] And then, what is kind of the biggest win in that area?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:05:12] The biggest win is being able to put other black and brown creative agencies in front of major, major corporations. That’s the big win. And that actually goes with our mission of continuity of commitment. And what we’ve defined continuity of commitment is, is providing diversity in every aspect of a corporation. So, we were finally able to add that creative piece that we had not done before. We were able to service every other area but not creative until 2020.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:44] And then, here at the WBENC National Conference, how do you go about getting the most out of your time here?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:05:51] Oh, wow. Every moment here is getting the most of our time. I mean, this is the first time in over two years that we’ve been able to get together, so it’s really more like a reunion, if you will, of seeing people that we haven’t seen before. We’re sick of seeing each other on Zoom. And so, it’s just been amazing to go, “Hey, that’s what you really look like. Or, hey, that’s what you look like now.”

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] “You’re much taller than I thought you were.”

Kimberly Bunton: [00:06:14] Yeah. Exactly. I get that a lot, “You’re much taller or your hair has grown so much since I saw you last,” or whatever that is. But that, and then we are strategically situated next to some of our biggest clients. And so, being able to connect and have that access to them is also very powerful.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:31] So, at this event, are there certain panels or speakers that you’re excited to see or is this just kind of the reunion, like you said, just getting to see a bunch of folks that you hadn’t seen in a while?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:06:41] Well, they’ve got some amazing speakers and there’s some great topics, I can tell you that. But, for us, it really literally is connecting to those individuals and those corporations who have been supporting us all along. That has been our biggest excitement about being here, is to say thank you to the people that have been supporting us all along.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:59] Now, any advice for a young person that maybe has started their own business, a woman-owned business, and hasn’t gotten certified yet, is there some advice for them to encourage them to get certified?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:07:12] Yes. You know, the certification process can be tedious. And in some instances, you know, the paperwork can be daunting. But it’s worth it. It’s worth it to make sure that you’re registered with those corporations so that you can be in the room to be able to receive those opportunities. Those RFQs, those RFPs have specific designations sometimes, and you can’t receive them if you aren’t registered with that company to do business with them, particularly if they are looking to do business with women-owned businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:44] So, if somebody wants to learn more about TKT, what’s the website?

Kimberly Bunton: [00:07:47] tktandassociates.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:50] Well, Kimberly, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Kimberly Bunton: [00:07:54] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:56] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all in a few at the WBENC National Conference 2022.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here live from the WBENC National Conference 2022. This is the 25th Annual Conference for WBENC. And we’re inside the Georgia World Congress, and we’re inside of GWBC’s booth, Booth 1812, if you want to stop by and check us out. Today on the show, we have Kittie Watson with Innolect. Welcome, Kittie.

Kittie Watson: [00:00:41] Thank you. It’s great to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:42] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Innolect.

Kittie Watson: [00:00:47] Well, Innolect is an executive and organization development consulting firm. And what we do is, we prepare leaders for the future. We also ensure that you have the right kind of culture to address the great resignation.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:00] So, your tagline says “growing leaders”.

Kittie Watson: [00:01:03] That’s right. We grow the leader in everyone.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:05] So, you believe that there is a leader in everyone, that’s the premise, right?

Kittie Watson: [00:01:10] That is the premise. And it may not always be seen easily or it might need to be refined, but every person has that ability.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:18] Now, when did you start believing that to be? So, is that something since you were a kid, you were like, “Oh, everybody can be a leader. I can see that. I see that kid over there in the playground eating the rocks, I think somewhere in there, there’s a leader.”

Kittie Watson: [00:01:32] I think it actually started when I started teaching at Tulane University. I was chair of the Department of Communication, and is working with students. And then, moving into the corporate arena, I began to see where a lot of people just didn’t have confidence, particularly women. And, initially, I was working with a lot of women to help them move up the corporate ladder and think about that differently.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:52] So, now, internally they have to have a mindset shift, right? They have to stop self-sabotaging themselves and really have these self-limiting beliefs.

Kittie Watson: [00:02:02] Or other people sabotaging. Yes. Definitely.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:05] But, also, they have to believe that they are the leader. They have to take that first step because you can’t want it more than them.

Kittie Watson: [00:02:12] Well, I think in some cases, really, people just have never had an opportunity. They haven’t been put in roles where they’re actually maybe leading. And they think that leading is the same thing as management. And so, we all can have a voice and say the right thing. And I see this particularly within the inclusion and equity and diversity space where people can be a leader, and show up, and express what they think is right in that particular environment.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:42] And that’s where the importance of representation is, to see that it is possible for a person of all types of people.

Kittie Watson: [00:02:51] It’s true. And all of us want to be seen and heard. And there’s an opportunity now because, as I just mentioned a while ago, there’s this Great Resignation and 26 million people have left their jobs in the last six months. And it used to be that people left for pay and benefits. But, now, they’re leaving because they want flexibility. They want to work with an organization that has purpose and meaning where they feel like they’re doing something worthwhile. They also want to learn, and grow, and have advancement possibilities. But the biggest one is to be included and to have a manager who cares. So, what we’re doing often is helping develop those leadership skills so that employees want to stay.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:34] So, now, what are some symptoms that a company is having that they might have a problem but they don’t know it yet?

Kittie Watson: [00:03:41] Well, there are a lot of examples of that, but most of the time they don’t know it and people leave, and so they haven’t realized it.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:48] So, turnover or something like that could be a clue that maybe something is wrong internally. That maybe it isn’t that we can’t find the right people. It’s just maybe something internally is happening that we’re not attracting or we’re turning away people.

Kittie Watson: [00:04:04] Well, what we know is that people want to be listened to, understood, and they want what they’ve said to be acted on in some way. So, organizations have gotten so involved in doing another survey, but then they don’t respond to the survey. And so, employees keep waiting and nothing happens. Or they have managers where they’re not included in decision making. So, they don’t get to impact things that might impact them. And so, we really try to help the organization think, both quantitative and qualitative, about what they can do to become listening leaders, really, and to demonstrate that they care.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:44] Right. Because it’s one thing, I think, that employees are getting, kind of been there, done that, “I’ve heard you say that a million times. You say that people are your most important asset, but then you’re treating me the same as you treated me five years ago. So, you’re not walking the walk.”

Kittie Watson: [00:05:00] Right. Well, and even today, there was an article that came out in McKinsey and just talked about the wage gap from the CEO C-suite to the worker that’s making the difference in the business. And that gap is widening. And, now, with the cost and inflation and all those things, people are thinking, “People don’t really care about me.” So, they’re beginning to look for those organizations that truly live the values, don’t just put them up on a piece of paper on the wall. And they are included. They are involved. They are given opportunities. They’re given feedback, tough feedback sometimes. But they are given opportunities to grow and learn and make a difference.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:42] So, what’s an example of a client that you’ve had that you’ve helped get to this new level, that maybe they were struggling? You don’t, obviously, name the name of the company. But what is their issue they were struggling with and then how did you help them get to this new level?

Kittie Watson: [00:05:55] Well, with one company, they brought us in because they were having a lot of litigation and discrimination.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:02] That’s a clue, right?

Kittie Watson: [00:06:03] Yeah. A clue, yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:05] We’re getting screwed a lot, is that normal? Does everybody get screwed this much?

Kittie Watson: [00:06:10] And it was a culture that had been created and that finally just blew up. And so, we were brought in to begin to understand what was happening in leadership, or lack of happening in leadership or management. And got involved with focus groups and interviews and a survey that we listen to. And then, we were able to begin at the top to help leaders see what they were doing that might be getting in the way. Then, we engaged through a cascade, all people in the organization, and had their voices heard. And there were times where some employees were not a good fit for the organization and the culture they wanted. So, not everyone got to stay.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:54] Sure. And it works both ways, right? They can self-select out and then the company can decide they’re not a good fit.

Kittie Watson: [00:07:03] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:03] And that’s the empowering thing that every individual has. They have the power to say, “Yeah. This isn’t the right fit for me.”

Kittie Watson: [00:07:10] And I think a lot of times, you know, something else that we’re working on right now and have been, as you know, after George Floyd was killed, there were a lot of organizations that gave money externally, but they really didn’t do much internally. And so, what we’ve been doing is really helping those organizations look at the kinds of training that can stick not just, “Okay. Check the box, we did that.”

Kittie Watson: [00:07:34] But really thinking about what could we do differently, what kind of dialog, what skills do people need so that they can talk about what’s going on with them. We’re working with the city government right now that had a lot of racial issues in the city. And so, bringing the community together with city workers and city employees to have a voice and talk about what made them feel less than, and how can we do things differently and equitably for all employees.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:04] It’s kind of a version of that think locally, act globally. You have to start within first, try to change what you can change and control internally. And then, kind of broaden it rather than, “Oh, yeah. We cut a check to this big national organization. See, we’re good guys.”

Kittie Watson: [00:08:18] Yeah. The optics were great. And yet people then thought, “All right. They’re doing this, what are they going to do for us?” I mean, “What about the manager that said this to me last week?”

Lee Kantor: [00:08:29] Right. “What about Mary? What about her issues? What are we doing for Mary, who’s on our team?” And they’re like, “No. We’ve already donated. Then, you see, there was a press conference.”

Kittie Watson: [00:08:38] And there are a lot of people that they don’t know what they don’t know. And so, we’ve done a lot of what we call change guide coaching and helping really move through those changes that they need to make. Or we’ve worked with teams to have them talk together and look at purpose and why they’re there. And even with the hospital systems, for example, where they have been so discouraged, we’ve had to remind them about why they went into health care to begin with.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:05] They kind of lose sight of that, right?

Kittie Watson: [00:09:06] Oh, my goodness. Especially in the last two-and-a-half years.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:09] Right. They’re just kind of running. They don’t know where they’re running or where they’re running to.

Kittie Watson: [00:09:13] And so, we are seeing a lot of good people leave.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:17] Right. They’re just so frustrated.

Kittie Watson: [00:09:19] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:20] And then, the event here today, the WBENC National Conference, what brings you here? Do you go to all of them?

Kittie Watson: [00:09:28] I go to most of them. I mean, there are several things that bring me here. I mean, GWBC, I’ve been on the board before and very committed to that, of course. And I’ve met a number of good clients through this process that I’ve gotten to have conversations with and opened doors. I also am a mentor for the Collegiate Accelerator Program, so I love being able to mentor young leaders as they’re starting, and that always gives me kind of a jolt to be able to do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:57] Sure.

Kittie Watson: [00:09:57] So, there are lots of reasons. I have many friends here that I’ve made through the years. And it’s a great way to stay in contact with clients, particularly after we haven’t seen them in so long.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:08] Right. This is the first time in forever that we’ve seen people face to face like this, especially this quantity at one place.

Kittie Watson: [00:10:14] Yes. But it’s so spread out here, though. It’s so different than in the past, but it’s great.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:19] Now, for you, any advice for that young person that says, “You know, I’d like to be a leader. I think I could be a leader,” what are some action steps they can be taking today so they can become a better leader tomorrow?

Kittie Watson: [00:10:31] Well, the first thing that I usually say to anyone is an area I’ve done a little research in, and that is learn to listen. Listen to what the organization needs and your management needs. And if you can listen and meet some need, you’ll be recognized for that. Because most people want to talk as opposed to really listen.

Kittie Watson: [00:10:52] The second thing I say, is, to ask for that. Tell people what you want, what your aspirations are, and ask how they might help you for that development. And to create your own individual development plan. Even if your manager is not supportive, think about what are the skillsets that you could use that would help you move to the next level. Also, get feedback. Ask for it, ask for the feedback that will help you learn and grow. We know that when people come out of an education system, they’re at one level of maturity. And we see maturity grow in people when they start asking for feedback and really want it.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:30] And not everybody has the confidence to do that. You have to be vulnerable and you have to be ready to hear things that maybe you don’t want to hear.

Kittie Watson: [00:11:39] Exactly. And that’s a tough thing. I mean, because we are sensitive that way. And, often, it’s difficult to get that feedback. But it truly is a gift, and we learn from it, and we can be better for it.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:52] Now, a lot of young people dream of having a mentor, somebody that’s going to guide them throughout their careers, are there any tips you have for them on how to get a mentor and how to be a good mentee?

Kittie Watson: [00:12:04] We’ve actually developed mentor and mentoring programs, and, again, it’s clarity at the beginning of expectations and roles. And I know that there are a number of organizations that have formal mentoring and they match. I think that can work really well. We see it working extremely well at WBENC within supplier diversity.

Kittie Watson: [00:12:26] Yet, also, it is watching people within your organization that you admire and respect. And asking them questions, and eventually asking if they’d be willing to meet with you maybe once a month or once a quarter. But be very specific, but honor who they are. And, generally, people are pretty honored when you ask them to guide, or to give advice, or something like that.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:52] So, be bold. Take the risk.

Kittie Watson: [00:12:54] Be bold, yes. Take that risk.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:56] And if somebody wants to learn more about Innolect, what’s the website?

Kittie Watson: [00:12:59] It is innolectinc.com, and that’s I-N-N-O-L-E-C-T-I-N-C.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:07] Well, Kittie, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Kittie Watson: [00:13:12] Thank you. Thank you. It’s great to be here. I appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:13] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We are broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Here we are live at WBENC’s National Conference and we’re inside the booth of GWBC, at booth 1812, if you want to come by and check us out. Right now, we have Re’Nauta Bell and Teresa Williams with Cushman Wakefield. Welcome, ladies.

Teresa Williams: [00:00:33] Thank you.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:00:34] Thank you for having us.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:35] Well, I’m so excited. For the one person out there who doesn’t know about Cushman Wakefield, why don’t one of you give a little bit of an elevator pitch of how you’re serving folks?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:00:44] We are a commercial real estate company and we are here to support the Greater Women’s Business Council with finding diverse vendors.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:53] And how did you guys get into this line of work? Were you always working in diversity or HR, or how did that come about?

Teresa Williams: [00:01:02] Well, I’ll dive in. I kind of fell into the industry. Maybe more appropriately, I think I kicked my way into the industry. I basically took a leap of faith. I sold my business and I decided that I wanted to do commercial real estate after being exposed to it. And I have had my husband set up some meetings for me and I basically crashed a couple of them, and this is where I landed. And it’s been a beautiful, beautiful experience. And I’m here today, because of an amazing woman, Kayla Dang, who is the CEO of GMI Group, who’s also a member of the Greater Women’s Business Council. So, so happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:39] So, now, did you start in residential real estate and move to commercial or?

Teresa Williams: [00:01:44] So, actually, I started—I was in the residential sector, but on the finance side, so I was doing home mortgages, and then we ventured off into commercial mortgages, and that’s when things got interesting.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:57] It’s a different world, right?

Teresa Williams: [00:01:58] Yeah. Yeah. I really loved it. And it was just—it made sense to me. So, doing what I do today, representing occupiers who are looking for office space made a lot of sense.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:09] Now, in residential, a lot of women are involved in that. Is that the same in commercial or is that a more male-dominated industry?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:02:18] Very, very good call out. It is at some point in time, so that’s why we would like to change that footprint, right? So, we’re here at this conference and we’re looking for diverse suppliers, not just women, but all genres, of course.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:33] Well, because it’s such an opportunity for folks. I would think that this is something that there’s a lot of people that if they would just open their mind to it and become aware of the opportunity, there would be a lot of people flocking to you.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:02:44] Very much so. And actually, that’s why we’re here. So, with Cushman & Wakefield, we want to expand our diversity within all of our—sorry, with all of our business lines. So, if there are companies out there that do any type of roofing, electrical maintenance, anything within that building envelope, we need those suppliers.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:06] Right. And you have to become aware of them and they have to become aware of you. Now, it’s fascinating to me because people may not be aware of all the different kind of ways that Cushman Wakefield serves a market. Can you talk about, like you mentioned, some of the services, but there’s a whole plethora of services that address this market, right? It’s not the obvious ones. oh, I’m going to rent somebody’s space. There are lots of people that touch a building.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:03:30] Like janitorial services. Move and change, so that’s like moving services. We also janitorial, already said that, landscape and snow removal. Anybody who does any HVAC, we have so many different categories and we need the diversity throughout. And it can even be a sub. They don’t have to be the first tier.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:57] So, any service that touches any of the work done in the building is somebody you want to get to know, right?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:04:05] Exactly.

Teresa Williams: [00:04:06] Inside and outside the building.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:07] Right. It’s not just the person, like I said, that rents the space.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:04:11] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:12] And I think that people—I think some small businesses sell themselves short. They think too small. They’re not kind of expanding their mindset of, well, I do this one thing, but there’s lots and lots of people that might benefit from knowing that I do that.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:04:26] Exactly. And I don’t know how this is going to be broadcast, but if they can find us as we’re walking through this conference today, what they can do is we’ll allow them, we’ll scan our barcode, and then they can go into our database.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:44] And so, they can add their name to a directory, so that-

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:04:46] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:48] And then, let people know that Cushman Wakefield’s all over the place. There’s not just one office right there.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:04:54] We’re national. We’re actually global.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:55] Global, right.

Teresa Williams: [00:04:56] Yes. We have over 450 employees. Shoot, I can’t remember how many offices we have, but we are located in 60 different countries. Actually, that was 450 offices, 53,000 employees, 60 countries.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:12] Yeah. So, you have—the world is really your oyster when it comes to this. And if I—like say I’m a janitorial service provider, and I partner with Cushman Wakefield, and say I’m in Minneapolis, is that something that, now, I’m in the database, so if somebody needs me in an adjoining market, they might call me as well, right?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:05:31] They will search for that region, they’ll search for that service, and it’ll connect us to the right folks, the managers that lead that.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:39] Right. So, there’s really no reason not to put your name in the hat.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:05:43] Exactly.

Teresa Williams: [00:05:44] It’s a great opportunity for you to expand your business as well. Say you serve just the Atlanta market, you’re interested in expanding, contracts can afford you that opportunities.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:54] Now, how do you attack an event like this WBENC National Conference? Are you just kind of walking around meeting people? Are you doing those kind of things?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:06:04] Actually, we have clients here.

Teresa Williams: [00:06:04] Yeah, it’s very targeted.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:06:06] Very targeted, right. So, it is speed dating. If someone sees our brand or our name on our-

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] You want to meet people.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:06:13] Exactly, we do, right? But we also have clients here that we are working with. And so, we’ll be at their booth and we’ll speak to people as they come up as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:23] Right. So, are you divide and conquer, or you are a team here?

Teresa Williams: [00:06:27] We divide, we conquer, we come back together, and then we do it all over again, so yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:33] Now, it’s been a minute since these conferences have happened. Everything’s been virtual. How has that been for you to kind of go around? And I’m sure there’s been a lot more hugging today there’s been in probably months.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:06:43] I know.

Teresa Williams: [00:06:44] Yeah. I saw some people I haven’t seen since before the pandemic, and it’s been a huge love fest, so I’m so happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:52] Right. It’s like the world has opened up. It’s wild. So, if somebody wants to learn more about Cushman Wakefield, what’s the website, what’s the best coordinates to kind of learn about this program?

Teresa Williams: [00:07:03] You can reach us at www.cushmanwakefield.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:08] And then, kind of drill down to supplier diversity, where would they go in the website, do you know?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:07:12] I would say supplier diversity or category management. That will lead you to our category managers for each category that I named earlier in the program, janitorial services.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:25] Right. So, you can put your information in the appropriate place?

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:07:29] Exactly.

Teresa Williams: [00:07:30] And we do have champions for our partners, so it’s not a situation where our partners sign up and-

Lee Kantor: [00:07:37] I know, forgotten, right?

Teresa Williams: [00:07:38] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:38] There’s somebody on the team that’s going to come back behind there and really help them be successful.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:07:43] Absolutely. Exactly.

Teresa Williams: [00:07:44] And that’s the whole point.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:46] Well, thank you both for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Teresa Williams: [00:07:50] Thank you.

Re’Nauta Bell: [00:07:50] Thank you for having us. We appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:52] Alright. This is Lee Kantor. We’re broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside the GWBC booth. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022. This is the 25th annual conference here. So, we’re excited to be here and we’re inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812, if you wanted to stop by and see us. Right now, we have TJ Lewis with Ally Financial. Welcome, TJ.

TJ Lewis: [00:00:37] Thank you. Thank you very much. Happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] Well, you’re a partner here with GWBC. Talk about why that’s important for Ally to be partners with GWBC.

TJ Lewis: [00:00:46] Yeah. So, Ally, just to give a little bit of background on myself and Ally, I joined Ally in January 2020 actually to launch our supplier diversity program. So, we’re a relatively new program. And in doing that, we knew we needed to really partner with some of the best councils in the area, and we have some key markets in the southeast, as well as the Midwest, and we immediately contacted Roz. I’ve known Roz from previous roles and knew that we wanted to kind of jumpstart our program engaging with the GWBC, and it’s it’s been a fabulous partnership that we’ve had over the last two-and-a-half years.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:36] So, you started this from scratch for Ally?

TJ Lewis: [00:01:38] We did. I did. So, I joined in. Ally’s known for very strong DE&I culture efforts, our corporate citizenship work that we had as a team. We had just gotten to the point where it was time for us to launch the supplier diversity program and I was honored to be selected-

Lee Kantor: [00:01:58] To champion that.

TJ Lewis: [00:01:59] … to champion that. And it’s been a joy. But keep in mind, I gave you the timeline, January 2020.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:07] I know. That was an interesting starting point.

