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 this is going to be a good one. Today, we have with us Kim Davis with Davis Professional Services. Welcome, Kim

Kim Davis: [00:00:29] Hi, Lee. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Davis Professional Services. How are you serving folks?

Kim Davis: [00:00:37] So, Davis Professional Services is an Atlanta-based management consulting firm. We provide business consulting services to commercial organizations and federal government agencies. And our mission is to become an extension of our client’s teams helping to solve their most pressing issues while ensuring the customer experience as top of mind.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] So, how’d you get into this line of work? What’s your back story?

Kim Davis: [00:01:01] So, my background is in consulting and marketing within the business process outsourcing space. I spent many years at Electronic Data Systems in Hewlett-Packard focused on those areas. And back in 2017, I started Davis Professional Services as an independent consultant, focusing on the things I did well while in corporate America. I had a former employee who supported me part-time from the very beginning and, later, became my first full-time employee. And, now, we are a team of eight. And so, I really like to think of myself as a connector connecting talent and resources in my network to projects and also to fellow small businesses to help them fill gaps.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:47] Now, could you share a little bit about that transition, going from working for a fairly established firm known around the world, to starting your own kind of venture?

Kim Davis: [00:01:58] Sure. So, back in 2017, I was laid off from my corporate job. And almost immediately, I was tapped by some folks in my network who I had supported while in corporate. They wanted to procure some of my services just from an independent consulting perspective. And so, I just leaped in. So, it really was me leveraging all of the experience and the talent that I had developed over the years and supporting some of the folks who I had already worked with while in corporate, and just started doing that on my own. So, it really was a pretty smooth transition. I learned about starting a business and did everything I had to do to get everything set up from that perspective. But it really was a pretty smooth transition because I was able to tap into that existing network.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:55] So, now, it sounds like from kind of sales and revenue standpoint, that was pretty seamless. Was there any challenges like from, maybe, just seeing yourself now as leading an organization rather than being maybe a cog in the machine of a larger entity?

Kim Davis: [00:03:10] You know, it sounds seamless, but it wasn’t without its challenges. You know, it was feast or famine, right? I had projects that were flowing. And then, of course, I would get these periods where I had nothing. And that challenged me. I was used to working a corporate job where I had a steady paycheck. And it was a different mindset that really forced me to learn how to budget and to just be more mindful of my spending. And, as you said, as a leader of my own company, it taught me to develop those skills, those entrepreneurial skills that I had not developed while working in corporate. And so, it was definitely a process.

Kim Davis: [00:04:01] I actually just recently completed a Goldman Sachs program. It’s the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, which was a 14-week program designed to help small businesses grow and create jobs. And so, essentially, over the 14 weeks, I spent time developing a growth opportunity for the business. And so, that was really like an MBA program on steroids. I had received my MBA several years ago, but it wasn’t through the lens of an entrepreneur. And this program really forced me to look at the business as an entrepreneur, all aspects from marketing to execution, to operations, and really dig down deep and develop a plan that would help me grow and sustain.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:49] Now, as you’re kind of evolving in your business and in your practice and you have, like you said, now a whole team around you, how important was kind of being mindful about corporate culture and building the culture that you wanted rather than just having the culture form around you?

Kim Davis: [00:05:10] Culture, it was really important to me. While in corporate, I have really maintained a professional disposition. And so, I always wanted to maintain that in my company as well, always putting client first as well as just taking care of the team. And so, from a corporate culture perspective, you know, those are my themes, making sure you’re always professional, the client is always first, and you’re always supporting your team members. And so, I instilled that into all of my folks who are on the team as well as new ones that I’m bringing on just to make sure that, you know, that’s always top of mind as they support DPS projects.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:00] Now, when clients are working with you, are they coming to you typically with a certain type of pain that they’re like, “Okay. The Davis Professional folks, they’re the ones that can help us with this.” Or are they coming kind of based on a referral? Like, what does that first engagement typically look like for your firm?

Kim Davis: [00:06:19] So, it’s a combination of the two. One of my oldest clients came as a referral. And I mean, what you typically see is oftentimes organizations just don’t have the time or resources to focus on key important areas. Or they just may not have the expertise to address business challenges. And so, leveraging that network perspective, you know, I’ve had folks to bring me into their corporate organizations to support some projects that either fell into one of those two buckets. And we typically go in and we become an extension of those teams, immersing ourselves into their culture and ways of working.