TJ Lewis: [00:02:08] Right. Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:10] Like, hey, do you know that there’s a pandemic going on here?

TJ Lewis: [00:02:12] Well, it just—we didn’t know, and that was the thing. So, a couple of months in, less than three months in, we’re in the middle of the pandemic. And actually, one of the first things we did was we sat down with like the GWBC and some of the other councils, in particular, on the local side, and said, okay, we knew we had to reach a lot of the businesses that were being impacted the most.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:40] Right. And they needed the services of Ally and they needed the Ally to be an ally.

TJ Lewis: [00:02:45] Yeah, that’s right. And they needed the opportunities. And how do we do that? All of a sudden, WBENC, the national conference is going to be canceled. Everything’s canceled, right? And so, actually, we sat down, we talked with Roz and team, and we came up with some pretty innovative things, where we brought the access through virtuality, virtual events.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:05] Right. You had to figure out a way to make it happen, because business didn’t stop for everybody.

TJ Lewis: [00:03:09] Exactly. And that’s what’s been meaningful. So, it’s funny because being here today, I’ve worked—my team has worked with a lot of the the folks at GWBC for years, and we had never met them in person.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:22] And you never met them, right?

TJ Lewis: [00:03:24] That’s right. So, it’s exciting just to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:27] It’s like a reunion.

TJ Lewis: [00:03:28] Yes, that’s exactly right. Exactly right. I joke that we’re not just a square box with a photo, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:03:34] Right.

TJ Lewis: [00:03:34] It’s real people.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:35] It’s hard to believe.

TJ Lewis: [00:03:36] Right. And so, it’s just been really exciting to be here, and the partnership and things that we’ve been able to do. We got involved in their mentorship program, where we were able to mentor a couple of women-owned businesses, and we’re doing that again this year.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:52] And the impact is real. Like this isn’t just something that a corporate higher ups are talking about, like, yeah, that’d be a nice thing. You’re seeing the real results of that relationship and the impact that makes not only on the individual business owner, but also their family, their community. I mean, the impact really trickles out and ripples out well beyond that individual.

TJ Lewis: [00:04:13] Without a doubt, and that’s what keeps us charged. And partnering and working with the GWBC and organizations like this just keeps us going. And we figure out ways to be more innovative and creative.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:29] Right. More creative and to make things happen, because you have to—you can’t stop innovating, or else, you’re going to die on the vine here. You got to keep kind of changing to adapt to what’s happening, because the world is so chaotic and changing so rapidly, you have to help them kind of dream bigger, really.

TJ Lewis: [00:04:48] That’s right. And just kind of tying it in, I mean, so Ally, if you know anything about Ally Financial, we’re a digital financial institution. And so, that’s kind of a disruptor. It’s kind of an innovator in this space.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:02] So, how do you kind of—as having a digital footprint, but you’re serving individuals locally and hyper locally, how do you kind of thread that needle to be available to them as they need you every day in a local market, but also have this kind of global really presence?

TJ Lewis: [00:05:20] Yeah. I mean, well, it’s the principles of the company. Well, we’re able to serve anyone everywhere.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:28] Right. But also you want to be hyper local so that you can serve the community.

TJ Lewis: [00:05:32] And that’s just in the communities that we operate and serve and across the 11,000 employees that we have. We are very active in those communities across the board. And so, it’s just part of that.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:46] That’s the culture and the DNA of the organization.

TJ Lewis: [00:05:48] Absolutely right. Absolutely right. And it’s actually why it was so fruitful starting the program here. It was—we already had a good culture, so it wasn’t about it’s just the right thing to do, everyone’s like, what can we do to help?

Lee Kantor: [00:06:02] Right. How can we do more?

TJ Lewis: [00:06:03] Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And that’s been exciting, working with Roz and team to, to really come up with those things. They’ve been really instrumental. We started a couple of things. Like we have—we do an annual symposium that we hosted virtually, and that all came out of the pandemic. We probably wouldn’t have done that, but we had to.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:24] Right. It’s kind of forced your hand there, but it’s one of those things, where after the pandemic, you’re like, well, let’s keep doing that, why not?

TJ Lewis: [00:06:31] That’s right. And then, that turned into then we do quarterly spotlight events, where we have a lot of the women-owned businesses are getting involved. They’ll pitch to our our teams. And what we found was in addition to how we we come to conferences like this, we actually do virtual events, where they’re able to talk directly to our buyers internally in house, and they’ve loved it. So, again, it’s just—the innovation that we’ve been able to get creative around is really exciting.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:59] And it must be so rewarding, too.

TJ Lewis: [00:07:01] It is. It is.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:02] Now, how do you attack an event like this, conference? Like there are so many people, like you said, it’s like a reunion where these are the first time you’ve seen in person probably a lot of these folks. What’s the strategy for you personally? Are you speaking and are you on a panel or are you doing any speaking? Are you kind of just going into booths and introducing yourselves?

TJ Lewis: [00:07:21] Yeah. So. A lot of the work that we’ve done was kind of on the forefront. A lot of the companies that we’ve met with and we know that they’re here, we actually scheduled a lot of time to try to follow up, meet with them in person.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:34] Because it’s an efficient way to really do a lot of face-to-face conversations.

TJ Lewis: [00:07:38] That’s right. Because everything else we’ve been doing for the most part has been virtual. And so, we’re taking that—the time to have that human touch. There’s always ad hoc meetings. I’ve been in this industry a while, so knowing a lot of people, a lot of companies that it helps. And so, we really, as a team, have kind of—we did our homework upfront, came in with a game plan. We do certain engagements.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:59] So, that’s great advice for someone that is new to this industry and had to work a conference is you’d better be doing some upfront work and plan this out, or else, it’s overwhelming. There’s too many people and too many things happening if you just show up and think you’re going to just wing it.

TJ Lewis: [00:08:14] That’s right. That’s right. Now, you’re 100% right. The homework is done. You’re almost in execution mode when you get here, not like wandering around.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:20] Right. You better be because you’re invested so much to get here, so you might as well get the most out of it.

TJ Lewis: [00:08:24] Absolutely. So, it’s been really fun. And I have a few team members that it’s their first conference here. And seeing that and with the changes, and it’s interesting, because it’s almost you couldn’t say like, how is it going to be, because it was all new for all of us, again, than what it was three years ago.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:42] Now, for the folks that should be connecting with you in terms of supplier diversity, are there certain niches that you want to work with or any women business is fair game here?

TJ Lewis: [00:08:54] Yeah. Our approach is if you have a product or service that you believe can help our institution, we’re here to listen. And so, because sometimes, we have a focus in certain areas, but our foundation is being a disruptor, and sometimes, disruptors, they come from areas you’re not thinking about.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:13] You couldn’t have anticipated.

TJ Lewis: [00:09:15] Right. Exactly. So, we keep an open mind around. So, really, I’m interested in companies that I may have never think that, we’re a financial institution, this isn’t going to, sometimes, they’re the ones that

Lee Kantor: [00:09:28] Surprise you.

TJ Lewis: [00:09:29] … can surprise you and be that supplier you really want to engage with.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:33] Right.

TJ Lewis: [00:09:33] Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:33] So, now, if somebody wants to learn more about Ally, what’s the website?

TJ Lewis: [00:09:38] Yeah. So, our ally.com, you can—you’ll hit the supplier diversity page as well. But one of the things, if people are interested, they can actually send an email to us in supplierdiversity@ally.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:53] And that’s A-L-L-Y?.

TJ Lewis: [00:09:55] A-L-L-Y, yes. And our team, we respond to that. We do—when we look for suppliers to potentially pitch us, we do have like a one pager that we would send to those companies, and they can fill that out, and we can get information on them to learn more.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:15] And that just gets the ball rolling.

TJ Lewis: [00:10:16] Gets the ball rolling. And so, you send an email there and our team will respond.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:22] Alright. Well, TJ, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

TJ Lewis: [00:10:26] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:28] Alright. This is Lee Kantor. We’re broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022 inside the GWBC booth and we’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022 at the Georgia World Congress Center. We’re inside the booth of GWBC, and that’s booth 1812 if you want to come by and see us. Right now, we have Randy Brown with Emory University Manager, Supplier Diversity Program. Welcome, Randy.

Randy Brown: [00:00:37] Thanks. I appreciate it. Looking forward to the conversation.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re doing at Emory. Talk about the Supplier Diversity Program over there. How are you serving folks?

Randy Brown: [00:00:47] Well, first of all, Emory is listed as the largest employer in the metro area for the last two years. We’re the largest healthcare in the metro area. Prior to the pandemic, our economic impact was 14.8 billion, including health care.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:00] Starts adding up to real money, right, after a while?

Randy Brown: [00:01:03] Yeah. Well, that’s the economic impact, not spend. The thing for us is that we spent the last couple of years, about 20-plus years, focused mostly on our government contracts that we get from NIH, and research contracts, and also CDC. We have about $2 billion in research contracts. Bringing me on in 2020, December 2020, my current boss, Scott Schachter, and our CPO, Kevin Nash, and then our VP of Finance, Debbie Mowry, wanted to expand the program to survive diversity and inclusion.

Randy Brown: [00:01:36] So, in the first year, we were able to increase our spend exponentially. I think it’s around $10 million from me coming on and including the fact of adding more diverse vendors. One that we talk about the most is the fact of even having a diverse vendor for our sanitation that we deal with. It helps us from a sustainability standpoint and increasing visibility for Emory as well to be more inclusive within the metro area.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:04] And it’s one of those things when the enterprise-level organizations like yours come into play and start thinking about, hey, let’s see if we can engage with the more of the diverse suppliers, the impact is huge for them. Like a contract for them of 20,000, 50,000, 100,000 it’s game-changing. You can change their individual—them as an individual, their family, their community. And for you to be thinking like that and to opening kind of a wider net for folks, it must be very rewarding for you.

Randy Brown: [00:02:39] It is. I think that we look at it from a standpoint of what our mission is. Our mission is to create, teach, preserve, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity. Emory is really no more so for some of the research or the educational pieces that we do, but I talk about the fact that as we continue to do this work, we’d be in the business already of students, research, and patients, and health care. By being more inclusive and diverse vendors in the metro area, we’re able now to expand those areas, where people are going to come to Emory for those things that I just mentioned.

Randy Brown: [00:03:13] The best thing about my job is the fact of seeing businesses that mature as they grow. Now, I’ve only been there a year-and-a-half, but however, we’ve accomplished a lot, even using for—since the pandemic, we usually have a staff fest in the spring right after graduation, hadn’t had it in two years, had it this year. The first time ever we used a certified woman-owned minority business and we sold more t-shirts that we have in the last—any staff as we have prior to me coming.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:42] Right. So, the impact is real. Like this is not kind of this hypothetical, I wish this could happen. This is something you’re seeing it happen. You’re seeing the results, and then the impact you’re making is real. Now, as you’re moving forward, why why was it important to partner with GWBC?

Randy Brown: [00:03:58] Well, previously, Emory was members of the Georgia Supplier Development Council, but I felt that expanding our reach into other areas and other councils. So, the first was Greater Women’s Business Council. Then, this year, we expanded the Georgia Hispanic Chamber, and then OUT Georgia. The more that we’re able to expand our reach and engagement, it allows us to get more diverse vendors in, because we can’t reach them.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:22] Right. You don’t know everybody.

Randy Brown: [00:04:23] We don’t. I try my best, though. I’ve been here a lot. But yeah, that’s basically the goal, is to try to at least be able to reach out to those that we don’t know or get the word out.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:32] So, now, if there’s somebody that wants to partner with Emory, do you have a directory? Is there a way to kind of let them know they exist and to get on your radar?

Randy Brown: [00:04:41] So, one thing I would suggest is going Google, in the sense of Emory Supplier Diversity Program. We’re revamping the site, so at some point by August, we hope to have it changed. But you can email supplier.diversity@emory.edu. Again, supplier.diversity@emory.edu. Send us your capability statement. I always ask that they include at least 2 to 3 things that they feel they can do for Emory. The reason I say that is my background originally was working with an MBE, but also worked in various other positions.

Randy Brown: [00:05:18] But from a sales standpoint, you should already know the customer you’re trying to get and you should know some information about them. You also leverage the fact of Emery’s name being a very prominent figure in the metro area. However, I also recommend to vendors that come in, don’t try to eat a whale. They assume when they see Emory, they’re like, oh, it’s huge, we’ve got the Oxford campus, our research, everything else. Focus on what you do. So, we’ve had companies that say they do light bulbs, but they do other—that’s it. Focus on the lightbulbs.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:49] Lightbulbs, right.

Randy Brown: [00:05:50] Stay in your lane.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:51] Start small, dream big.

Randy Brown: [00:05:52] And that’s it, because we understand that. And the other thing is don’t look at it as your pipeline for all your business. Focus on continuing to do it, because the advantage for us is the fact that we’re willing to increase and do this work in the last year-and-a-half. And the other piece is, as mistakes happen, things happen, we want to make sure that we are addressing that through a process so that people don’t get a bad taste in their mouth.

Randy Brown: [00:06:16] Average employee at Emory is around 15 years. We’ve got people on staff that have been there 30 years. So, you imagine them in these cycles of being used to working in the same way, some complacent maybe in the sense of, I’m doing my job, habit-forming, so we started a new acronym that we use called PREP. So, PREP is something I brought along that basically means pause, reflect, evaluate, proceed. Pause before any engagement, reflect on what you’ve done in the past, and then go ahead and evaluate it from a standpoint if there’s an opportunity for a diverse vendor or sole source.

Randy Brown: [00:06:54] We do, do a lot of scientific, so that would mean that we do. And then, the other one is proceed. We don’t want to delay the pipeline of work that needs to be done. And in our case, we’re also decentralized. Because we’re such a big university, some business units that have their own procurement department. So, I try to focus a lot of that through central procurement, but I also do a road show.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:13] Right. So, you have to go around to introduce these vendors to maybe different groups that wouldn’t have been aware, because they have their own system internally. So, now, it was great advice, I think, for folks out there that are listening when it comes to when you’re selling yourself to an enterprise level of organization, start small, do a great job, prove yourself, make everybody comfortable, learn how to work together. And then, over time, you can expand, but don’t try to rush into things and try to do 14 different things for somebody, even though that you know you could.

Randy Brown: [00:07:45] Yeah, I agree with that. I think that I look at it from a standpoint of when we bought a house that had a fireplace, it was a traditional fireplace, not a gas logs or gas starter. So, I kept having problems trying to build this fireplace—I mean, build the fire. And so, I looked it up, Googled it, and then looked on YouTube. So, look at it from a standpoint of igniting your business, right? So, in other words, when you’re doing it, do you need fuel heating air?

Randy Brown: [00:08:08] The fuel is usually the newspaper. The heat is the kindling, which is new wood, thin, and you stack it close together, and then spread it out to allow air to come in. That creates a flame. And that’s kind of how you want to look at it from the standpoint coming into Emory. The advantage is as you continue to do that, at some point, you find a log that will push you other places, because I am not that person that’s authorized to do that. All I could do is be an advocate. And so, in doing so, you know that if you put a new piece of log on to cook, it’s getting cooked.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:41] You’re not going to heat anything.

Randy Brown: [00:08:42] Didn’t need to heat anything.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:43] You’ll just be frustrated.

Randy Brown: [00:08:43] But it has to be something weathered. It’s been through some things. The advantages, you get someone with the wisdom that’s been at Emory that is your advocate that, now, can basically say, hey, we’re going to push this forward. And I think that’s where you develop your relationship.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:58] Right. You have to be patient and let it evolve, and you earn your way up the ladder.

Randy Brown: [00:09:02] Yeah, that’s definitely true. And the one thing I’ll say is that, also, continue to do your research on whoever you’re working with. So, if we’re not in the news, find out where you can find news about us. Use the student paper, use the Emory Report, which is our university paper, but engage with areas of Emory to try to do that. However, I will say, continue to work with the supplier diversity manager, because they are your advocate. So many times, we developed a relationship, and then months later, I’m hearing, oh, well, we’re having a problem, I wasn’t on the email, I didn’t know about it.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:39] Right. You couldn’t help.

Randy Brown: [00:09:40] I couldn’t help. The other thing is having developed those processes in the background that we want to do, quarterly meetings, making sure that we’re doing what we need to do on our part, but also doing the same for the vendor.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:51] Right. The communication is important. I mean, you’ve got to check all these boxes, and that’s why you can’t fast-forward these things even though you’d like to. You just got to let it play out. It’s going to take as long as it takes. Do the best you can, earn your way up the ladder, and do a great job, and then you’ll see it evolve and you’re going to have more opportunities.

Randy Brown: [00:10:11] I think about it from the standpoint of the pandemic. The pandemic put the country on pause for about two years. However, prior to that, everything was microwaved. We’re coming out of the pandemic, now, you’re trying to accelerate that microwave, because you’re like, oh, I’ve had two years.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:26] Right. I’ve been waiting.

Randy Brown: [00:10:26] But instead of basically going back, to steal the PREP analysis, pausing, so you can basically make sure, because things have changed and evolved, technology has changed, however, the opportunities are going to be there if you’re willing to wait, but also be patient and consistent in your communication.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:43] Well, Randy, if somebody wants to learn more about the program, what’s the best way again?

Randy Brown: [00:10:46] Again, Google it. It’s under Emory Supplier Diversity, but also be able to send an email to supplier.diversity@emory.edu. And we ask that you send your capability statement. If you don’t know what that is, get with Greater Women’s Business Council, they’ll be happy with that.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:04] Right. They’ll be happy with that.

Randy Brown: [00:11:05] The other one is that you also need to make sure that you are a certified minority vendor. We definitely ask that. The other one is that as you do that, make sure you give us one or two items that you feel you can provide for Emory, but stay in a smaller-

Lee Kantor: [00:11:18] Right. The super power, the thing you do best.

Randy Brown: [00:11:22] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:22] Well, thank you again for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Randy Brown: [00:11:26] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:27] This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few. Broadcasting live from WBENC’s 2022 National Conference inside the GWBC booth.

WBENC_060822_CharletteWynn_2.mp3
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022. This is the 25 years of WBENC. It flew by. And we’re inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812, if you want to stop by and see us. Right now, we have Charlette Wynn and she is with P3 Delivery. Welcome.

Charlette Wynn: [00:00:38] Well, thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] So, tell us a little bit about P3. How are you serving folks?

Charlette Wynn: [00:00:43] P3 Delivery is an award-winning management consulting firm that provides services in the area of project program management, business process improvement, and performance management, including organizational change and change in training.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:59] So, there were three Ps in there, right? That’s where they-

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:01] It’s P to third power, yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] So, if you’re looking for a fourth P or we’re going to stay with the 3 P?

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:07] We’re going to stay with the 3 Ps.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] So, how’d you get into this line of work? Were you always an entrepreneur?

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:13] I always had an entrepreneur spirit. I got into this work after leaving Deloitte Consulting for a year, management consulting career, and decided to branch out on my own.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:25] So, how’s it been? Do you enjoy your own adventure rather than the big corporate?

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:31] I do. I do. And I was actually back and forth for a period of time, and it was 2016 when I decided to focus on growing the business, as opposed to working in the business.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:42] Right. So, that’s a different mindset, right?

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:44] Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:45] Did they teach you that in school or do you have to kind of learn that on your own?

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:48] I kind of learned that in my own.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:50] Right. I wish they’d cover that.

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:52] I wish they did, too. I have a lot of lessons learned that I can share with individuals.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:56] So, how did you get involved with GWBC?

Charlette Wynn: [00:01:58] I met Roz actually at a WBENC Conference about four years ago, and she shared me more about GWBC, and from that point on-

Lee Kantor: [00:02:07] And certified, getting started.

Charlette Wynn: [00:02:09] And getting certified and participating.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:13] And has it impacted your business?

Charlette Wynn: [00:02:15] Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s what led us to win our last two awards, through some of the connections I’ve made over the years.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:21] Wow. It’s so important for the women out there that have their own business to take that step to become certified. It can really take your business to a new level.

Charlette Wynn: [00:02:31] Yes, it can.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:33] So, now, how do you attack a conference like this one, where it just seems like it’s a family reunion, everybody’s getting together seeing people that they’ve never seen?

Charlette Wynn: [00:02:41] Well, you do your homework. You do your homework. For me, I had a more targeted approach this time, and actually, I’m using this also to do a survey on a couple of things that I’m working on. So, yesterday, I spent that time, because I knew it wasn’t going to be that busy meeting with the four companies that I wanted to have seen.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:59] So, you targeted four?

Charlette Wynn: [00:03:00] I talked—I had four that I was targeting for yesterday, yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:04] And that’s important for the newer business person out there. You come into this event, you can’t just wing it, like that’s a rookie mistake.

Charlette Wynn: [00:03:14] It is.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:15] Right? You got to kind of be strategic. You got to do your research.

Charlette Wynn: [00:03:19] And realistic. It’s hard and overwhelming, because you see so many great businesses, but I’m learning to go what I call deeper than wider. And then, even today, I followed up on two of the contacts that I made from yesterday. They told me to come back.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:35] Because you went even deeper, right?

Charlette Wynn: [00:03:38] I went even deeper. And so, it seems like I’ll get closer to an opportunity now as a result of this focus.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:43] Right. So, it seems like, oh, four out of there are hundreds here, that seems, oh, well, I missed a lot, and you don’t care. You care about, let me go deeper with these four, and now, that, maybe one of them will-

Charlette Wynn: [00:03:57] And then, balance the time with more of the classes and events.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:03] The education and networking.

Charlette Wynn: [00:04:03] Educational series like in the past. And I think most small businesses are so anxious to get a contract, and so they use these industry trade shows of way of what they think is connecting. And so, this year, I just chose to have a little bit more balance, and getting a little more education out of it, and do the survey that I want to do to get some primary information.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:24] And be more patient and not look at this as a quick fix solution. This is a long-term investment.

Charlette Wynn: [00:04:30] Yes. Yes. That’s a great way to phrase it.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:33] So, now, what’s been the most rewarding part of being involved with GWBC and kind of immersing yourself in this community?

Charlette Wynn: [00:04:41] Well, this is my second time on the air, so of course, it gives me exposure.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:44] That helps.

Charlette Wynn: [00:04:45] Yes. And I even delivered a webinar for them during the COVID time. We had the special series. And so, I believe that gave me some extra exposure as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:57] So, now, are you finding that when you’re working an event like this and you’re getting deeper in those relationships that—are you starting to see maybe some sprout, some like, hey, this is going to work out, you feel like this is a better approach?

Charlette Wynn: [00:05:11] I think it’s a better approach. Even a couple of companies that I boost, I stopped at, I actually knew a few of the individuals, and they were connecting with other people that were focused more in the area that I am pursuing.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:26] So, now, at P3, who is an ideal customer for you.

Charlette Wynn: [00:05:32] A UPS, a Coca Cola, a federal government agency, anyone that’s looking to improve upon their business processes, looking at efficiencies within their organization, that’s the ideal client.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:48] Right. So, an enterprise-level organization.

Charlette Wynn: [00:05:50] Enterprise-wide level or a large federal government agency. Probably 70% of the work we do today is with federal government, so our ideal client would be in that space.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:03] So, now, if somebody wants to learn more, what’s the website?

Charlette Wynn: [00:06:06] www.p3delivery.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:09] And it’s the letter P, the number 3?

Charlette Wynn: [00:06:11] P3delivery.com

Lee Kantor: [00:06:14] Alright. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Charlette Wynn: [00:06:17] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:18] Alright. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at the 2022 WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022 inside the booth of GWBC, booth 1812, if you want to come by and see us. Right now, we have Jennifer Barbosa and she is with International Supply Partners. Welcome, Jennifer.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:00:35] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] So, how’s the conference been for you so far?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:00:38] It has been amazing. We’ve made some awesome connections. So, opened up some new opportunities, solidified some great relationships. It’s more than I had anticipated.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:50] It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? You walk in and it just-

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:00:52] Oh, my goodness. All of it, it’s way more than I expected, but I love that the way they have the system, the schedule on the app, it helps you to navigate.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] Right. Because you could get—if you just came in here and thought you were just going to wing this, good luck.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:01:12] No, no. I would not recommend that.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:14] I would not recommend that.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:01:15] Have a plan of action.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:17] Exactly. Now, talk about International Supply Partners. How are you serving folks?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:01:22] Sure. So, International Supply Partners was founded in 2016 here in Atlanta. We are a full supply company where we leverage our relationships with manufacturers, international as well as domestic, supplying office, medical, janitorial, industrial supplies and equipments. We are really good at very innovative products new to the market and we are really good at sourcing products that are in high demand but maybe in low inventory. So, we can call up our manufacturer partners who produce those products, and say, hey, can you do me a favor?

Lee Kantor: [00:02:03] So, relationships are important, right?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:02:04] Absolutely. Yes. And that’s-

Lee Kantor: [00:02:06] And you have a lot of relationships in a lot of important areas.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:02:09] Hence, the name Partners.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:10] Exactly. So, now, how did you get into this line of work?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:02:14] Well, the funny story is I was a stay-at-home mom, former military spouse, and I had six kids at home, a new baby, and I was bored.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:25] Bored. So, let me just start this brand new business. It’s connecting lots of people all over the globe.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:02:30] Yes. I was just like, I want to supply, and my goal originally was to supply to the federal government. And it slowly started to expand, and now, we supply—we just finalized our partnership agreement with Overstock Government and the GSA marketplace. So, we will be supplying PPE to GSA, which both federal agencies and state governments will have access to. We also have served hospitals. We have hospital health centers that we serve on a regular basis. We have served state counties and local city governments, as well as nonprofit organizations. And we are steadily working on our relationships with corporate and Fortune 500 companies, which we are actively building up on those as well. So, we have a partnership, a master agreement with AT&T. We are working to leverage our relationships with CVS and some of the other major corporations so that we can be of service to them as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:39] So, how has the GWBC helped you?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:03:43] Well, aside from the amazing network that I’ve made, the relationships with other women owners, the cohorts, the programs, the webinars, I’ve received a lot of valuable information, some valuable skill sets, and just opened up my eyes to what I didn’t know.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:08] And what’s possible.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:04:10] And what is possible. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:12] Now, any advice for that stay-at-home mom out there that maybe has that itch, that entrepreneurial itch to take that leap, and to kind of trust your gut and to go boldly forward?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:04:24] Well, I’ll tell you this, if you have—if you are a stay-at-home mom, you have a lot of management skills, organization skills.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:34] Don’t discount that.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:04:34] Do not discount that, because it comes into great value and purpose when you’re running your business. And I always say if you feel that in your gut and your heart, and it keeps bothering you, then it means that you need to go ahead and do it. And you don’t need to necessarily have all of the tools or all of the plan in action, just start. You’ve just got to start somewhere.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:59] Uh-huh. And is that what you did? You started maybe small, and then were able to-

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:05:02] Yeah, I started—I registered the business with the state. I started—I went ahead and immediately registered and got my company certified as a minority-owned business.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:12] So, you knew that that was important?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:05:13] Oh, absolutely, especially when you’re serving the governments. But right now, the trend also is a lot of major corporations, they’re really big in supplier diversity and inclusion. So, having these certifications is essential.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:29] It’s not a nice to have, right?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:05:30] It’s not a nice to have. No, it’s an essential. It’s absolutely must have. So, I went ahead and started that process immediately. And I’m glad that I did, because it really set us apart very quickly.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:41] And then, it helped probably take you to a new level faster than if you had not done that.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:05:46] Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, conversations were a lot easier to have. You were able to get the decision maker’s attention a lot faster, because like I said, DE&I are big topics and it’s really important to a lot of organizations. And then, the federal government has mandated opportunities for women-owned, minority-owned businesses, and you have to take advantage of that.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:13] It’s like a fast pass.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:06:14] It is. It is.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:16] And it’s true. It’s one of those things where if you’re a woman-owned business or minority-owned business, you should really consider investing the time, because it’s not easy to get the certificate. It’s not like something you just check a box, and they go, here’s your certification, you have to do some work, but it’s work-

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:06:31] You got to do the work, and it’s not hard work, i’s tedious work. It’s paperwork and it’s a lot of back and forth, and some certifications take a lot longer than others, but it is well worth the time and investment for it. Absolutely. And there are free certifications and there are membership organizations that you can get certified through, which I highly recommend as well, like WBENC, like the Greater Women’s Business Council. There are so many out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:01] Right. And it’s worth—even if you just meet a person that’s a member of them, just ask them questions. It’s such a collaborative community. Everybody’s trying to help everybody. It’s not this cutthroat, dog eat dog situation.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:07:12] Not at all. Not at all.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:14] People are rooting for each other and they want everybody to succeed.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:07:17] And then, also, one great thing to consider is a lot of the decisionmakers in these major corporations sit on the board or are part of some committees of these organizations that do the certifications. So, the level of networking and connections you’re going to have are invaluable.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:38] Right. And it’s efficient, because like you said, these people are on the board. You can meet a lot of people quickly. And these people are the right people in the right organizations.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:07:46] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:47] So, if somebody wants to learn more, what is the website for your organization?

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:07:51] Well, you can visit us through internationalsupplypartners.com or you can also go to queensupplier.com. That’s what they call me.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:00] That’s what they call you.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:08:01] The Queen Supplier. And reach out to us. We love to partner up with other businesses that do the similar thing, or if we can support you and make sure that you look good to your clients, that’s what we’re going for. We’re here to be a partner on every aspect.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:18] Well, Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Jennifer Barbosa: [00:08:22] Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:24] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022 inside the GWBC booth. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:17] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022. It’s been 25 years for WBENC, and congratulations to them for that big achievement. Right now, we are proud to be having an interview with Linda Denny, past president of WBENC. Welcome, Linda.

Linda Denny: [00:00:37] Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] So, 25 years, it’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Linda Denny: [00:00:42] The WBENC founding story is very amazing.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] So, share with us.

Linda Denny: [00:00:47] It’s just amazing that this organization came into being, and actually has prospered and impacted women’s businesses as much as it has. It’s exciting to think about. The organization was in the works for many years. Originally, women business owners were being certified by the minority counsel. And so, there were quite a number of women in certain locations around the country that were certified through the minority councils.

Linda Denny: [00:01:21] But when the minority council had a new president come in, and she said, well, White women aren’t minorities, this is for minorities, this is not for White women. And so, she literally just made them leave, even though many of them were very active in their councils and all. So, they basically got kicked out. But it was a blessing. I have thanked her many times, because-

Lee Kantor: [00:01:51] There was unintended consequences, right?

Linda Denny: [00:01:52] An Unintended consequence, that’s right. And what happened is there were women, of course, that were kicked out, were very upset about that, but there was a group down in Dallas, Texas that were particularly upset about it. And so, since there was a core group of corporate members down in that area or corporations down in that area that supported that particular council, they asked, would you, in fact, help us start a women’s council?

Linda Denny: [00:02:23] There needs to be a women’s council doing certification and replacing what we’ve just lost. And so, they hemmed and hawed around about that for, well, maybe we can do that, I don’t know, for quite a few years, frankly. So, these ladies just finally got to the point where they’d had enough. And so, they started being very aggressive about it. They went to the newspapers, they were on television. They were saying, this is not right.

Linda Denny: [00:02:57] And after a while, I think, frankly, they just shamed them into coming together to do it. But from the corporate side, also, they needed a council, such as WBENC, because they were—many of them wanting to start using women’s enterprises in their supplier diversity programs. But in order to do that, they were having to send their own staff out to review these businesses and to be sure that this really was a woman-owned business, not a man-owned business with a woman’s name on it.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:33] Right.

Linda Denny: [00:03:34] Because WBENC is looking at the ownership operation and control of a company. The certification does. So, in fact, they needed this. And so, finally, 11 corporations came together and decided that, yes, we should do this. And so, long story there, too, but to make it brief, they, over time, came together. They all put in a few bucks, and said, okay, we can start this. Susan Berry, the first president of WBENC, was hired to write the business plan and to help launch the organization.

Linda Denny: [00:04:21] And she eventually then became the first president of the organization. And the organization started with a certification standard that was very similar to what the minority counsel uses, but they did that because that’s really how—there’s regulations in federal law about how you can classify a business as minority-owned, women-owned, whatever. And so, those standards had to be very similar anyway.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:51] Consistent.

Linda Denny: [00:04:52] Consistent, absolutely. And they’re still consistent throughout the entire certification arena, regardless of its veterans, or people with disabilities or whatever. All the organizations that certify do so based on the same standards. And so, because these several hundred women had gone through certification already, they grandmothered about 500 businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] Kind of got a jumpstart.

Linda Denny: [00:05:23] Got a jumpstart, that’s right, into the organization. They went out to many of the women’s business development centers. And then, there were other organizations that had been working with minority councils or were supporting women’s businesses, and they became, eventually, the regional partners of WBENC, and WBENC is the national council that oversees the certification standards, et cetera, but it’s the local organization.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:56] Right, the 14 RPOs.

Linda Denny: [00:05:57] That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:58] What were they at the beginning?

Linda Denny: [00:05:59] The Greater Georgia Business Council is the certification body for WBENC or they actually do the physical process.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] Right. They’re the boots on the ground in there.

Linda Denny: [00:06:09] They’re the boots on the ground and it couldn’t happen without them, believe me.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:13] Right. Exactly. But was there always 14 or was that something that just kind of grew over time?

Linda Denny: [00:06:19] There’s always been about 14. At one time, there was 15. And during my tenure as president, we kind of rearranged some of the territories a little bit. One of the original councils had more states than they could really manage. Georgia, for example, was just one state. Well, that didn’t make a lot of sense, because they were adjoining some of the states that they really needed to process and that weren’t getting as much services maybe they should have.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:48] Right. You got to spread the love.

Linda Denny: [00:06:50] That’s right. So, in fact, the Georgia Women’s Business Council became the-

Lee Kantor: [00:06:55] The Greater Women’s.

Linda Denny: [00:06:56] … Greater Women’s Business Council, because-

Lee Kantor: [00:06:58] Yeah, they used the G.

Linda Denny: [00:06:59] That’s right. Branding, who wants to redo all those logos.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:03] We don’t want that.

Linda Denny: [00:07:03] So, anyway, that is how the Georgia Women’s Business Council, including both or all Georgia, North and South Carolina came into being. And it’s been a really good change for all of the councils and it functions much better with the arrangement that we have at this point in time.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:28] So, now, what is the kind of the state of women’s business in your mind? You’ve seen this evolve over the years, obviously, you’ve been doing this for a minute. How has women’s business changed or has it?

Linda Denny: [00:07:41] I think it has, and I think it’s changed because people are more aware of it. Certainly, there’s been women’s businesses since ancient times.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:50] Right, beginning of time.

Linda Denny: [00:07:51] The beginning of time. And women are very entrepreneurial, and they’re very creative, and they have a lot of focus and drive if they want to. Just ask any child or many children.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:06] But to have this community where it’s so collaborative and everybody is helping everybody kind of get to a new level if possible, are you finding that more and more women businesses are taking a leap to becoming certified, or is this something still, you’re fighting this fight of, hey, this is worth it to the certification, get certified? It’s great that you’re a woman-owned business, but this is important not only for yourself, but also for every—the greater good for the whole.

Linda Denny: [00:08:34] I think that story is being told, and we’re seeing a lot of growth. WBENC, again, started with 500 certified businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:45] Sure. And where are we at now about?

Linda Denny: [00:08:46] And I heard Pam say yesterday that it’s almost 17,000 today.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:51] Wow.

Linda Denny: [00:08:51] And during my tenure as president, we went from a little under 5,000 to right at 10,000. And so, the momentum was really starting to grow. And in the last 11 years, then we’ve gone to nearly 17,000. But what’s exciting too is that we’ve seen certification work. Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a woman who was telling me about what an impact certification has had on her company. And I’ve seen businesses go from not even quite $1,000,000 in revenue to now $1,000,000,000 in revenue. And not every business has that capability.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:35] Or that dream.

Linda Denny: [00:09:35] Or that dream. That’s right. Not everybody wants a business of that size. But the people that do can do it. And certification has been a really important part of that, because it opens the doors to contracts. And you still have to go and win the business the old-fashioned way through service, and price, and all of the things that it takes to compete in a contract of opportunity, but in fact, women are blending those opportunities. And suppliers that are the corporate supply professionals have told me so often, we love women business owners, because we find so much better service, sometimes, so much better communication, et cetera. And so, that’s exciting.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:27] So, what does WBENC need more of? Do they need more of the business that’s already a million. that wants to be the billion or do they need more of the just getting started, and hope, dreams of being a million?

Linda Denny: [00:10:37] I think WBENC’s always going to have a variety of those businesses. We have certified businesses that were already well over $1,000,000,000 now. That’s a job, I got to have to tell you.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:50] Right. Well, it’s hard to even put them in the same category.

Linda Denny: [00:10:54] But then, the brand new businesses, sometimes, use this as one of their first marketing tools, which it certainly can be, depending on what the business is. Now, the local dress shop, that’s not going to work. But in fact, if you’re a business that will eventually have a B2B type of customer base, a business customer base, not consumer customer base so much, but it’s amazing what this can do, but you have to have the right expectations about that also. And that expectation, if you’re a brand new business, is that you have to take baby steps. And that means you’re not going to walk into some big corporation, and get a great, big contract. That’s not going to happen. Maybe you’re going to do business with other WBEs. Many of our our women’s business enterprises do business with each other.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:54] And that’s okay, though.

Linda Denny: [00:11:55] Oh, it’s wonderful. I mean, I always look for women business owner when I’m buying something. I love that women-owned logo, because it sure makes it a lot easier. But in fact, that may be the first step that a brand new business would take, is seeking to do business with other smaller businesses, not maybe the giant corporations.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:21] But that’s part of the-

Linda Denny: [00:12:22] But that’s the building process.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:23] Right. And this is something you learn when you immerse yourself in the community. It’s not like this lottery ticket that you join, and you’re like, where is my million-dollar contract? I’m here now. It’s not like that. You got to look at this as this is now part of my culture, and I am part of the community, and I got to kind of earn my way up the ladder. So, I’m going to start here, and I’m going to do the work, and I’m going to volunteer, I’m going to be a part of the group, so you can see I am a leader, I am a person that you can trust for this kind of work. And then, work your way up the ladder. And then, the opportunity is really, you can dream as big as you want to.

Linda Denny: [00:13:00] That’s exactly right. And that’s what’s so exciting about WBENC, is that as the leader of this organization or a leader in this organization throughout many years, really, almost from the very beginning, I could see those businesses come in, and I could see the growth and the excitement. And again, the businesses that were those million-dollar businesses today are those 800 million, $900 million, billion-dollar businesses. And you stand back and you think about the impact that those businesses have had on not just their employees, but their customers, their people that they work with. I mean, the-

Lee Kantor: [00:13:49] The ripples are real.

Linda Denny: [00:13:51] The ripples are real. There’s a little—I spent 23 years in the financial services industry and in a corporate career as part of that. And we used to tell insurance agents that a dollar spent in a community will multiply itself at least seven times. And so, you think about those billion-dollar businesses, just their payroll, the seven times that that dollar turns over in every community, those small businesses are where business growth comes from in this country, and that’s exciting to help that.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:33] Now, at this stage in your career, what is the most rewarding part of your journey? To see these people, like you said, starting out, where they were just a person with a dream, and now, they have this entity, and they’re impacting thousands and thousands of people. Do you have your own adventure or are you on your own—a new entrepreneurial journey?

Linda Denny: [00:14:51] I worked so hard for so many years for all of this. When I retired from WBENC, I did quite a lot of consulting with various kinds of companies and organizations.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:04] Large and small or?

Linda Denny: [00:15:07] Large and small. I helped what was, at that point in time, called the United States Business Leadership Network, which today is called Disability:IN. And they were wanting to start a certification program of their business owners that were disabled, and because they were not having any way of reaching into those corporate markets and the bigger markets that they wanted to be able to reach to.

Linda Denny: [00:15:37] So, I was hired as a consultant and worked very closely with the organization for several years. Establishing that, we established the service-disabled veterans part of that program also. And so, it was very exciting to work with them. And then, also, just structurally, how the organization was organized, and how their board was organized, and some of those kinds of things. I just did-

Lee Kantor: [00:16:06] So, the foundational structure of the organization.

Linda Denny: [00:16:08] The structure of the organization along with the certification program, and helped bring them some good people that I knew would do a great job in leading some of those sections of their adventure, too. And I also worked with the National Veteran—NVOBA, National Veteran-Owned Business Association. I always have to stop and think about how to say that.

Linda Denny: [00:16:33] And helped them start their certification programs and also helped that organization be launched as a nonprofit organization, because corporate members were really interested in making sure that an organization that they supported with their corporate dollars was one, and the certification organization, I should say, was one that had the standards that are pretty standard throughout the industry or the certification industry, if you want to call it that.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:07] It’s becoming an industry. Like now, there’s a lot of them out there doing this kind of work.

Linda Denny: [00:17:13] The certification community, let’s call it that.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:15] Alright.

Linda Denny: [00:17:17] Anyway, I’ve assisted them in launching both the organization and the certification program. Again, helped them find some great people. We thought about that one very differently. And so, that certification program is done in a little different manner than what some like WBENC is. It doesn’t have regional partners or that kind of thing.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:38] But the standards are similar, right?

Linda Denny: [00:17:40] The standards are the same.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:41] That’s the key, right? The consistency of the standards. So, how they kind of do what they do is less important than as long as at the end of the day, they’re getting the result that everybody desire.

Linda Denny: [00:17:53] Well, the standard has to be the same. It has to be the same across the board. And I’m very happy to say that NVOBA today and Disability:IN with their service-disabled veteran designations, they have agreed to just make that—to make reciprocity between the two. So, if you’re in the database for NVOBA and you’re a service-disabled veteran, then you can be in the database for Disability:IN.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:22] So, you don’t have to kind of create the wheel again.

Linda Denny: [00:18:23] So, you don’t have to go through it all again, because frankly, the certification process is a pretty arduous one.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:29] But it has to be. Like it can’t be something where just check-

Linda Denny: [00:18:31] That’s exactly-

Lee Kantor: [00:18:32] … four boxes and you’re done. It can’t be like that.

Linda Denny: [00:18:35] That’s exactly right.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:35] We want to keep those standards as high as you want to keep them.

Linda Denny: [00:18:38] Exactly right. We inspect what we expect, and that’s a key management tool I learned long ago.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:45] It seems to be bearing fruit. It seems to be working pretty well.

Linda Denny: [00:18:48] So, it’s been wonderful to see those organizations really grow and prosper, and the impact that they’re having also. And certification has been kind of one of the things that I’m very proud of in my career. When I first came to WBENC, one of the very first things that Susan Berry assigned me to do was to work with the Gay Lesbian Chamber of Commerce or National Gay Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, because they were wanting to set up their certification program. And it’s mature. It’s been going for many years now. They’ve got thousands of businesses certified. And so, it’s great to stand back and just look at all of that chaos that I helped cause.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:35] Well, if somebody wants to get ahold of you, are you available on LinkedIn? Are you still doing consulting?

Linda Denny: [00:19:40] I am still doing some consulting. I basically am retired and play in my garden, except when I break my arm, as I have now. But other than that, yes, I most definitely am on LinkedIn and I’m available to-

Lee Kantor: [00:19:56] Have conversation to help people.

Linda Denny: [00:19:57] Have a conversation. I love promoting women’s businesses, and veterans’ businesses, and businesses with persons with disabilities, and it’s just been such a rewarding thing for me throughout all these years.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:12] Well, congratulations on all the success and thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Linda Denny: [00:20:18] Oh, thank you so much. And it’s been a pleasure to be with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:21] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference inside GWBC’s booth, booth 1812. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022. This is the 25th annual conference, and we are proud to have with us, Billie Schultz, one of the founders of the organizations or one of the early participants. Billie, welcome.

Billie Schultz: [00:00:33] Yes, thank you. I’m so excited to be here celebrating the 25 years.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:40] 25 years.

Billie Schultz: [00:00:40] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:40] Is it a blink? Did it go by fast for you?

Billie Schultz: [00:00:45] No, it’s going by faster, because at first, it was kind of clogged up, but now, it’s really a very unique organization and growing, 18,000 and growing. So, we’re excited about that.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:04] When you were at the beginning stages, is this how you imagined it could be or is this better than you imagine? Where is it in your mind?

Billie Schultz: [00:01:12] It is better than I ever imagined, because we were just a few women knowing that we needed a certification process that really helps weed out all of the know—helps weed out the fronts as we were called in the day. So, it’s amazing. I can’t say enough good words about it. Pam Easton and the awesome staff that she has today is doing great things, and we just know that we’re going further to spotlight what women are doing throughout America and beyond, so it’s a great adventure.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:00] Absolutely. Now, are you seeing that women today are a different type of entrepreneur and business owner than they were 25 years ago? Are they dreaming bigger, or where do you see them?

Billie Schultz: [00:02:12] Yes, we are dreaming bigger. I think a lot of people have started really reflecting, and some of the things maybe that happened to us in COVID, and now, the supply chain, but we are becoming more and more innovative. I am in technology myself, and so we have to become more innovative to keep up. And so, we are doing significant things in technology and I hope that we will be able to have a technology committee within the WBENC family very soon that spotlights all of what we do.

Billie Schultz: [00:02:55] I represent 10 major manufacturers in the technology industry, so there is a lot going on in each one of those manufacturers. I am here at this conference to spotlight one of the things that I have done in developing a particular application for logistic and manufacturing companies. It is a print, ship, and return label that is only about flipping over the label. It is cost savings and it is sustainable. It does not have any plastic on it. And so, very innovative.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:40] Now, have you found that technology now, it’s so ubiquitous that every company is, in essence, a technology company in some regards?

Billie Schultz: [00:03:49] Yes. Yes. When I assumed the leadership role of this company, it was just a service organization, and I knew immediately that I had to move toward getting manufacturers to look at my service business and see how good we were, and then be willing to partner with us to perform certain things in the technology industry. Been with some of my manufacturers for over 25 years.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:21] And then, being a certified woman business owner, that’s part of, I’m sure, the DNA and the organization you’re with now. Any advice for that women business owner that hasn’t taken the leap to be certified?

Billie Schultz: [00:04:35] Well, I would just encourage them to give it a try. First of all, if you’re in any kind of business, there are opportunities at WBENC. And so, we women want to do business with women, and one of the things that I’m talking about here today is the second tier. Some of the large corporations, if they can’t reach us on the first tier, what about the second tier? And what about us building a collection of those second tier women business owners that are very credible, like my service business was years ago. But now, I can represent, in fact, I do represent some manufacturers first tier, and then I’m free to go out there and find women that can help in the second tier position.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:28] Right, and partner with them?

Billie Schultz: [00:05:30] Mm-hmm. It is about the pooled power of women right now, I believe. And Susan Barry, who was the first president of WBENC or CEO of WBENC actually said, Billie, always say something about the pooled power of women when you speak, because we do need to pool our power, we do need to prove who we are and speak out. And so, that’s what we’ve been doing and it is working.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:00] Absolutely. Look around. There’s lots and lots of folks here.

Billie Schultz: [00:06:03] Really, it’s just awesome. I can’t say enough good word.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:07] Now, when you started, there was a few hundred women that had pulled together to to form the group, and now, you’re up to, like you said, 18,000. How much—what do you think—the the sky’s the limit, obviously, but how many women businesses are out there that aren’t certified? There has to be hundreds of thousands, right?

Billie Schultz: [00:06:24] Yes. It is all about communication and connections, and that’s what we’re doing right now, is we’re connecting with not only corporation, but women, and we’re connecting in their skills, and then furthering our skills as we partner together.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:44] Right. Pooled resources. It’s the same as it was, same as it ever was, right?

Billie Schultz: [00:06:48] Yes, same exact thing.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:49] 25 years ago, the rules are the same in that regard.

Billie Schultz: [00:06:51] The rules are the same. And I believe there’s a value in connecting with corporate women, because I think they’re kind of at the same place that we were maybe some time ago. They need to have more opportunity to speak out on their skills and to further their career, because lots of things happen. My late husband passed away. I had to do significant things. I had to be bold. I had to go out and get a new bank, because the bank that we had the credit line in wouldn’t accept my signature. I mean, it’s like, what’s wrong with this-

Lee Kantor: [00:07:33] What world is this? I mean, how is that possible?

Billie Schultz: [00:07:38] It was. And now, I have two wonderful banks.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:41] I bet you do.

Billie Schultz: [00:07:44] And they never questioned my signature. They just want me to pay it back.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:48] Exactly. When we focus on what’s important, then things get done.

Billie Schultz: [00:07:52] Yes, it does get done. And then, I had no manufacturers to represent. So, tell you a quick story there. My service people found out there was a fax machine bid out on the street, some large corporation that we were servicing in Dallas. And so, they said, do you know anybody, this was my service person talking to me, that would partner with you to do this bid on this contract? And I said, well, I don’t know them, but I’m going to call them.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:26] I’m not going to wait and hope they find me, I’m going to go out and take some action.

Billie Schultz: [00:08:30] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:31] I make the relationship that happened.

Billie Schultz: [00:08:32] Yes, that way, it did happen. I’ve called up the biggest manufacturer at that time, and I said, I have a bid that one of my customers is going out to bid for and I want to bid it, but I want to be the prime, and you could beat the sub. Well, after he got through choking, because he didn’t know me, okay, we’ll do the deal, let’s bid, and we won. I’m still with that manufacturer today.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:03] Well, congratulations on all the success, and thank you so much for all that you’ve done to help this organization and so many—the ripples are real and the businesses you’ve impacted. You look around here and a lot of this couldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your efforts. Thank you so much.

Billie Schultz: [00:09:18] Thank you, and thank Roz for recommending that I do this interview, because I was kind of blown away.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:24] Well, before we wrap, let’s get your website for your organization, because that’s important.

Billie Schultz: [00:09:30] Okay.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:30] Or to say the name of your organization.

Billie Schultz: [00:09:33] Well, it’s CESCO Inc. We are an IT equipment, software, solutions, supplies, value-added reseller in 10 major manufacturers for those sales and service.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:47] Yeah. So, Google that and you can find out more, because you can help a lot of people, and get involved and help those manufacturers get their goods out there to the world.

Billie Schultz: [00:09:56] Exactly. We are partnered together to make new business. I look forward to connecting with more people here. I already had some good meetings, so yes, continue your work. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:10] Well, thank you for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Billie Schultz: [00:10:13] Oh, I didn’t say one thing. I do mentoring for young girls in The Harmony School for Underserved Kids.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:22] Is that in Dallas or that’s national?

Billie Schultz: [00:10:25] It is Texas wide.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:28] Texas wide.

Billie Schultz: [00:10:28] And then, it’s 56, I think, schools throughout Texas, and I happen to be in the business park where they are, one of them. And so, they invited me to breakfast. I wanted to know what I did, and then I took—there was an opportunity at the Go for the Greens Conference, which is one that I serve on the board of. And so, I told my husband, I said, I need to do something right now, because I was faced with meeting these girls, and I just want to make some kind of impression in letting them see what’s out there. So, he said, well, let’s just take three of the girls to this conference. And so, we took three, paid their airfare, and their hotel, and all of that, and they went to where Disney actually does a presentation on how to get an internship at Disney. And then, UPS does something about corporate. So, these girls just completely changed their lives.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:43] They ended up—I’m sure they were so hungry for that type of information, an opportunity.

Billie Schultz: [00:11:48] They couldn’t hardly say their name when I first met them, and now, they’re just—you can’t stop them talking. In fact, there’s an interview on Go for the Greens website and somebody might look at it.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:59] Yeah. Well, thank you for doing that and be the change you want to be in the world. That’s the lesson here. I mean, you’ve made such a difference, because you’ve stepped up, and more, the change that needed to be happening.

Billie Schultz: [00:12:12] Well, the girls are part of the next gen’s employee availability.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:20] Sure. So, well, thank you, Billie, so much. We appreciate you. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022 in the GWBC booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kanter here, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022. And we’re inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812, if you want to stop by. And I’m excited to welcome Gabrielle Chrisman. Welcome, Gabrielle.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:00:31] Thank you. Happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Now, she’s the president and CEO of STEMHUNTER and Hunter Recruiting.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:00:38] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] So, tell us about STEMHUNTER. How are you serving folks?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:00:42] Okay. Great. So, STEMHUNTER launched in May of 2022. We are a STEM-focused job board. So, general job boards, 94% of the jobs posted are not STEM-related, so STEMHUNTER, 100% of the jobs are STEM-related, and we are the only WBENC-certified job board in the US.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:02] Now, how did you get into this line of work?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:01:04] So, my first business was Hunter International Recruiting. I had a life sciences background, working at Eli Lilly in the Cleveland Clinic. And I started Hunter Recruiting in 2006, looking for scientific, technical, and engineering talent. And so, for the past 16 years in business, we haven’t found a job board that works how we want it to work to find technical professionals in science and engineering. And so, we built one. About two-and-a-half years ago, we set out to build one, and we’re really excited to be launching for the first time publicly to WBENC.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:35] Now, why was it so difficult, do you think, to have a job board the way that you wanted it to be, because job board’s been around forever, but there was nothing in this specific niche that you wanted it to do what you wanted it to do?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:01:47] Right. So, as technical recruiters, we search for talent differently, and as STEM professionals, STEM professionals search for work differently. And so, there is no system in place that honors how that happens, how we want it to happen, and also gives us the technical functionality to allow us to layer our searches to literally find the needle in the haystack fast. So, from a technical perspective, we were able to make that happen. We have two features that are currently patent-pending, and in booth 512, we have a live demo going on, so we can demo some of those features to those attending the conference.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:22] Now, in this world, the unemployment rate, I’m sure, is like zero, right? You’re finding people that already have jobs and they’re working somewhere else. How do you kind of—if I’m the candidate, how do I—what do I have to do to catch your eye? What are some of the kind of clues that I have to—the breadcrumbs I have to lead so that you’re like, hey, I’m going to call Lee, he’s the exact fit for what I’m looking for?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:02:48] Right. So, on the Hunter side of the business, Hunter Recruiting, that’s what we’re known for, tapping people on the shoulder. We call those passive candidates, the ones happily working for your competitor that haven’t done their resume in 10 years. Those are the types of talent that we want to find and bring to you. And there’s a lot of ways in which we do that. One of the best ways we do that is by hiring technical recruiters who have a background. So, our IT team, our folks that had an IT background, our scientific team, they worked in a lab, they understand formulations, same with our engineering team and so on.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:03:19] And so, when they’re calling candidates about technical roles, first of all, they speak the technical language, they know the jargon, they understand what the job is, and they’re likely to be able to engage that candidate to, hey, maybe let’s just put feelers out. A great way to engage candidates right now is saying, hey, update your resume, let’s get a pulse on the market. The market is changing. There’s a price for staying with your employer through the great resignation. And so, let’s see what the value of your skill set is in the market.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:46] Right. But from a candidate standpoint, what do I have to do as a candidate to catch your eye? Is there something I should be doing? Is there—should I be getting more involved in the association world? Should I be publishing more? Should I—what can I be doing to you that are like, wow, this is the right one, this person is standing out?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:04:04] I think that you can, first of all, put yourself out there, right? If you don’t have a resume updated once a year, it’s, first, put yourself out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:11] So, once a year, I should be updating my resume, which is kind of a rule.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:04:14] Yes, you should be updating your resume once a year. If you haven’t updated your resume for five-plus years, you should scratch it and start again. And actually, on our website, we have a great downloadable tool to help you build your resume called a Resume Builder. And so, you should be building out a resume that is easy to read. Recruiters read resumes, what we call above the fold. Just like in the news industry, you read above the fold, recruiters do the same thing.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:04:36] You’ve got to make us page down on that resume. So, we need to see what you’re doing most recently, what types of roles you’re most interested in quickly, and that has to be relevant, and very readable and usable, just like any website that we’re interfacing like would be. Right now, the employer market is not as strong as the employee market, so if you’re a candidate and you’re looking for a job, you should be visible, you should have a strong resume, and you should be pushing it out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:00] Should I say I’m looking for new opportunities?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:05:04] That’s a great question. It’s a little bit of a double-edged sword. It’s great to open up your network and tell people that you’re starting to look, you’re starting to think about opportunities, you’re open to things that might be worth exploring. There are ways in which you can kind of send a signal to recruiting teams that you’re actively looking, and then you’re opening up the floodgates for a lot of phone calls in the market we’re in.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:26] So, now, from the job board standpoint, what should I be doing in that regard? Should I—is that like table stakes, any candidate should be putting their name in that hat?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:05:35] I think if you’re a STEM professional, and you want to be notified when roles open up that are right for you and understand what the value of your skill set is, absolutely. You should come to STEMHUNTER, you should upload your resume and be notified when a job that’s right for you opens up, and then decide if you want to apply from there. One of the great features we have for candidates that is only on STEMHUNTER is called Messaging that Matters.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:06:00] And for the first time, candidates can ask questions to a hiring team before they apply. So, a lot of times, we know, the data shows that women don’t apply for jobs that they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements, and diverse candidates don’t apply if they don’t meet requirements either. So, we’re seeing that feature used hugely on the board. You can ask questions to the employer, hey, you said four years of experience, I have three, but I did this other thing in my last project, can I still apply? The answer is yes, but male candidates get that, and they apply, right? They’re like, whatever.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:31] Close enough.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:06:31] Right. Me see job, me get job, it’s like, right? But women aren’t that way. And so, they’re asking questions anonymously. They’re getting those answers, and then they’re feeling comfortable to apply, which is what it’s all about for employers right now. You just want to cast a wide net. You want as many applicants that you can put in front of your hiring team, and then find the best fit for the culture and the organization.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:50] Now, what brings you to this conference? What are you trying to get out of this conference?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:06:54] So, this conference, I’m part of the host committee representing WBENC ORV. We’re headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. And I’ve been to WBENC National Conferences since 2016. I’ve been certified since 2008. So, for me, the national conference is like Christmas, the week of Christmas and trade show day.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:14] So, you’re going every year?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:07:16] Every year.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:17] Doesn’t matter where it is?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:07:17] It’s always on my calendar. I’m always there. The ability to see our current customers, to meet new customers, to connect with other WBEs. In my industry and some incredible industries you didn’t even know was an industry until you get here, just the energy is unmatched that was kind of nuts.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:33] So, you’re coming for the networking or you’re coming for the education. Has being certified helped you think your business get to the level it is? Like if you weren’t certified, do you think you would have achieved what you’ve achieved thus far?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:07:45] I think that to answer your first question, I come for both the networking and the education. There’s some great educational opportunities that will take place this afternoon, that’ll take place tomorrow that are unparalleled to hear from those kind of thought leaders all on one stage at the same time. From our certification, absolutely. We’ve seen value out of our certification, but it’s like anything in life, what you put into it, you get out. So, to be here, and be present, and take those opportunities to introduce yourself to new people, to take risks within the network, to get involved in volunteering within your region has what have made the WBENC experience for me and my company so much more fruitful than it would have been if we hadn’t been involved on a national level?

Lee Kantor: [00:08:28] Now, for the folks that are getting involved in your RPO in Ohio, you can’t just join, right? You can’t just say, oh, I’m going to join, I’m going to pay the money, and then I’ll just wait by the phone and business is going to come my way, right? This is one of those things that you got to kind of do the work, you’ve got to volunteer, you have to take leadership roles if you want to get the most out of this.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:08:53] Yes. Yeah. I always say you have to show up, right? You have to show up. You have to put yourself in the room. You have to sit down at a table where you don’t know anyone at that table. And if you do that, it’s amazing what kind of road can be revealed to you through WBENC. And I found that throughout my experience, I remember coming to the conference as a first-time attendee and what that felt like, how brave these women have to be to come here in a platform like this, not knowing anyone.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:09:19] And so, I feel for our first-time attendees, but I also see the excitement on the other side of that, that they’re getting to meet all of these prospective customers. You couldn’t meet this many people in a year in business development. And so, having this opportunity is tremendous, but you have to put yourself in the room and into those situations. And some of the most fruitful relationships I’ve had through WBENC have been by the accident of who I was sitting at, at a table, who I was waiting in line with to get my lunch. Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:45] You’ve got to make the serendipity happen, though.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:09:47] Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:48] Good stuff. Well, congratulations on all the success and thank you so much for sharing your story today. What’s the website or the best way to get a hold of you or somebody on your team in either STEMHUNTER or Hunter Recuiting?

Gabrielle Christman: [00:10:00] So, you can find us, STEMHUNTER, in the app store. We have an app, STEMHUNTER. It’s in the business section of the App Store or on stemhunter.com. And then, Hunter International Recruiting, you can find us on the web or at hirecruiting.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:14] Well, thank you again, Gabrielle, for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Gabrielle Christman: [00:10:18] Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:19] Alright. This is Lee Kantor, broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC’s booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here live from the WBENC National Conference inside GWBC’s booth, Booth 1812, if you want to come by and see us. I’m so excited for our guest right now. It’s Leslie Zinn with Arden’s Garden. Welcome, Leslie.

Leslie Zinn: [00:00:32] Thank you. Glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:34] Now, you’ve been keeping me hydrated and keeping me energized with a variety of potions and concoctions. How did you get involved with Arden’s Gardens?

Leslie Zinn: [00:00:43] Arden is my mother.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] Arden is your mother? Really?

Leslie Zinn: [00:00:47] So, I was brought in for free labor.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:48] So, you’ve been in that garden since birth.

Leslie Zinn: [00:00:49] That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:52] So, talk about, you know, kind of the genesis of the idea. How did that –

Leslie Zinn: [00:00:56] Yeah. Sure. So, my mom was a huge health nut all my life. She fed my brother and I the grossest combinations. And she always wanted a juicer called a Norwalk but it costs too much money. So, to make herself feel better, she got out her credit card and she bought it and she called all her friends and said, “I bought this incredible juicer. I want to use it. I’m going to give you juice.” So, that was how we started.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:19] And so, it started out just with a juice recipe she just invented?

Leslie Zinn: [00:01:23] She invented lots of different recipes, some that you would never, ever put in your mouth, like broccoli.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:30] So, you put it in your mouth.

Leslie Zinn: [00:01:31] I have. You will know when broccoli juice is being made from a mile away. There’s no doubt about that. But she came up with a lot of different combinations. Yep.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:40] So, she was involved in this kind of holistic health and wellness before it was cool.

Leslie Zinn: [00:01:45] Yeah. 1993.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:47] So, now, talk about the evolution of Arden’s Garden from her, I guess, juicer, her blender to what it is today.

Leslie Zinn: [00:01:55] So, a health food store opened in her neighborhood and they heard about her and they said, “Hey, come to the back of our store, we’ll give you the produce, you make the juice, and we’ll split the sales.” She thought, “Well, this is a homerun because I’m buying the produce and I’m giving the juice away. So, this is great.” But that little cold press was very, very labor intensive. So, she brought my brother and I in to help out with free labor. And that’s how we began.

Leslie Zinn: [00:02:19] But about nine months into that, we were not selling a lot of juice in that health food store, so we said to our mom, “Hey, go into Buckhead where people have money and try and sell this.” And she went to hair salons, which was not our idea. We were thinking like stock brokerage houses, lawyers offices. But my mother doesn’t think like normal people, and that decision turned our whole business around. Because hairstylists are stuck in their stations, they like things that are new and trendy. They always have a different customer in their chair and they have cash from tips. So, in three weeks she was selling 300 times the amount outside of that little health food store as we were and a business was born.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:59] So, now, the evolution of the business, is it a franchise? Is it you’re selling through other –

Leslie Zinn: [00:03:07] Yeah. So, we are totally family-owned, 100 percent woman-owned. We have 16 of our own retail stores in the Atlanta area and we also partner with Publix all throughout the southeast, Kroger in Atlanta, Whole Foods, Sprouts, a lot of different retailers.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:26] So, you decided not to be a franchise?

Leslie Zinn: [00:03:28] No. We’re not a franchise.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:29] Your eyes light up, obviously it was a strategic decision, but is there a reason behind that you wanted to be in more control over the entire operation and the brand?

Leslie Zinn: [00:03:41] Yes. We wanted to stick true to our mission, which was to make healthy products convenient and affordable. And we felt if we kept it in the family, we would drive my mother’s mission, which was to promote wellness.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:53] So, it’s family-owned still?

Leslie Zinn: [00:03:55] And it’s family-owned still.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:57] So, how do you see it kind of evolving and expanding? Or is it okay you’re just here in the local footprint and that’s okay?

Leslie Zinn: [00:04:04] I think we’re very happy where we are. But being at this conference has been eye opening for us. A lot of people have never heard of our company. We’ve been in business 27 years, they’re like, “Well, how can I get it in New Jersey? How can I get it in Texas? How can I get it in Chicago?” So, that’s going to be our next step, to figure out how we can provide them.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:23] And do you have any ideas?

Leslie Zinn: [00:04:24] Yes. We have new innovations. So, for example, we now introduced HPP, which is High Pressure Processing, which gives you a much longer shelf life without killing nutrients and keeping the taste. So, we have a lot more distribution capabilities, so we’re going to grow.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:42] So, you’re obviously starting it here in the southeast and then just expanding.

Leslie Zinn: [00:04:47] We are in six states right now. So, we want to get up to Virginia, up to D.C., up to New York, go along the eastern seaboard.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:56] Are you still partnering with hair salons? Is that still part of your –

Leslie Zinn: [00:05:00] No. We are not partnering with hair salons. We love them. We will be forever grateful to those hairstylists, but we are not partnering there.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:08] So, through grocery stores and things like that?

Leslie Zinn: [00:05:10] Grocery stores, specialty stores, and then we also have our own retail stores. So, when you walk into one of our stores, we have a lot of plant-based foods that are very perishable. And we like to pride ourselves on being an oasis of health. So, if you don’t know how to start your health journey, come to one of our stores and we’re going to help you.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:29] So, education is part of the mission as well.

Leslie Zinn: [00:05:32] Huge. Huge.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:33] Now, why was it important to get certified and be part of GWBC?

Leslie Zinn: [00:05:38] Well, we had been women-owned for 26 years.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:42] I know. But to be certified is another thing.

Leslie Zinn: [00:05:44] That’s right. We didn’t really know, honestly. And we didn’t know the benefits of being woman-certified. And a juice company kind of fills a different little niche, but it’s been very helpful. We’ve been introduced to some partners that we would not have had an introduction to, so it opened the door.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:00] Did it help in regard to getting into, like, the grocery stores and the larger chains and things like that?

Leslie Zinn: [00:06:05] It did. What it did is it opened the door and then we got the interview.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:11] The product, that’s going to sell itself, right? It’s just the opportunity –

Leslie Zinn: [00:06:16] Right. That’s exactly what it did, is, it open doors for us.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:20] So, how has the conference been? So, you said you’re meeting people. Was that a no-brainer to actually have a booth here as opposed to walking around?

Leslie Zinn: [00:06:28] It was a no-brainer because we’re an Atlanta-based business and it was in Atlanta.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:33] So, that is why.

Leslie Zinn: [00:06:33] Yes. I mean, in 27 years, we’ve done one conference. This is our second.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:40] Right. So, that’s a big change, though, for you to do a conference in this manner.

Leslie Zinn: [00:06:44] Yeah. It’s a big change. It’s very exciting. Because we’re used to selling to the same people, so to have new eyes –

Lee Kantor: [00:06:51] Right. Your regulars, right?

Leslie Zinn: [00:06:52] Exactly. So, to have new eyes on our product, be really enthusiastic. It pumps us up.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:57] Right. It gets you fired up. The opportunity is endless, really. Now, in the booth, I got to taste a tiramisu concoction. Talk about that. That is a new offering of yours. Or is it just being tested here?

Leslie Zinn: [00:07:13] It’s going to go into our stores, into our retail stores. So, our major push is to offer more plant-based foods because we cannot live on juice and smoothies alone. And I’m plant-based, I don’t like to cook, I want to go somewhere and just be able to buy something that’s healthy. So, we have a major initiative to expand our product offerings in our retail stores.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:36] And then, how did you pick tiramisu as the recipe?

Leslie Zinn: [00:07:41] We tried a lot of different ones.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:43] What are some of the ones that didn’t make it?

Leslie Zinn: [00:07:47] Strawberry cheesecake.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:48] Strawberry cheesecake couldn’t?

Leslie Zinn: [00:07:50] No.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:51] No broccoli cheesecake? It didn’t make it either?

Leslie Zinn: [00:07:53] Not yet. But, listen, there’s a juice over there that hasn’t made it yet, but it’s going to make it, and it’s called the Kalenator.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:01] Kalenator. Okay. Keep your eyes open for the Kalenator in a market near you.

Leslie Zinn: [00:08:05] That’s right. That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:06] So, right now, can people buy Arden’s Garden online or it’s only in the store?

Leslie Zinn: [00:08:11] They can. They can buy online. They can come into a grocery store. They can come into one of our retail stores.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:16] And then, the website?

Leslie Zinn: [00:08:18] The website is ardensgarden.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:20] Well, Leslie, thank you so much for sharing your story today. And I’m so fortunate to be next door to you here in the booth and get to sample some of the great stuff over here. And for any of the folks listening, make sure you check out an Arden’s Garden near you, even if you just have a question about plant-based kind of what’s out there.

Leslie Zinn: [00:08:38] Please. We would love to have you, for sure.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:38] You want to be a resource to the community. It’s not just about selling juice.

Leslie Zinn: [00:08:44] That’s Arden 100 percent.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:46] All right. Well, Leslie, thank you again for sharing your story.

Leslie Zinn: [00:08:48] My pleasure.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:49] All right. This is Lee Kantor broadcasting live from WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC booth, right next door to Arden’s Garden. Back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from WBENC’s National Conference 2022 inside the Georgia World Congress Center, inside the GWBC booth, Booth 1812, if you want to come by and see us. I’m so excited to have the guest we have right now, Crystal King and Clovice – Clovice?

Clovice Vaughn: [00:00:35] Clovice. There you go.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] … I screwed up. Clovice Vaughn – sorry about that – with Grady Health System. Crystal and Clovice, welcome.

Crystal King: [00:00:45] Thank you.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:00:45] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] So, how’s the show been for you?

Crystal King: [00:00:48] It’s been really good. Lots of great exhibits, great conversation. So, it’s been awesome.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:00:54] It’s been great. It’s just been good just to get out and see –

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] And see a lot of people at one place.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:00:59] And see real people, yeah, exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:01] Spend a minute. Talk about GWBC, why is it important for you to be involved?

Crystal King: [00:01:06] It’s important for us at Grady. We have a really robust program at Grady for diverse suppliers, and women suppliers have come through for us in major ways, especially during COVID, staffing companies providing nurses and PPE. We just believe that women always make the world better. And we find the same with our women-owned business partners.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:31] Now, at Grady, you use a variety of services, and want the women business owners to kind of think bigger and broader, right? Because there’s a lot of things they might be able to help you with that they may not be thinking. They might be self-selecting out before they even have a chance to have a conversation with you. What are some of the maybe different types of things that you need from the women business owners that maybe they’re not thinking that they might be a good resource?

Clovice Vaughn: [00:01:59] Well, from my perspective, it’s business as usual. You know, being a hospital, you don’t really think about certain things in that capacity, because in a hospital we bill construction-wise, marketing, IT. I mean, all of those that you see in some of the other big name corporations, the hospital industry using them as well. Well, now we have our specialties like medical devices, durable medical equipment, things of that caliber. But for the most part, we use some of the same service levels as some of the other big name corporations.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:38] Right. So, anything that you would do for any large company would be appropriate for Grady. But a lot of times people think, “Oh, Grady. I don’t have a medical device or I don’t know anything about medicine. They’re not in my list of people to even have a conversation with.”

Crystal King: [00:02:55] That’s right. And we try to really change the conversation about that. Don’t think of health care as health related things all the time. Anything it takes to run your house, anything it takes to run a city, a school, any other business. We have printers, we have everything, janitorial service.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:15] Every business need you have.

Crystal King: [00:03:17] Every business need we have.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:18] And, plus, the medical stuff. So, it’s not an or, it’s an and.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:03:21] In addition to, correct.

Crystal King: [00:03:23] That’s right. And we would love to see more women-owned businesses on that medical side, on the clinical side of the house, with medical devices, with medical technology. Those are places where we we see that women pull the shrink tremendously. And so, we would love to help grow and develop women-owned businesses on that side of the business.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:46] So, now, when you say grow and develop, what does that mean? Like, say, I’m a woman-owned business and I want to partner with Grady, how do I even get started?

Crystal King: [00:03:53] So, if you’re listening to this podcast, hopefully you’re tuned in to WBENC, and we really use GWBC, the Greater Women’s Business Council, where Roz Lewis is the CEO and Chair, as our main resource to reach women-owned suppliers. Because it’s so many people, Clovice and I can’t possibly meet everybody. So, we have a level of comfort that if you’ve come through WBENC and you’ve gone through that certification process, it puts a stamp of approval on you.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:23] Right. You’ve been vetted. We know that you’re legit. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you’re a certified woman-owned business. Those are two different things.

Crystal King: [00:04:31] That’s right. And we don’t get to count you for our spin reports if you’re not certified, so get certification.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:36] You better get certified.

Crystal King: [00:04:37] And so, we attend all of the WBENC events, the GWBC events, and that’s where you will meet us and most corporates, because we can’t be everywhere. So, we use them as our conduit to the people.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:53] Right. They’re the first line of defense.

Crystal King: [00:04:55] That’s right.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:04:56] And just to add to that conversation part, you mentioned about the certification piece and that vetting process, so that eliminates some of the fieldwork or trenchwork that we would normally do by identifying business that’s associated with GWBC and WBENC.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:13] Right. So, you don’t have to kind of vet them because they’ve already been vetted in order to be part of that organization.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:05:20] True.

Crystal King: [00:05:21] That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:21] And then, that enables you to focus on the most important part, the relationship building part, to making sure it’s the right fit for you and your team. And they have what you need and you have what you need from them.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:05:33] Very much so.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:34] That’s an education process, right? Just because someone sells something or has a service, that doesn’t mean they’re the right fit. You have to kind of learn how to work together, right?

Clovice Vaughn: [00:05:43] No. There’s a combination of things. It has to be a need for that product, goods, and services. You know, once you identify that need, then you can have that opportunity to identify women-owned businesses that can bring forth that value for those opportunities. So, yeah, it has to be a handshake for the need, for the products, goods, and services needs. Once that has been identified, then that’s where you can always start and develop those relationships that you have.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:13] Now, does it work best when they maybe start small with a small need just to get to know each other or get to work together so you can say, “Okay. These people are a good fit. They know how we operate. They know what to do in order to be successful in our ecosystem.” Because the way you do business may not exactly be the way that some other big business does business.

Crystal King: [00:06:32] Yeah. And we’ve been spending a lot of time educating our suppliers about what it means to work in health care, because health care is different than energy or telecom. So, we work with group purchasing organizations. For instance, Grady works with Vizion, our group purchasing organization. We use distributors, Medline is our distributor. So, while you might not be able to come in to sell something to Grady today, we make those introductions so you can get on Vizion contract or get on Medline contract. And they don’t just deal with Grady. They deal with all the hospitals.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:06] Right. Then, they’ll open the door to other things.

Crystal King: [00:07:07] So, we’re really trying to educate people on not minimizing what you do and making them understand what it really means to work in health care, being on GPO contract, being on distributor contract, and then bringing new technology to the table. Because I’m putting it out in the universe, there’s a huge need for hospital at home services right now. The technology and the connections to do it effectively.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:33] So, there’s opportunity there that isn’t being tapped and you have a need. And if somebody is out there listening –

Crystal King: [00:07:38] We know we have the need, but we know we haven’t met the person with the technology yet. But we need a way to monitor patients once they go home, that transition of care. Grady is great about we don’t send people home if we’re not comfortable that they will get the same level of care that we’ve been providing in the hospital. So, that makes our average length of stay a little longer than some other hospitals. But if we can send you home and know that you can be monitored, and get the food you need, and the outcome is going to be the same as if you were in the hospital, that’s a huge opportunity right now.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:15] Huge. Now, is there a story you can share maybe with a woman-owned business that you worked with that you, you know, helped and then it was impactful?

Crystal King: [00:08:24] We have so many.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:26] We don’t have to name the name of the company, but maybe tell the story about what they came to the table with. Maybe they were small and grew or something like that.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:08:33] Well, yeah, I have an excellent story in that aspect. One of the woman-owned certified business that is here at the event today. At that time they were highly into the IT profession. Of course, the pandemic happened. They had to pivot because not many businesses was doing a great deal in IT. They pivot to the nursing aspect. I was one of the responsibility. Crystal and I brought them to the team for the nursing aspects of it. And that really saved their company’s life.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:09] Because if they didn’t have that, then they would have gone out of business, probably, because there wasn’t any opportunity for a period of time.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:09:16] And every time that lady sees –

Lee Kantor: [00:09:18] She hugs you and thanks you.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:09:19] Yes, she does.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:19] I mean, I can’t emphasize enough, especially to the corporates out there, the account that you give them, even if it’s a small account, it could be life changing for them. It could be an individual with their family that makes a difference between them eating this month or not eating this month, or they’re in business or they’re not in business. So, the impact is real.

Crystal King: [00:09:41] It is. And we really have tried to help the suppliers understand our needs and help our internal customers understand the suppliers needs. Because we have to meet in a certain place.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:53] Right. They got to work together.

Crystal King: [00:09:54] So, in health care, you’ll find that a lot of things are streamlined. Like, for instance – I don’t know if I should say the name – but we use an MSP, I will say that. But during COVID, we have several women-owned businesses who made millions of dollars through that MSP, because nurses were writing their own ticket. But our internal customer only had to deal with that one person, right? They didn’t have to manage 15 different companies.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:26] Right. That became someone else’s problem.

Crystal King: [00:10:28] Right. And so, to understand the needs of the customer, but understanding that, “Hey, if you can just give a slither of that pie to this small or women-owned company, that’s life changing for somebody.” We’re really teaching supplier diversity at Grady from a standpoint of economic empowerment and economic impact that the more we employ the diverse women-owned businesses then those are people who give people in our communities jobs who don’t show up with no insurance in the ER, so it’s a win-win.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:05] Everybody wins, though. This is a situation that everybody wins.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:11:08] Yeah. There’s a trickle down effect.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:09] And a lot of these folks just need the opportunity.

Crystal King: [00:11:12] That’s it. That’s it. And we are opportunity givers. We love it.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:19] So, how does someone get on the supplier list? Is it through GWBC as the first step and then they get certified there, and then that’ll get them connected with Grady? Or does Grady have a place on the website or somewhere that they can go and raise their hand and say, “Hey, I’m here”?

Clovice Vaughn: [00:11:34] Well, I’ll say D, all of the aforementioned. Of course, I mentioned previously there has to be that need for that process –

Lee Kantor: [00:11:42] Right. There has to be a need and all that. But if everything is there, the best way to go to the website and kind of poke around, there’s a supply there or –

Clovice Vaughn: [00:11:50] We do have on our website contract opportunities. So, if you see a need out there that fit your bill or fit the opportunity skillsets that you provide, then, yeah, by all means respond to that.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:12:01] But it goes back to what you mentioned earlier, the relationship building. So, if you build the relationships with a woman-owned business and then an opportunity comes about, you’re going to instantly think about that conversation that you have. You reach out to them, ask them about their skillsets, and provide information pertaining to the RFP or RFI or RFQ, whatever, are reflected. And then, the next steps come into play where you make the introduction to the subject matter experts. The subject matter experts learn more about what those businesses do and kind of fits within that pipeline.

Crystal King: [00:12:40] We’re not big on the dropping your name in a bucket and then we try to fish you out. We want to know you. So, we are very involved with WBENC, with GWBC, we’re members at the national level and at our local level. And the best way to see us is to see us.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:57] Relationships are important.

Crystal King: [00:12:58] Relationships matter for us. Because I’ve worked in organizations and we’ve had instances where fishing somebody name out of a hat doesn’t let you know if it’s a good match.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:10] You got to do the work and you got to invest in the relationship.

Crystal King: [00:13:14] That’s right. So, supplier diversity at gmh.edu is a place they can send capability statements.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:23] But reach out to a human being, get to know you, and then let it evolve from there.

Crystal King: [00:13:28] That’s it.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:13:28] Yeah. It’s not a black hole.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:30] There are humans there, promise.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:13:32] Yes. We are not a robot.

Crystal King: [00:13:34] Yeah. We really do. We go through them all. And we’re not afraid to tell you it’s not a good fit. And we make so many introductions to other health care systems who are bigger than us, who have different needs. But I tell everybody, Grady is a very old hospital, so if you’re a construction, you should definitely be talking to us. We always have something broken, busted, leaking, need fixing.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:57] Well, thank you both for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Crystal King: [00:14:01] Thank you.

Clovice Vaughn: [00:14:02] Thanks for having us.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:03] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in the few at WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC’s booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here live from the Georgia World Congress Center at the WBENC National Conference 2022, inside GWBC’s booth. We have LaKesha White. Welcome.

LaKesha White: [00:00:30] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Now, you’re one of the big shots at WBENC, right, LaKesha? Rumor has it. Probably, one of the founding mothers of the organization. Now, really, talk about your work at WBENC.

LaKesha White: [00:00:46] So, my work at WBENC spans almost two decades. I started within the WBENC family back in 2003.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:59] Before it was cool.

LaKesha White: [00:01:00] Before it was cool. Before anyone knew what certification was. At our regional partner organization in Louisiana. And then, because I am a military spouse –

Lee Kantor: [00:01:14] You might travel a bit.

LaKesha White: [00:01:15] … prior military, he is actually retired now. So, clearly, I had to leave.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] Periodically, that happens, right?

LaKesha White: [00:01:24] Yes. Just a little bit. So, no one can keep up with where I am. And, luckily, I was able to land in the hands of Roz because I moved to her territory in North Carolina. So, I spend a couple of years there, and then I had to move again. So, you know, that’s the life of a military spouse.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:48] A little nomadic.

LaKesha White: [00:01:49] Yeah. Sometimes you have to start over. So, I had to leave Roz. I moved back to Texas, to San Antonio, Texas, and actually did some things for the RPO in Houston because they covered that territory.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:06] So, you collect all the RPO –

LaKesha White: [00:02:08] Pretty much. I almost call myself, like, the RPO stepchild because I go all around.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:14] You’ll get there. You get a punch card, right? You get at all 14, you win a prize.

LaKesha White: [00:02:17] Yes. So then, finally, there, I got a call from the national office, because WBENC had been approved as a third party certifier for the WOSB certification and they were looking for someone to pretty much launch that, and offered me a position. So, enter LaKesha into the actual WBENC staff in 2011. So, this year will be 11 years of being with the national office.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:50] So, how is this event? I know you haven’t had the event for a year or so because of the pandemic, and now you’re doing this event here in person. And it’s pretty exciting to have everybody all together like this, right? It’s kind of like a reunion.

LaKesha White: [00:03:02] It is. I think it exceeded our expectations because, you know, with COVID, you don’t know how comfortable people are going to be. So, to know that we have over 3,000 attendees, clearly we’re doing something right. They wanted to come.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:21] People are so hungry for this, right?

LaKesha White: [00:03:21] Yes. And they just want to be together. And I’m shocked because I just didn’t think I would ever see this again in one space.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:28] This many people.

LaKesha White: [00:03:29] But that’s been our number one priority, is, you know, trying to make it as safe as possible, which is why we changed the entire structure of the conference. You know, no longer having the workshops kind of in closed in rooms. We’re just in this big open space so people can feel a little more comfortable moving around. But it’s been great.

LaKesha White: [00:03:57] And, you know, we’ve seen each other over the last years in the squares, like I call it Hollywood Squares. So, it’s so nice to see people. And some people just walk by you because you may look a little bit different than you look in that square.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:10] You’re a lot taller in real life.

LaKesha White: [00:04:12] So, thank God for the the name badges. Like, “Oh, that’s really you.”

Lee Kantor: [00:04:18] So, over the years of seeing the evolution kind of WBENC, do you feel positive about the trend of women certified businesses? Is this something that you feel optimistic about?

LaKesha White: [00:04:31] Absolutely. It’s funny to say that I think it’s in to be a woman, like, it’s finally our time. And I’ve seen that kind of transition over the years. And I hope it’s creating more opportunities for our WBEs. And I’m so glad those who made the decision to come, I’m sure it’s going to pay off for them. So, I’m like, “Use it to your advantage.”

Lee Kantor: [00:04:59] Sure. Now, is there a story you can share or maybe something impactful of a woman that you helped certify or got certified that, you know, it changed maybe the trajectory of their family or their life or their community?

LaKesha White: [00:05:15] I have one. So, from my first RPO in New Orleans, her name is Teresa Lawrence. She’s the owner of Delta Personnel. And she started the process. You know, I was the certification manager. And it was all in the midst of Katrina. And so, clearly, after Hurricane Katrina, we were all displaced. Like, I was in Texas. I’m from Texas, but evacuated to Texas for a month. And then, even when we moved back, working from home. That was my first experience of working from home way back in 2005 because of Katrina. And I just kept after her, because people’s lives were in shambles. They’re trying to figure out how they’re going [inaudible].

Lee Kantor: [00:06:06] [Inaudible].

LaKesha White: [00:06:07] You know, forget about this company. I don’t know where my family is.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:11] I have to eat tomorrow.

LaKesha White: [00:06:11] And things like that. And so, you know, just kept after her. And I’m sure she had some choice words for me, like, “She keeps bothering me.” But she’s like, “She changed my company because if she wouldn’t have kept after me, I wouldn’t have had all these opportunities.”

Lee Kantor: [00:06:33] She wouldn’t have done it. Right.

LaKesha White: [00:06:33] And so, that is my joy in all of this is to see, you know, small business when they’re sponsoring events and things like that, they’re up on the panels giving that advice and being the mentor. So, that makes all of this work that – I always say – back in 2003, I answered an ad in the newspaper job interview and it turned into a career.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:01] Yeah. And the passion. It’s a life’s work. It’s almost a calling.

LaKesha White: [00:07:05] Yes. You know, it’s like you feel like you are are changing the world.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:12] Well, you are one business at a time, one business person at a time. It’s true. I mean, it sounds silly in some ways, but it’s real. I mean, to that person, their life changed, their family changed. They have a better tomorrow because of what you did yesterday.

LaKesha White: [00:07:27] Yes. And it makes it all worth it. And people ask me like, “Oh. Does it inspire you to be a business owner?” And I’m like, “Oh, well.” Like, Look, we all have our place.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:38] We got our lane. I’m helping you.

LaKesha White: [00:07:38] I’m going to be the champion for you, but I like taking vacations. So, that’s what my calling is, you do the hard work and you inspire me, but I don’t know if I want that seat.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:52] So, the conference has, you said, 3,000-ish people here.

LaKesha White: [00:07:58] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:00] When you were drawing this up on the chalkboard of, “Okay. We got Atlanta.” And I know you had to go higher, River Valley was the one before this, and then that got postponed, and they combined the two host committees for this one.

LaKesha White: [00:08:14] Well, no. It was always supposed to be combined.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:17] Oh, it was supposed to be combined.

LaKesha White: [00:08:19] Yes. So, we were coming here and because of kind of the territories bordering, you know, decided to combine it. So, it wasn’t a missed opportunity. We came back.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:27] So, they just made sure that they hit them and didn’t skip them.

LaKesha White: [00:08:32] Yeah. No skip.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:33] So then, it’s here in Atlanta, so everything was kind of touch and go for a while almost to the last minute.

LaKesha White: [00:08:40] Yes. We didn’t know. And you have to fill it out.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:47] You have to be bold. It’s the theme, right? You have to be bold.

LaKesha White: [00:08:47] And, look, we just had to go with it because after a certain point, you have to commit. Like, we had a very small kind of boutique event in November to where we could fill things out, and it really was depending upon the corporate members, because for a long time they couldn’t travel and that’s the concern.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:08] Budgets were cut.

LaKesha White: [00:09:09] Yeah. The WBEs, we absolutely promote doing business with one another, but they also want to meet the corporate members.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:16] Right. It’s an ecosystem here that every part has a role.

LaKesha White: [00:09:21] Yeah. So, the November meeting, it was nice and definitely the WBEs were all in.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:28] Yeah. They’re in no matter what was happening.

LaKesha White: [00:09:30] And then, when we got kind of the green light from the corporate members like, “Yeah. I’ll be able to travel.” We’re like, “Okay. We’re full steam ahead now. We’re going to make this happen.”

Lee Kantor: [00:09:40] Game on. So, now, what’s kind of your view of next year, like next conference? Is this just bigger and better? Is that the plan?

LaKesha White: [00:09:49] I think so. We’re going to Nashville next year. So, yeah, it’s always a little competition. Like, each year, we want it to be bigger and bigger and bigger. And then, the RPOs, because they host, they have a little competition going, so it makes it interesting. But we’re always going to top it going forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:15] So, one action step before we wrap, for a woman business that isn’t certified, what should they be doing to think about to get ready to go through certification and why should they be doing certification?

LaKesha White: [00:10:25] So, I say, certification is a marketing tool for your company. It’s not a guarantee for business, but it can possibly give you the leverage that you need to get that opportunity that you want. And it’s really about having all your ducks in a row. Clearly, we know the process is a little intrusive. However, it really is a learning experience for a number of our WBEs to see that, “Oh. I didn’t realize I needed that in place.”

LaKesha White: [00:10:57] So, reading your bylaws, making sure you have those things in place to protect you, and to ensure that it mirrors your actual operations of the company. And if you have all the documents together, you’re operating according to our standards, then absolutely apply. And if you have questions, we are available to answer them. Don’t assume, because that could be a waste of your time.

LaKesha White: [00:11:24] So, contact us, email us. We are very responsive. I hear that some organizations aren’t. So, I pride us on having excellent customer service, gold standard customer service. So, please, we will respond to you. We even have someone responding now. We’re here at conference and a couple of our team members had to stay back because of COVID, but still operating.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:50] Because customer service is important.

LaKesha White: [00:11:51] Yes. It’s customer service, so we don’t stop.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:54] Right. And that’s the thing, you don’t want to just think that you fill out a form and this is going to take care of itself. If you have a question, ask the question. There’s no dumb questions. It’s important. And be bold. Take the steps. Be certified. You can catapult your business to a new level if you just do everything right, and play by the rules, and be at the standard that’s needed in order to get certified.

LaKesha White: [00:12:19] Yes. And get involved. The people here are involved. That’s what it takes.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:25] You got to show up and do the work.

LaKesha White: [00:12:26] Yes. You can’t just think that you’re going to have the certificate and then everybody’s going to want to do business with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:32] It doesn’t work like that.

LaKesha White: [00:12:33] It doesn’t work like that. We do business with people we know.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:35] Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. What’s the website someone can go to for more information?

LaKesha White: [00:12:39] It is wbenc.org, www.W-B-E-N-C.org.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:46] All right. Well, thank you again for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

LaKesha White: [00:12:50] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:51] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at WBENC’s National Conference 2022.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022, inside the Georgia World Congress Center, inside the GWBC booth, Booth 1812. So, stop by and see us if you want to catch up and tell your story. And right now, we’re excited to talk to Cheryl McCants, and she is with Impact Consulting Enterprises. Welcome, Cheryl.

Cheryl McCants: [00:00:40] Thank you. Glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about Impact Consulting Enterprises. How are you serving folks?

Cheryl McCants: [00:00:49] So, Impact is a communications company that I founded 33 years ago, back in 1989. And we specialize in telling stories that inspire smiles, trust, and confidence.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:02] And so, 33 years overnight success kind of story.

Cheryl McCants: [00:01:07] Yeah. A long 33 year overnight success. Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:11] So, how has the business evolved over the years?

Cheryl McCants: [00:01:14] Well, as most people would guess, the business started before things like what we’re doing now existed.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] Like, before the internet.

Cheryl McCants: [00:01:24] Before the internet. So, what’s very interesting is I moved our offices not too long ago, and so I had an old pile of business cards that didn’t have email addresses on it, that didn’t have cell phone numbers on it. And my daughter says, “Mom, these cards, why do you have them? They’re not complete.” So, things have evolved.

Cheryl McCants: [00:01:45] What I would say, however, is, as much things change, they still stay the same. So, it’s all about communicating. And we now have different channels of communication. So, we’ve got our podcast, we’ve got our internet, and it’s really all about connecting with people.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:00] So, that part hasn’t changed. The storytelling part is the same. It’s just the way you do it might have changed a bit.

Cheryl McCants: [00:02:06] Absolutely. It’s the channel of communication.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:09] So, now, who is the ideal client for you?

Cheryl McCants: [00:02:13] So, ideally, we work with organizations, for profits, not-for profits, government agencies that need to connect and communicate with diverse audiences. It used to be called multicultural marketing. You know, it’s been called a lot of other things. Since the unfortunate murder of George Floyd, lots of corporations have stepped up their commitments to work with businesses that are black-owned or business owners of color. And we work with them to help make sure that their messages are respectful, to make sure that the imagery that they use is not offensive, to make sure that there’s culturally competent communication in all that they do.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:54] So, what is kind of the pain that they’re having where they should be calling Cheryl and her team? Like, what’s a symptom that you’re the solution to?

Cheryl McCants: [00:03:03] So, anybody that’s looking to connect with diverse audiences, if you’ve got a product that you want to sell and you realize that you want to connect with the African-American community, or the Latino community, or the Asian, or the LGBTQ+, or the female audience, and you want to ensure that you don’t have faux pas that we’ve seen in some advertising campaigns that have taken place recently, my team comes on as added bench to your ad agencies. We come on as added bench to your internal comms team. And then, we come on as strategists for those organizations that are really looking to fulfill their commitments 100 percent.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:45] Now, are you looking for more kind of enterprise level companies as a client, or are you looking for more agencies for you to kind of take that bench role for them or a combination?

Cheryl McCants: [00:03:57] We are really looking for more enterprise, like in industries or agencies. We’re currently doing some work with Bristol-Myers Squibb. That’s one of the reasons why we’re here today. And we’re working with them on helping to tell the story about the impact that their investment in diverse suppliers has, not just on that women-owned business or on that minority-owned business, but the communities that the employees and the other partners of those businesses live, work, and play in. So, really looking for other organizations that either need help telling that story, don’t know how to get it together, we can work with them as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:36] And that’s something important for the corporates to realize that their budgets in some ways are so huge to throw some money at these groups. It’s pocket change for a lot of these folks. But the impact is dramatic.

Cheryl McCants: [00:04:51] The impact is huge.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:52] And I don’t think they really can empathize to the level to understand that that’s the case.

Cheryl McCants: [00:04:57] Right. No, absolutely. So, we also have an initiative called The Great Football Sunday. And the idea is that, if one-tenth of a percent of the Super Bowl campaign budget could be put towards a nonprofit or for-profit, but an organization that works to end homelessness in the city that the Super Bowl is taking place, if we turnkey that around, then I call it the Great Football Sunday, because then everybody would be able to watch the Super Bowl. And in order to watch the Super Bowl, you got to have a T.V. And, hopefully, the T.V. is in a home. So, yes, one-tenth of a percent goes a long way when you’re talking about billions of dollars.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:41] Right. And it’s so important for the corporates to really let that sink in. And then, you help them tell those stories and help them reach the people that need to be reached.

Cheryl McCants: [00:05:50] Right. We help them tell those stories internally and externally. During my work with Nike, for example, we know that your strongest and largest pool of advocates are your employees. So, you want to make sure that when people go home and they’ve got Thanksgiving dinners or they’ve got Mother’s Day celebrations and people say, “Oh, so how’s work?” You hopefully want them to say work is grand, work is great, and here is why.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:14] It’s a story they tell about.

Cheryl McCants: [00:06:15] Exactly. So, we work on preparing internal communication support, key messages, video productions, social media management, the media buying, the full spectrum. However, it all ties back to making sure that people know who they should be talking to, when they should be talking to them, and what they should be saying.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:39] So, how is this show working for you? You said you’re here for Bristol.

Cheryl McCants: [00:06:42] Here with Bristol-Myers Squibb. I’ve set up an appointment with Amazon for the week after next when I get back to New York.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:50] There you go.

Cheryl McCants: [00:06:51] I’m going to be connecting with Target, 1:00 tomorrow. So, so far, so good. And I’m also really excited about the new energy trends that are coming. And I do believe that offshore wind technology is the next big it.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:10] You heard it here first.

Cheryl McCants: [00:07:10] And so, I’ll put it out there. There you go, offshore wind.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:15] So, if somebody wants to learn more and get a hold of you, what’s the website?

Cheryl McCants: [00:07:18] So, you can reach us online at eimpactconsulting.com. I’ve got a podcast, Marketing McCants. You can get some marketing tips. We’re on Facebook. We’re on Instagram. We’re on Twitter. We’re out there. Just look for Impact Consulting Enterprises and Cheryl McCants.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:37] All right. Cheryl, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Cheryl McCants: [00:07:41] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:42] All right. This is Lee Kantor broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC Booth 1812. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside the Georgia World Congress Center. And we are inside the GWBC booth, Booth 1812, if you want to come by and check us out. I am so excited to have with us right now Sara Webb. She is the CEO of InTandem Promotions. Welcome, Sara.

Sara Webb: [00:00:40] So glad to be here in person.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] In person.

Sara Webb: [00:00:44] After all this time. Love It.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] After multiple Zoom interviews, we are now here in person.

Sara Webb: [00:00:48] Thank God.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:50] I didn’t see you here yesterday, but I saw your work. I saw all of these beautiful GWBC tennis shoes that have been roaming around here, and I heard that you might have played a part in that.

Sara Webb: [00:01:02] Aren’t they so fun? So, we get to create emotional connections through tangible products. So, as the team is walking around, you’re seeing their logo, you’re seeing the brand, and it creates that connection that draws them in to both the booth as well as to what do you do. It creates those conversation opportunities.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] Right. It’s a surprise and delight moment because you don’t expect to see that there.

Sara Webb: [00:01:28] A hundred percent.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:28] And so, how did this whole tennis shoe idea come about?

Sara Webb: [00:01:33] It’s so fun. Well, you know, we knew that we were going to do a lot of walking. There’s just a few steps a day. I haven’t tracked where I am today, but yesterday I was up to about 25,000 steps. So, yes, my high heeled shoes just were not going to cut it. So, it was a great opportunity for us to leverage both branding as well as comfort.

Sara Webb: [00:01:53] And what’s really cool is that you can do as little as one version. So, just an order of one. There’s lots of different styles, lots of different imprint. And what’s really great is that we get to custom create them. So, we can do full color, we can dye sublimate. And what I really, really, really like about it is that I don’t have to have the same style for every single team member. You can have Vans, you can have sneakers. And that’s what’s really cool about what I do is actually making product that fits the demographic that you’re trying to attract.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:26] And in the environment that they’re going to be using it.

Sara Webb: [00:02:29] A hundred percent.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:30] So, now I would imagine you created this for the GWBC folks. Has every single place been calling you and saying, “Hey, how did they get that? How do I get that?”

Sara Webb: [00:02:43] We have gotten some great business, so we definitely appreciate GWBC’s support as we’re continuing to draw people too. But we have a booth here, we’re Booth 2212.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:53] 2212, down a few rows away.

Sara Webb: [00:02:55] Down just a couple of rows. But we’re also doing onsite, on demand t-shirts. And it’s crazy right now. They literally had to pull me out of my booth to come and talk.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:07] Sorry. Sorry.

Sara Webb: [00:03:07] I mean, not that I would never want to. I mean, I love talking to you, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:11] I thought you like to talk.

Sara Webb: [00:03:11] You’re one of my favorites, but, like, we had a line that was wrapped around.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:15] People like shirts.

Sara Webb: [00:03:17] They love shirts. And then, being able to have that custom personalized experience, that’s what’s so cool about what we do in our online stores, is that, employees are able to pick product based off of what they like. And the corporates aren’t having to house this huge inventory quantities. We’re shipping globally as well as domestically. We’re in multiple locations. And so, it really creates this personalized experience for clients.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:42] They’re done at scale.

Sara Webb: [00:03:43] Done at scale.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:43] That’s the beauty.

Sara Webb: [00:03:44] And it’s here.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:45] It feels personalized. It feels like a one off. But it can be done for everybody.

Sara Webb: [00:03:49] A hundred percent. And that’s what’s so cool about where we are in this industry and in this time.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:53] Yeah. Well, technology allows that to happen. Because it wasn’t too long ago that would have been impossible or you would have to be a gazillionaire to afford this stuff.

Sara Webb: [00:04:01] Well, the craziest thing is that when I started in this business, I literally had proofs come across on a fax machine on my desk. I mean, I was too, but besides that.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:12] Right. So, now, how has being involved with GWBC and the WBENC impacted your business? Has it opened the doors for these large corporate kind of clients? Has that opportunity kind of presented itself because of that?

Sara Webb: [00:04:28] Absolutely. There’s no way that we would be where we are without the support of GWBC and WBENC. Between the two organizations, their connections, and then we’re also a member of We-Connect as well globally. So, having the opportunity to be in front to show what we do, to have the conversations, and to really have those opportunities, not even from a business perspective in terms of buying and selling, but understanding what the market actually needs and is looking for and how we scale our business going forward. And that’s really been pivotal for us as we continue to build and grow in the next decade.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:05] And that’s an important thing for people who are not members yet or are considering being a member. You learn so much from the other business people that are part of the community, right? Like, they can open doors for you or just make you aware of things that are happening in industries maybe you’re not as familiar with, that that’s you’re kind of sweet spot. And then, you can kind of say, “Oh, that idea, if that’s working over there, why don’t we try it over here?” Like, just from a community and education standpoint, the value of being part of the organization is worth it.

Sara Webb: [00:05:35] Absolutely. So, I’m having the opportunity to talk to different companies as they’re standing in line waiting for their free shirt. And while I’m doing that, I’m hearing all sorts of stories, their own personal journeys and things that they’ve experienced, and talking about pitfalls and opportunities where they’ve shown, and how they managed and who to contact. And that’s from other WBEs just here at this conference.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:00] That are in line. This random serendipitous conversations.

Sara Webb: [00:06:05] Yes. Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:05] And you learn just from that. I mean, imagine if you put energy and kind of worked it on purpose, then strategically, I mean, the sky’s the limit.

Sara Webb: [00:06:13] Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, having the corporates here helps, but having the WBEs and the support, it’s so great.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:19] Don’t sleep on that part of the membership.

Sara Webb: [00:06:22] It’s so great. It’s so great. I mean, in my booth, they saw how slammed we were. And I had fellow WBEs come and help support us pulling shirts. True story. True story.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:32] Wow. True story. I mean, that’s the power of the community. It isn’t one of those organizations where everybody’s kind of angling to get one step ahead of each other. We’re all working together and we’re trying to hold each other up.

Sara Webb: [00:06:42] Absolutely. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:44] So, now, any story you can share from your work in creating these promotions for folks that you helped. You came up with an idea, maybe it was silly, maybe it was an out there idea. And then, someone said, “Yeah. Let’s go for it. Let’s be bold,” because that’s a theme here. And then, they did something that kind of was a game changer for them.

Sara Webb: [00:07:05] I think one of the cool projects that we just completed was for a large company, and they were looking for a solution in terms of we don’t want to ship all the products. We don’t want the clients to have to come to the event and then have to take it back home with them. How do we run and manage this?

Sara Webb: [00:07:24] And so, we created individual kiosks for this client. And where this was really a game changer for us, is that, as I shared, we’re creating emotional connections from tangible products. So, when you have that experience, when you go to an event and you’re taking something away, how does that make you feel? And so, we created these individual kiosks. They were able to go in and customize. So, having that personal touch, being able to pick the product. And then, at our warehouse and fulfillment center, the orders were being received and it’s going to be delivered when they get home.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:57] So, it’ll be there when they get home?

Sara Webb: [00:07:59] They’re not having to pack it, they’re not having to worry about shipping it or any of that. And that’s really a game changer for us. And the thought concept of how do we –

Lee Kantor: [00:08:09] Exchanging the paradigm, right?

Sara Webb: [00:08:10] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:10] You were thinking of, “I got to make something and hand it to them and they take it.” But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Sara Webb: [00:08:15] It doesn’t. It doesn’t. And that’s what’s so great about, like you said, technology and how things are growing. And then, having the connections and the partnerships and the warehouse and the fulfillment. And that was huge and game changing for us during the pandemic, because when that happened, nobody was home. Corporates weren’t keeping product in their house or at their corporate location.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:40] In the warehouse. Right.

Sara Webb: [00:08:41] We were having to ship it. And so, really leveraging some of those learnings of what has happened from the pandemic and then actually moving them.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:48] Having used that moving forward.

Sara Webb: [00:08:50] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:51] Yeah. I mean, it shows when you’re in kind of this chaos or a crises, there’s opportunity even in there. And there could be a silver lining that’s going to pay off down the road if you just open your mind to it.

Sara Webb: [00:09:04] Well, I have a very funny story that happened, and it’s funny now because I’m on the other side.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:08] It’s funnier now on the other side. Right. It wasn’t funny when it was happening.

Sara Webb: [00:09:11] So, we knew that we were going to do on-site custom printing. We had partnered with a company to help us to have the screen printer run the machine and support us from that avenue. Supply chain, all the crazy things, all those scary words that we’ve all heard. 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, I got a text saying this isn’t going to happen. And I had purchased 2,000 t-shirts.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:34] Yeah. As one would.

Sara Webb: [00:09:36] Every one of my shirts is tagged with our brand. We had the logo. Whole half of my booth was shirts that I wasn’t going to give away not imprinted. And so, to your point, as an entrepreneur, you just make it happen.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:50] Make it happen.

Sara Webb: [00:09:51] So, literally, I bought the equipment. I found an individual that has saved my soul, that I will make sure it’s very well taken care of. And they’re on site. We’re doing it. And that’s what it takes.

Sara Webb: [00:10:08] I actually just posted this on my Instagram, I read this quote where it said, “All of this that you’re going through is the universe trying to test you to see if this is what you really want.” And I’m like, “Yes. I still want this.” You know, we’re nine years in as a company and organization. This is my 22nd year of being in this industry. And every day it’s a new challenge, but being able to, you know, leverage and learn and continue to grow and just keep making it happen.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:37] Well, one of my favorite books is called The Obstacle Is The Way. And if you reframe it to the obstacle isn’t there to be in my way, it’s just part of the journey. And part of the journey means I have to climb over this big rock that’s in the middle of the road, or I have to go around it, or I have to go under it, or I have to go through it. That’s just part of the journey. It’s not there to sabotage me. It’s there for me.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:00] So, that’s one of my favorite books. You should check it out. Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is The Way. It really reframed how I thought of these type of challenges when they come up. It’s nothing personal. It’s just part of the journey.

Sara Webb: [00:11:10] And I think to your point, it’s creating those new connection points that I’m not sure that I would have had if the obstacle hadn’t been there.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:17] Right. Exactly. And I’m going to use that moving forward.

Sara Webb: [00:11:20] Yeah. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:21] Well, if somebody wants to learn more, where should they go, Sara?

Sara Webb: [00:11:24] Check us out at intandempromotions.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:27] All right. Thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Sara Webb: [00:11:31] Thank you. Thank you for having me as always.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:33] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC’s booth.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth, Booth 1812, if you want to come by and see us. I’m so excited to have our guest, Fran from Advantages. I just followed your lead, Fran, so don’t give me a hard time. Don’t start second guessing not telling me your last name.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:00:37] Fran Biderman-Gross.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:38] You could do that. That’s on you.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:00:40] I’m just Fran. I’m good.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:41] You said Frantastic.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:00:43] I did.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] You gave me a lot of options, so don’t blame me.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:00:45] I’ve been called a lot of things.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:48] So, tell us about Advantages. How are you serving folks?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:00:50] Sure. We drive profit with purpose through marketing performance. So, we are a purpose-based, values-based organization that helps purpose-driven leaders.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] Other purpose-based organizations.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:01:04] Yeah. Exactly. Get their message out from the branding and marketing perspective.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] So, what’s your backstory? How’d you get into this line of work?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:01:09] Oh, my gosh. You ask the fun questions. So, my late husband and I started a mere kind of printing company, and we just kind of kept –

Lee Kantor: [00:01:19] A printing company?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:01:20] Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:20] For authors? Or printing, like, brochures.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:01:25] No. No. Brochures. Authors. No. The book came much later. So, we were helping companies get noticed. We’ve really been very true to that message for the last, literally, October is going to be 30 years. Today is actually his an anniversary. I lost him 21 years ago, just before 9/11, after a two year battle. But long live the dream of visionary in Visionary Land of helping purpose-based individuals or very intentional leaders do the really great things that they do. So, we did start in printing.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:57] So, the heart of it was always around that purpose-based, values- based?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:02:00] I was going to say, you know, good people want to want to work with good people. That’s really the bottom line. And we really love working with good people. And we want to attract good people to them. And we want to help them lead great cultures that are really intentional. And we want to help them with the clarity of their message, hence the brand component to what we do.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:22] But was that a strategic choice or was this something that, “Hey, this is just how we are, why don’t we just hang out with other folks like us?” Like, how did this come about? Like, did you start out that that is the mission?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:02:35] Definitely not. We wanted to really help other companies get noticed. We wanted them to stand out from their competition. But when we started to really build the relationships, and good people just tend to stick with good people, good people doing good things. Look, we buy stuff from people we like, right?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:02:54] So, we tend to do business with people that are similar to us, and what we believe in, and realizing that there is a communication strategy called purpose. And really diving into that got us going from goods to services, and really helping build the internal side of how I’ve dissected a brand which is into your three keys, which is really how you lead your culture from an internal perspective. And the agency just does it on the external side.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:24] So, the heart of it was you noticed some characteristics and you’re like, “Hey, instead of just hoping the next client has some of these characteristics, let’s just hone in on people who believe what we believe.”

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:03:41] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:41] “Who think like we think and let’s serve them.”

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:03:44] Exactly. So, when you think about it, why do you exist? Why do I exist? I know this can get into a very interesting conversation. But we think about, Why am I here? Why is this business here? What am I willing to fight for? What am I willing to stand for?

Lee Kantor: [00:04:03] And what am I willing to say no to? Well, that’s part of it, too, right?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:04:06] A hundred percent. When you think about the theory of purpose in general or why, you want to actually repel the wrong people as much as you want to attract. So, to me, it’s a two for one. Because you don’t want a ton of people in the funnel. You don’t want to attract a thousand people. I actually want a hundred people in the funnel because they’re more likely to be more like me. So, I don’t want to attract the mass. I want to attract the people that believe the things that I believe, we have a much better shot of building a really great emotional connection.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:38] And building a business that matters about the things that matter to me.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:04:43] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:43] And that’s really at the heart of it. And especially with these professional services and the service-based businesses, they don’t need a million customers that they burn and churn through. That isn’t a good model for them. It’s not efficient. It’s not effective. It doesn’t make them feel good at the end of the day. These folks need a handful of new clients. That’s it. They don’t need a million.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:05:01] A hundred percent. I mean, you walk away from a conference this big, if you walk away with just a couple of really good connections, it could completely be life changing. So, it’s not about let’s pound the pavement, stop at every booth, figure out who every supplier is, and who’s the decision maker. Yes, you need a strategy to come here. But you need to leave with the strategy at the same time, because otherwise you’re just putting a lot of stuff in the funnel.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:25] And that’s going to take up time, distract you, and maybe get you even off course.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:05:29] Exactly. I like to say, we flip the funnel and make a megaphone. Amplify your one message so that you can attract and repel at the rate. And then, you can just spend a lot more of your time talking to people who most likely believe you’ll find the alignment somewhere, whether you’re a perfect fit or they need my service right now, it just doesn’t matter. You’re building the world.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:52] So, when you were doing this and you were starting out doing, you know, brochures or whatever you were doing at the beginning, when did you start feeling, “Hey, you know what? This attraction and getting the right people, this is a better fit.” Like, when did you start kind of getting the hint that maybe we’re onto something here?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:06:08] You know, that’s a great question. So, for ten plus years, I was the printing princess, getting noticed, carrying a wand, all these things, and I have a pretty outgoing personality, so people would remember me. And it was just too many people.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:06:22] And then, I met Simon Sinek long before his TEDx Talk at an event. And this might sound really bad, but it was an event at the Entrepreneurs Organization and it was, like, bring your marketing and bring your best piece. So, I did. And we have award winning graphic design and award winning blah, blah, blah. And I brought my best piece and then he just ripped it apart. And I’m like, “Do you not know me?” I was insulted beyond control, thinking in my chair.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:52] I’m a princess.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:06:52] I know. I was like, “Just, whatever, bleep,” all over me. But I was curious about, like, what does this magnetic connection really mean? And we began a phenomenal friendship of exploration. And we worked together for a long time just exploring, you know, how does this start with why things work? Oh, there’s a whole communication theory of purpose. And that really put me on a ten year trajectory of breaking it down and saying, “Oh. There’s a place in Y, and there’s three keys, and there’s what’s your purpose? Okay. Well, that’s your cause, purpose and belief.” But inside of that is your mission and your vision, your cause and your impact.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:07:32] Like, we could get all business-y and everything, but the bottom line is, human beings are here for a reason. And just because you’re making money at something as a result of what you’re doing for your company, you are making the world a better place in some way, shape, or form by connecting people for the right reasons. And as long as you get really, really clear at what that is, it makes it easier to do it better and faster with more people you like. And that started me on that trajectory.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:00] Now, when you’re talking to folks and they maybe aren’t thinking as deep as that, and they are more superficially looking at their business and the nuts and bolts of business, because we wanted all the time here in our business, sometimes they focus on metrics and they use the word metric like it’s some magic thing. It’s a number, so then it’s real. And so, it’s real, it must be important. And if it’s important, I better track it. But they don’t know how to discern the metrics that matter versus the metrics that can be counted. So, just because something that can be counted doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth counting.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:08:37] First of all, you are a great interviewer because that is a fantastic question. Counting things that really matter is really important. And most of the times, actually unconventional things that you need to really look at, which really make the difference. So, when we think about metrics that matter, it’s like, What’s going to help me move the needle? What’s going to help me go further, faster? What’s actually going to be aligned?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:09:02] We talk about qualifications and why are we even talking to this type of person if it’s not really going to suit what we’re doing, and keeping everybody on track. Like we start working with companies all the time and like, “Great. Who’s your ideal?” And they start listing them. And then, we go – we call it – hand-to-hand combat, when we’re actually providing that lead gen to sales, I’m like, “Okay. Wait a minute. You told me he had to look like this, or she had to look like, or they had to look like this, this.” But when it came down to it, that wasn’t really right.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:09:40] So, what are we actually measuring? So, let’s redo the qualifications. Let’s really look at the data. Well, all these people took six months to convert, and da, da, da, da, da. What do we learn from that? So, you have to really look at things with a different lens very often to get the juice of what is really going to get to connect you. So, metrics are great. Vanity metrics are a whole other discussion.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:03] Well, we call them cost-metrics.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:10:05] Cost-metrics. I love that. That’s awesome. But you’re right, it’s hard to cut to the chase of which metrics really matter. And it’s really important to actually dissect the unconventional things. Dissecting that is really key.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:20] That might take work. And a lot of times they don’t want to do that. They want to look at a dashboard and say, “Oh, there’s 14 greens, so we’re having a good month while I don’t have money in the bank. But I have 14 greens.”

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:10:31] You know, you can’t skip doing the work.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:34] I know.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:10:35] You can’t skip doing the work. I mean, like if I had a magic wand –

Lee Kantor: [00:10:38] That’s why we’re doing this, it’s for the work. Believe it or not, the work is what matters.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:10:42] Every step of the work matters. Making the decision, like marketing, our job is to fail things faster. But enough time that it’s fast enough. I still need to gather data. So, don’t say, “Oh, two weeks of gathering data is enough.” No, it’s not. You can’t get a critical mass of anything. I can’t get to a baseline. Everybody wants to get to the steady state without doing the testing, and you can’t do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:06] But the calendar I built two months ago said it would be done by today.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:11:10] Uh-huh. That’s nice. And how many things did you not account for that we ran into that we actually had to adjust for? But it is about testing and taking the period of time that it needs. I like to say it’s four to six months in one channel when you actually create a hypothesis that you need to prove. But, honestly, that’s the right way. You can’t get to a steady state unless I can prove something in one channel. I couldn’t scale it unless I can prove it somewhere.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:38] Right. So, talk about your book. What was the impetus of writing it all down? Because that’s fun. That’s a job by itself.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:11:47] It was a very long job. It was a really, really hard job. If you told me how much – nevermind. I wrote the book as a gift because I really believe that entrepreneurs, whether you’re in professional services or not, you really deserve to understand the anatomy of your own brand. And when you can harness the clear communications, it really unlocks a lot of things.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:12:16] And when you think about the most successful people in the world, we can talk about Oprah. She sits down in a meeting and asks for clarity, what’s the intention of the meeting, which always is trying to get to clarity. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to get to clarity. It’s our responsibility to lead with clarity. So, marketing strategist, it’s a leadership book as a gift for CEOs going, You can be profitable in every aspect of your business if you have clarity. So, how do you get to clarity? And I give you the baseline. I mean, the appendix is actually the process we take people through. I gave it away.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:49] Don’t tell anybody that.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:12:50] No. Go by the book. But if you want to help, reach out, and all that’s great. But everybody’s always happier when there’s more clarity. People understand where they’re going. Why do they matter? Everybody deserves to be safe at work, to feel valued for their contribution. And it’s the leader’s responsibility to do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:13] Right. To help them be seen and heard.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:13:15] Absolutely. And valued. And valued. And given the opportunity to grow and given the opportunity to advance the company.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:24] Right. Have bigger expectations and bigger dreams.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:13:27] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:28] So, if somebody wants to learn more, get a hold of the book, what’s the coordinates?

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:13:32] You can Google Fran Biderman-Gross on Amazon.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:36] You can spell it.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:13:38] B-I-D- no. You can go to 3keysbook.com and, really, you’ll link everything from there, from the podcast that I do to – I don’t know, – just learn more about it.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:49] All your good stuff there.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:13:51] Yeah. Well, that’s a good video.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:52] Thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Fran Biderman-Gross: [00:13:56] My pleasure. Thank you so much for being such a great host with incredible questions. It was super engaging. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:02] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at the 2022 WBENC National Conference.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center, inside the GWBC Booth, Booth 1812, if you want to come by and see us. I’m so excited to be interviewing Michelle Murdock with Core Air Solutions. Welcome, Michelle.

Michelle Murdock: [00:00:35] Hi. Thanks for having us.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] Well, tell us a little bit about Core Air Solutions. How are you serving folks?

Michelle Murdock: [00:00:40] Okay. So, we actually offer a holistic way of cleaning the air, it’s called Ionization Technology. And we have wearable technology that you can take with you anywhere you go. And it cleans the air in a three foot radius using ionization technology, which is what you get outside at the beach, you get lots of negative ions. So, negative ions also improve your mood, increase your cognizant ability, and improves your energy levels. So, it’s actually a really good technology and it also repels dust, dander, and pollen. So, it kind of helps protect you when you’re out and about. And, also, it’s great for people with allergies, which is me.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:16] And me. And how about the show? How has the show been working for you? Are you exhibiting or are you here wandering around?

Michelle Murdock: [00:01:23] We’re exhibiting. And it’s very amazing. Honestly, it’s so much to learn and do. So, this is really fascinating for us.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:30] So, now, you decide to do it because the event is here in Atlanta, you’re in Atlanta, so you said, “Hey. There’s a bunch of women-owned businesses. Let me -”

Michelle Murdock: [00:01:39] Right. It’s like learning from other women. It’s amazing. So, there’s so many people, and not just the women, but the corporate people here are telling you so much that you just don’t know. So, this is something new for us. We’ve never really done a product. And I found this technology a couple of years ago and it’s amazing. Two years, not a single sinus infection, or a single antibiotic, or a single puff of an inhaler. And so, I just want to take that technology to everybody, because if I can feel good, anybody can feel good.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:07] So, now, when you’re working a show like this, you’re in your booth, you have a booth, how are you kind of letting the corporates know about the booth and getting them to kind of learn more about the product?

Michelle Murdock: [00:02:18] We have tutus on.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:21] Tutus. You’re the only people with tutus, I believe, here.

Michelle Murdock: [00:02:24] Yes. We are always the only people with our costumes on and they’re just way of life for us. You know, we like to be different. We understand there’s a billion people here, so you have to do something that sets yourself apart a little bit. And what more fun than tutus.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:42] That’s part of the brand?

Michelle Murdock: [00:02:43] Well, it’s just our fun way of, you know –

Lee Kantor: [00:02:46] Well, the quirkiness and fun is part of the brand, right? That’s the culture of the company.

Michelle Murdock: [00:02:49] Yes. Our culture is very, very hands-on, fun. And, you know, we’re a green company, green technology. And then, our other side is a service organization that actually does green, we refurbish signage. So, we’re superheroes and it kind of bleeds over into our green technology side, where we’re also saving lives by saving them air. Breathing clean air is the first step to being healthy.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:14] Now, with the organization, did you get certified right away? Like, how did the certification come about?

Michelle Murdock: [00:03:21] So, we certified a little over a year ago – no. Oh, my gosh – almost two years ago, so right before or right after COVID, I think. I can’t remember. So, yeah, we got certified. We’re certified WSP as well. Really, this is awesome. I’ve done a lot of trade shows in my 26 years of being in commercial, and I’ve never had one that was just this kind of neat and different and, you know, full of women supporting other women, and even the guys supporting the women. So, it’s really neat to see.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:53] And it’s something that you can really feel it, right? It’s a different vibe inside here. I, too, have been to lots of trade show and this one feels different. You can feel the level of collaboration and people rooting for each other and wanting everybody to succeed.

Michelle Murdock: [00:04:08] Yes. I mean, I just had one of the guys from Target who’s amazing. I, you know, was not expecting, he was helping me understand how to really kind of put the product out there. And it was amazing because I’ve talked to quite a few people in the past before the show and it was just really hard to kind of understand what you needed to do and he was amazing. So, everybody has been, though. Everybody we talked to has just been very encouraging.

Michelle Murdock: [00:04:35] We do have a technology that’s really more of a science. And it’s interesting but it’s a health benefit, and nobody’s really heard of it, which is sad, because it’s actually a really good way to help yourself be healthy.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:49] And so, education has to be part of the product, right? Because you have to explain it. It’s not kind of intuitive. They see it and they’re like, “Oh, I want one of those.”

Michelle Murdock: [00:04:57] They’re like, “That’s so pretty. It lights up. What does that do?” And I’m like, “Oh, my God. It cleans the air.” Actually, also, yes, it does like the bacteria and viruses and mold, but also repels dust, dander, and pollen, which is what caused most of us to have our asthma attacks or allergies and sinus infections. And a lady just walked up because she doesn’t have a voice because she said her hotel is full of dust, and so she woke up without a voice this morning. I was like, “Oh. This is helpful.”

Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] Right. There’s a technology that might be able to help you.

Michelle Murdock: [00:05:26] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:28] So, here at the show, have you been doing any of the panels? Have you been doing any of the education? Or you’re just trying to stay above water with all the people that are probably flooding to your booth trying to check out one of those?

Michelle Murdock: [00:05:41] Well, we’re in a weird position because we’re not really in our category because we have two companies that are kind of both green. So, they kind of put us in the sustainability, which is awesome. But, you know, we’re a little different, so we’ve been really busy. Every time I try to leave the booth, somebody walks up. And, really, this is my passion, so I just really need to help people understand it.

Michelle Murdock: [00:06:08] So, it’s been great. I haven’t been able to go to the meetings or to sit down. But I’ve had so many people who are doing those that I’ve gotten to talk to that are, like, telling me things and helping because they see that I can’t even leave the booth most of time.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:21] Well, we appreciate you coming here. If somebody wants to learn more, is there a website to get more information?

Michelle Murdock: [00:06:26] Yes, coreairpurification.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:30] And coreair.green and core.green.

Michelle Murdock: [00:06:34] Yes. There’s lots of ways to find us.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:35] There’s lots of ways to get a hold of you. And Core Air is kind of the heart of the brand, right?

Michelle Murdock: [00:06:39] Yes. So, our green technology kind of pivoted back during COVID based on my senior living communities actually having a really big need, and so, I covered this technology. We were originally doing EV charging stations and things like that, and LED retrofits and things. But this, I mean, it changed my life. So, if it changed my life, it can change other people’s lives.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:02] Right. You got to get the word out to more people.

Michelle Murdock: [00:07:03] I got to get the word out. Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:05] Well, Michelle, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Michelle Murdock: [00:07:09] Thank you for having us.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:11] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at the WBENC National Conference 2022.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference inside the Georgia World Congress, and are inside GWBC’s booth, Booth 1812. So, come on by and check us out. I’m so excited to be interviewing Catherine Veal with Paradigm. Welcome, Catherine.

Catherine Veal: [00:00:35] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] So, tell us about Paradigm. How are you serving folks?

Catherine Veal: [00:00:39] We are a clinical toxicology lab down in South Georgia, on the coast in Saint Simons Island. And we do testing for physicians, for providers, for their patients to make sure that they are being compliant with their medication plans that the providers have put them on, they’re taking their medications, they aren’t taking anything that the physicians aren’t aware of, or anything that’s too fun.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] Some extra help.

Catherine Veal: [00:01:10] Yeah. So, that’s what we do. So, we’ve got a national client base. We service providers out as far as Arizona, as north as Maryland, and then south as Florida, and everywhere in between.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:24] So, how’d you get into this line of work?

Catherine Veal: [00:01:27] I was in the pain management world with a provider and ran a couple of his practices and a couple of surgery centers. And we were using these services that we provide from a few of our competitors now. And there are just some holes in their offerings.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:46] You saw some ways it could be improved.

Catherine Veal: [00:01:48] Yeah. So, we ended up using about three or four of them, and took the pros of all of those, and added some of our own, and opened the first lab back in 2009. And then, I opened Paradigm in 2014.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:05] And then, it’s been an overnight success.

Catherine Veal: [00:02:08] It’s been great. It’s been hard work.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:10] Seven years.

Catherine Veal: [00:02:10] Yeah. It’s been hard work, but it’s been great. We have about 140 employees and over 90 percent of them are women. So, it’s kind of cool.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:20] Wow. Is that by design or by accident?

Catherine Veal: [00:02:23] You know, it wasn’t intentional at all.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:26] You just looked one day and you’re like, “There’s a lot of women here.”

Catherine Veal: [00:02:28] Yeah. Yeah. Well, we’re like, wow. But, yeah, it just happened that way. But we’ve just got a lot of diversity within our employee group, our team members. So, it really benefits us because we’re able to connect with the providers and the patient bases that they have because they are all so diverse being in treatment, substance abuse management, and behavioral medicine. And the areas that we’re in, it’s kind of nice to have our team be so diverse because we can relate really well.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:04] Now, did you get certified right away or was this something that you said, “You know, we’ve been doing this and why don’t I get certified?” Like, how did that come about?

Catherine Veal: [00:03:11] Just recently, so we’re newbies. We’re three weeks now.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:18] So, certification newbie to be –

Catherine Veal: [00:03:18] Yeah. We just started hearing more and more about supplier diversity and what some of the other vendors are trying to do with their spins in that regard. And we didn’t really understand a lot about it. But we’re like, “Wait. We may drop into that bucket.”

Lee Kantor: [00:03:35] “Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this?”

Catherine Veal: [00:03:35] Yeah. We’re like, we probably qualify being owned by a woman. So, we just started researching it. And then, we started this process kind of at the tail end of COVID. And it just took a while because of COVID.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:48] To end, it takes a while. It’s not something you do in an afternoon.

Catherine Veal: [00:03:49] Yeah. Yeah. No. We didn’t realize how in-depth the process was.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:56] Well, it’s important to have a certification standard that is thorough.

Catherine Veal: [00:04:00] Yeah. Exactly. That’s what we said once we got it this month. We were like, “Well, they’re not handing these out left and right.” So, this is great that we –

Lee Kantor: [00:04:09] Let’s not check three boxes and you’re good.

Catherine Veal: [00:04:11] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:12] So, now, that you’re here, do you have a booth here or you’re just here kind of wandering around?

Catherine Veal: [00:04:17] We’re just wandering around. We’re in health care, obviously, and there are some payors here, Cigna and Centene, that we either do have contracts with and we’re just trying to add. So, it’s been nice. I mean, we got here today and it’s been very productive and we’re coming back for some of the roundtable meet and greets in the morning.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:40] It’s overwhelming, you walk in and it’s like wall-to-wall.

Catherine Veal: [00:04:44] It’s a lot. We didn’t know what to expect. And the gal that took us to committee to get certified did a little orientation last week to kind of orient us –

Lee Kantor: [00:04:58] To prep you.

Catherine Veal: [00:04:58] … to prep us, and we missed it. My youngest daughter graduated from high school that day and so I missed the orientation. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s been a pleasant surprise. It’s a lot of vendors, a lot of booths.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:11] It’s neat to see all the women business owners together also in one place.

Catherine Veal: [00:05:16] Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. And just like trying to figure out what everyone’s purpose and goal is in attending. So, we’ve just stopped at booths that we really probably don’t have any –

Lee Kantor: [00:05:27] Are just curious about.

Catherine Veal: [00:05:27] Yeah. I’m just like, “Tell me what your goals are in attending.”

Lee Kantor: [00:05:32] “What do you do?”

Catherine Veal: [00:05:32] So, we’ve learned a lot just by, you know, networking and talking to people.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:37] Yeah. This is going to be a good association for you. I’m sure you’re going to get a lot out of this over the years that you’re going to be here.

Catherine Veal: [00:05:43] I think so. I was very excited to see some of the staffing companies and logistics companies because we ship all of our samples from all of those areas I said, and we use FedEx, UPS, and we have some great pricing with them. But it was just nice to see some other options that we could maybe partner with.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:03] Right. There might be some partners and collaborators here that you don’t know yet in this room.

Catherine Veal: [00:06:08] Exactly. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] So, if somebody wants to learn more about Paradigm, what’s the best way to do that?

Catherine Veal: [00:06:14] We have a website, that’s www.paradigm.healthcare. And that’s the easiest way to learn more about us. And, also, there’s a Contact Us tab that you can reach out, as far as being a team member and joining us or using our services, there’s information there for whichever way you want to go.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:35] Well, thank you for being part of GWBC and getting certified. And we wish you the best of luck.

Catherine Veal: [00:06:42] Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:44] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at the WBENC National Conference.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside GWBC’s booth. I’m so excited, we have Louise Lascik with Travel Leaders. Welcome, Louise.

Louise Lascik: [00:00:29] Hi. How are you?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:30] Get in there close, Louise.

Louise Lascik: [00:00:31] Okay. I’m in.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] All right. So, tell us about Travel Leaders. How are you serving folks?

Louise Lascik: [00:00:35] We are a corporate travel management company and we work with companies trying to reduce their travel spend. And that encompasses quite a bit of different things, beginning with centrally purchasing all of your air card and hotel reservations. And then, we do contracts with all their top vendors. And then, all of that would integrate into their expense report. So, we focus on larger pieces of business because it’s very detail oriented. There’s a lot of reporting as well. And we also partner with various expense reporting tools. So, that’s kind of what corporate travel management is all about.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:10] But it’s important, though, to have a partner like you in travel. Even though a lot of people try to do this themselves, it’s just impossible at the level you’re talking about for those kind of people to keep track of everything accurately, to have the reports you need, and to kind of get the expenses where they need to go when they need them.

Louise Lascik: [00:01:27] Yeah. That’s correct. I mean, if you’re a larger piece of business and you’re doing anywhere over 300,000 in travel, you need to have some kind of manage program. People tend to buy what’s best for them, not always what’s best for the company. So, you need to have that transparency. So, we kind of showed the whole picture of what was purchased to what actually ends up on the expense report.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:49] Right. And sometimes that’s eye-opening for the company.

Louise Lascik: [00:01:52] Yes, very much so.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:53] Right. Now, what’s a story you can share, maybe don’t name the company, but where they thought one thing and then something else was really happening in real life?

Louise Lascik: [00:02:00] Well, a lot of times, let’s say, you have a per diem, a hotel you can book whatever you like within, let’s say, it has to be under $125 a night. But in the meantime, by the time it hits the expense report, it’s $150. And you don’t have that information and you have no way of knowing. But by using a managed program, those are the things that we will expose and show you. Because people aren’t always buying what you want them to buy. So, we control that. We also will expose and support whatever the company’s travel policy is. And if somebody is booking out of policy, we will stop them from doing that.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:34] Right. And do you give them a portal or some sort of place where they can go online and book the travel and that goes through your system?

Louise Lascik: [00:02:43] Yes. We partner with a lot of different expense reporting tools, and with that is an online booking tool. So, they would book on the online booking tool, or if it was a more complex booking, they’d probably want to call in and have an agent, or if they’re going to Europe or something like that. And then, once that’s all done, it’s sent to somebody to approve or disapprove. So, make sure that everything’s within policy. And then, it all ends up on the expense report. So, it’s a whole streamlined process.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:11] So, now, you’re exhibiting here at the WBENC Conference, how has that been for you?

Louise Lascik: [00:03:16] Very good. We’re very excited. This is our first time. We were certified two years ago as a woman-owned travel management company. And we have made quite a few contacts. I’m very excited because I was just at a conference two weeks ago. And I think this one’s been excellent.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:32] Now, what’s it been like to be around all these women business owners? That must be exciting.

Louise Lascik: [00:03:36] Oh, I like it. I like the whole thing. I like the energy. It’s been good.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:40] And did you see on the row on the other side, there’s chocolate? Have you been over there?

Louise Lascik: [00:03:44] I’ve been over there. I’ve got some samples because we give our larger corporations gifts.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:49] Gifts? Well, that’s a perfect gift. So, now, at Travel Leaders, you said you just got certified recently.

Louise Lascik: [00:03:56] Two years ago.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:57] Was that something that it came to your attention that there might be some benefit? How did you even kind of become aware of it?

Louise Lascik: [00:04:02] Well, we’re always trying different marketing things, and we’re part of Travel Leaders, so there’s quite a few different marketing things that we go to. But I’ve gone to conferences, gosh, for the last ten years, and I would pay to participate, have our booth and things like that. And decided to try something new, and I like this niche. And before the conference, I’ve been reaching out to different –

Lee Kantor: [00:04:26] You’ve been strategic. It hasn’t been just showing up.

Louise Lascik: [00:04:28] No. I’ve been working it. And making appointments, I’ve had three luncheons. And as I said, we go for larger pieces of business because of what we do.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:36] It’s a better fit for the larger one.

Louise Lascik: [00:04:38] Yes. Yes. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:40] So, a company, I would imagine, are they going to you after they work with somebody else or is this sometimes their first time working with a kind of corporate partner to help them with their travel?

Louise Lascik: [00:04:53] Well, bigger pieces of business. We recently signed a very large Fortune 500 company. And, yes, most large companies have a managed program.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:02] So, they had had somebody else then switched to you?

Louise Lascik: [00:05:05] Well, this company, we call it very fragmented.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:09] So, maybe a division.

Louise Lascik: [00:05:10] We had one division and we recently consolidated 35 other locations across the country. And it’s a very large piece of business.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:18] So, what’s kind of a pain that they’re having where your company is a good solution for it? Is it something that they’re noticing on the expense? Or something’s out of whack? Or the budget all of sudden is through the roof and they didn’t expect it?

Louise Lascik: [00:05:28] Well, firstly, I think people booking out a policy and booking on their own –

Lee Kantor: [00:05:35] That’s more common than you think, because, look, I’m on Hilton, so I’m staying at a Hilton, and I don’t care –

Louise Lascik: [00:05:40] And we would correct that.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:42] It’s like, “Well, if you’re going to stay there, then you’re paying for it. Do you still want to stay there?” You’re like, “No. I don’t want to stay there.”

Louise Lascik: [00:05:46] Yeah. We would correct that behavior. Like, this large company, they had what we call leakage, and we would expose that leakage.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:53] It becomes obvious when you show them the report, right?

Louise Lascik: [00:05:55] Yeah. If somebody’s information is not there, why isn’t it there? That’s not being captured. They’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:01] So, if somebody wants to learn more about your work, what’s the website?

Louise Lascik: [00:06:06] www.fscorporatetravel.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:11] fscorporatetravel.com.

Louise Lascik: [00:06:13] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:13] Well, Louise, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Louise Lascik: [00:06:17] Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:18] All right. This is Lee Kantor broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference. We’ll be back in a few.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the 2022 WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth, booth 1812, so come by and see us. So excited. Been waiting all day for this interview. Zoe Olie.

Zoe Olie: [00:00:18] Olie.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] Olie. Close, close. 50/50 chance. Sorry, I screwed it up. Zoe Olie with Beautiful Curly Me. Welcome, Zoe.

Zoe Olie: [00:00:42] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] So excited. For our listeners who can’t see, Zoe is a little younger than some of the folks we have had here and I haven’t asked anybody their age, but I’m going to ask you yours. How old are you, Zoe?

Zoe Olie: [00:00:54] I am 10.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:56] Ten years old, and you are a certified women-owned business.

Zoe Olie: [00:01:00] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:01] Congratulations on that.

Zoe Olie: [00:01:02] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] What made you get certified?

Zoe Olie: [00:01:07] Because I own—I am the CEO and co-founder with my mom, Ivana, of Beautiful Curly Me, which is my company. And Beautiful Curly Me is a brand on a mission to instill and inspire confidence in young Black and Brown girls through toys and empowering content. And we are also a social impact brand, so for every dollar that’s bought on our website, beautifulcurlyme.com, we give one to a young girl in need.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:36] Very nice. So, now, what was—how did the idea come about?

Zoe Olie: [00:01:40] So, when I was six years old, I did not-

Lee Kantor: [00:01:42] Way back then.

Zoe Olie: [00:01:43] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:43] That was four years ago. That was forever.

Zoe Olie: [00:01:47] So, when I was six, I did not like my hair and I wished it was straight, like my classmates. And so, my mom did everything she could to help me, including getting me a Black doll. And I really like that doll, but she did not have hair that looked like mine, and I still did not feel good about myself because of that. And so, when my mom went back to the stores and came up short, I decided I wanted to start my own business and do something about this.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:12] And the business is dolls with curly hair?

Zoe Olie: [00:02:15] Yes. So, we have a line of dolls, Layla and Mika, with curls and braids, and we also sell the books that I have written, as well as puzzles and haircare accessories.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:26] So, having an idea, and then having a doll are two different things. So, what did that first doll—how did you kind of create that first doll?

Zoe Olie: [00:02:36] Well, we did a lot of research, because my mom did not know anything about the doll or toy manufacturing.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:41] What about you? You’re the doll person. Your mom probably doesn’t have a lot of dolls, I would guess.

Zoe Olie: [00:02:47] No, not really.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:48] I bet you have more.

Zoe Olie: [00:02:50] Yes, I did.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:50] I want to know about your dolls. How did you say I want the doll to look like this, I want it to have this kind of dress, I want it to have this kind of a face? How did that happen?

Zoe Olie: [00:03:01] Well, I knew that I wanted a doll with curly and relatable hair, so we first decided the texture of hair we wanted. We decided the skin color as well. And then, we decided about the outfit, which we were all about affirmations and being proud of who you are. So, we chose curly and confident as like our kind of statement.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:25] That’s your catchphrase?

Zoe Olie: [00:03:25] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:26] Curly and confident.

Zoe Olie: [00:03:27] And so, that’s actually on the doll’s t-shirt.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:29] Do you have t-shirts that I can buy that say curly and confident? My hair gets very curly. It doesn’t look curly now, but it will get curly.

Zoe Olie: [00:03:38] We actually do have women’s t-shirts on sale on our website, beautifulcurlyme.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:44] Alright. Beautifulcurlyme.com. We’ll get a shirt hopefully in my size at some point. So, when you’re doing this kind of work, and you think about, oh, I’d like to have a doll, and you design the doll, did you look at—how did you tell the person to make it? Like did your mom make the first doll or did you make it? Did you sew a doll like or do you go and get—where do you go to get dolls?

Zoe Olie: [00:04:10] Well, we looked online for a supplier in China who currently helps us make and manufacture the dolls to us. And then, we also found someone to get our boxes, as well as all the other things that the doll comes with.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:26] But isn’t that the fun part, saying, picking, I like that, I don’t like this? Did you have fun doing that?

Zoe Olie: [00:04:31] Yes, I actually did have fun. We had a lot of trial and error.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:35] Did you have your friends help? Did you all get together, and go, okay, do you like this? I don’t know, I like this one better.

Zoe Olie: [00:04:41] Well, it was mostly me and my mom. We had a lot of conversations of what we liked about the dolls, and we continued to have a lot of strategy.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:50] Yeah, your way or did she get her way?

Zoe Olie: [00:04:54] I think we both compromised, and we also—our customers send us a lot of feedback, so we use that as well to continue to grow our business.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:05] So, what’s your favorite part?

Zoe Olie: [00:05:07] My favorite part is probably the reviews that we get and the customers saying they love our products.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:12] Not the money?

Zoe Olie: [00:05:15] Well, most of the money we get goes back into the business, but I do enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor and all the revenue that we receive.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:24] You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. There’s nothing wrong with, when that money comes in, you’re like, oh, I can buy more dolls, I can help more people, right?

Zoe Olie: [00:05:33] Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:33] The more money that comes in, the more people you can help and get more dolls to more folks.

Zoe Olie: [00:05:37] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:38] So, what was it like when you gave that first doll to a child in need? How did you feel?

Zoe Olie: [00:05:45] I felt very empowered and I just like to see all that other little kids look up to me who want to start a business, and looking at this doll, really, a mark of confidence to them is just really empowering.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:03] So, has some kid come up to you, and saw you like a celebrity, asked for your autograph? Does that happen?

Zoe Olie: [00:06:09] Actually, no.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:10] Not yet?

Zoe Olie: [00:06:11] Not yet.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] So, I’ll be the first person to ask for your autograph?

Zoe Olie: [00:06:14] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:15] Okay. Good to know. So, now, what advice would you give other kids that are going to start a business? And they have dreams, a lot of kids have dreams, oh, I wish I had this, I wish this could happen, wishing and doing are different things.

Zoe Olie: [00:06:29] I would say, number 1, don’t be afraid to fail up. And again, there are always people that are there to help you along the way, your parents, teachers, counselors, and there are always people that are willing to help you and support you along your journey. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:48] So, with the right team, you could do anything, right?

Zoe Olie: [00:06:51] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:52] And you feel like you got a good team?

Zoe Olie: [00:06:54] Yes. And one more thing, always don’t be afraid to get started. I like to say don’t wait for the perfect wave, just swim. So, don’t be afraid, if you’re waiting for the perfect time, just get started.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:09] So, is that coming on a t-shirt soon?

Zoe Olie: [00:07:12] Maybe.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:12] Maybe.

Zoe Olie: [00:07:13] I’ll keep you posted.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:14] Keep me posted. And the website one more time?

Zoe Olie: [00:07:17] Beautifulcurlyme.com. And we also have Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter @beautifulcurlyme.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:26] Alright. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today, Zoe.

Zoe Olie: [00:07:29] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:30] Alright. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Zoe Olie: [00:07:33] Yes. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:34] Alright. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you in a few at the WBENC National Conference 2022 inside the boot of GWBC.

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth. I’m so excited, we have Charday Oldacre with NueWay Studios. Welcome.

Charday Oldacre: [00:00:29] Thank you for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about NueWay. How are you serving folks?

Charday Oldacre: [00:00:35] Absolutely. So, we’re a full-service brand development and video content marketing company. So, we do everything from helping you with your brand strategy, helping you figure out the best way to position it with, let’s say, your website or your messaging. But we also can help you amplify your story by creating a video for you, and then putting that in front of the right audience by advertising. So, we can put that video in front of, let’s say, Hulu audiences, other type of streaming audiences as well. And so, everything from help you figure out who you are as a business to helping you amplify your vision and getting it out there is what we do.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] So, are you exhibiting here or you’re wandering around? How are you [inaudible]?

Charday Oldacre: [00:01:11] So, I’m not exhibiting this year. However, we have been able to just kind of get on the ground and talk to people face to face, and that’s been amazing.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:21] So, now, how did you get into this line of work? What’s your backstory?

Charday Oldacre: [00:01:24] So, this really kind of found me, I would say. Originally, this was birth because my mom is an entrepreneur, and so as a kid, always seeing her grow up and wanting to really build her business, but didn’t have the team or the knowledge to really go out there to build it from a creative standpoint, and also be able to market it with some of these larger corporations, some of these bigger people out here. And so, that was what initially started me to kind of get down this road.

Charday Oldacre: [00:01:53] And then, as I really started getting into it, it kind of grew into me saying, “Well, if I can do this for business like my mom, there’s also a need for other corporations and larger businesses who are wanting to kind of innovate.” They may have been in the industry for years and they may have been doing it serving their audience for decades, but they may need a new creative idea to kind of refresh –

Lee Kantor: [00:02:19] Like a crash, right.

Charday Oldacre: [00:02:20] … absolutely – to do something that really allows them to stay at the forefront in their market. And so, that’s how we’ve been able to really stay on the cutting edge for helping some of our clients.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:31] So, now, what spurred you to get certified? Why was it important to be part of GWBC community and really become a certified woman in business?

Charday Oldacre: [00:02:41] It’s the networking. GWBC allows me and people like me the opportunity to speak with these face to face corporations. It also allows us to get in the door to have those conversations. No, it’s not the thing that will help you win the business. But it is the thing that allows these other corporations to know that you are serious about your business. And that has been one of the game changers for us.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:08] And then, have you been able to leverage the relationship to get that opportunity?

Charday Oldacre: [00:03:12] Absolutely. Absolutely. So, you know, our business has grown significantly because GWBC has certified our business. And so, literally, our very first time of coming to a WBENC Conference right after we got certified, we landed UPS as a client. It doesn’t happen all the time. And I do know that’s a very unique situation, but it happened. And those opportunities can actually happen. And then, from there, we landed The Federal Reserve Bank, The Board of Governors. And so, we started doing more federal contracts and more corporations. And it’s because they said, “Oh, you’re woman certified and you have great services and products. Let’s do business together.”

Lee Kantor: [00:03:53] See, how easy business is. People make it seem like it’s so hard.

Charday Oldacre: [00:03:58] Yeah. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:00] Show up, shake a few hands.

Charday Oldacre: [00:04:02] Yeah. You know, that’s it.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:04] That’s it. So, how’s your mom’s business?

Charday Oldacre: [00:04:06] She has several businesses. She’s a serial entrepreneur. However, I can just kind of help her. She does it. And so, she says she doesn’t want to do that anymore. Like, she’s on the age of retirement now. So, she’s like, “I’m 62. I got to sell the business.”

Lee Kantor: [00:04:26] Saturday is my 401K, right?

Charday Oldacre: [00:04:29] Exactly. So, real quick funny story. So, I told my mom about this proposal that I’m going after. I said, “Mom, I think we got it. It’s a really big proposal.” And my mom said, “Oh, my God. We are so good.” And I was like, “We?” And she’s like, “We’re going to celebrate. We’re taking care of it.” So, she’s like, “My retirement plan is in the bag.” So, she’s good.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:52] She feels good now. So, if somebody wants to learn more about NueWay and get on your calendar, what’s the best way?

Charday Oldacre: [00:04:58] Absolutely. The best way is to go to our website, nuewaystudios.com, and that’s N-U-E-W-A-Y-S-T-U-D-I-O-S.com. And then, there’s a contact form, there’s several contact forms. You can just fill one out and then one of my sales people will get in contact with you, and we’ll go from there.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:17] All right. Well, Charday, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Charday Oldacre: [00:05:20] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:20] You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Charday Oldacre: [00:05:22] Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:24] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you in a few at the WBENC National Conference inside the GWBC booth.