Kim Davis: [00:07:01] And so, I would say, primarily, it’s been through networking, through leveraging relationships with organizations like GWBC and a couple of other organizations of which I’m a member. So, I would say, leveraging the network as well as marketing and leveraging these professional organizations as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:23] So, you mentioned GWBC, how did that group get on your radar and how does it help?

Kim Davis: [00:07:32] So, GWBC got on my radar early on. And it escapes me how I was made aware of the organization. But I’ve been a member now for about four years, so very early in my entrepreneurial career. And it’s an awesome organization for women in business. GWBC provides phenomenal resources which proved invaluable during the pandemic.

Kim Davis: [00:07:58] Within GWBC, I’m a member of the Voice Committee, which is comprised of a great group of women who pour into each other’s businesses and lives. And we meet monthly to share, what we call, our roses and thorns of our businesses. And so, we’ve created a small family inside of GWBC that has provided a real safe place for us to just be real authentic with each other and to support each other.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:24] And then, are you seeing any benefit in terms of getting clients or connecting to maybe larger entities that you would have trouble as an individual getting in front of?

Kim Davis: [00:08:36] Absolutely. So, several years ago, I was at a GWBC function, actually it was the Tables of Eight, and I just overheard a couple of women having a conversation about their business. And what they were talking about was very similar to the type of work that I do. And so, I walked up to them, introduced myself, and let them know that we do very similar business. And they said, “Hey, well, that’s great. We’re always looking for other small businesses to bring in from a subcontract perspective.” And that’s exactly what they did.

Kim Davis: [00:09:15] We started working together back in 2018. And they brought me on to several projects as a subcontractor, which was just an awesome way to get in, and get my feet wet, and get some exposure. So, yes, absolutely. GWBC is just amazing from a small business to small business perspective, as well as the access you have to large organizations.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:41] So, now, do you have any advice for that person that maybe is in a corporate job that maybe they’re frustrated with or it’s not kind of leading them down the path they envision, but they want to kind of venture out on their own? Is there any advice you would give that person as they kind of launch into maybe a second act in their career?

Kim Davis: [00:10:02] You know, my advice for anyone thinking of starting their own business is to really do good work and build great relationships. You know, as an entrepreneur, you will tap constantly into your network for support, for advice, or talent, and you want to have laid the foundation for doing so. And so, you know, you want to have that history. You don’t want to have to build it as you go. But from the onset, you want to establish a great reputation for doing work, being a person of your word. And so, I would say the time is now. If you’re ever thinking about doing this in the future, just make sure you lay that good foundation.

Kim Davis: [00:10:43] I would also say be patient. Success certainly doesn’t happen overnight. And so, it’s really important to be diligent and to stay the course. And then, lastly, look for opportunities to participate on projects as a subcontractor. As I just mentioned, you know, it’s really a great way to get exposure with minimal risk. So, you know, you don’t always have to step out there and try to prime contracts for large organizations. Look for other small businesses to sub to and use that as an opportunity to get your feet wet and get that exposure with minimal risk.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:22] Now, can you share a story, maybe, that kind of occurred over the last few years, you know, as your business has grown in terms of having an impact that you were proud of. Don’t mention the company’s name, but maybe talk about the pain that they were having and how you were able to kind of come in and provide the service that helped take them to a new level.

Kim Davis: [00:11:45] Yeah. Sure. So, we had one client who had really lost control of the customer experience after the sale and they didn’t understand why. And so, they hired us to come in and just try to help them figure out what they could do to recapture that experience. And so, we went in and performed a customer journey mapping exercise, and discovered that one of the third party vendors that they had been using had assumed ownership of their clients, post-implementation. And was, essentially, leaving their business cards with the clients after they implemented the systems. And so, the client was calling on the vendor for support instead of the client.

Kim Davis: [00:12:36] And so, uncovering that really helped to determine ways to quickly address the issue, recapture those customer experiences, and ensure that the client had more control over that relationship. And so, we were able to quickly implement. There were low hanging fruit there, you know, a 1-800 number leaving behind a welcome kit. So, making sure the customer had everything at their fingertips to contact the client whenever they had an issue or concern instead of going to the third party vendor. And so, that was huge for this client. It was right there. They just didn’t see it. And so, bringing us in and having us uncover that proved very instrumental in helping them regain that customer control.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:35] And that’s an important part of when you’re working with a firm like yours. Just those conversations can help you through some blind spots that you might have or have acquired over the time. That you may be having these fresh eyes to look at something you’ve seen gives you insight and uncovers things that maybe you don’t see anymore, even though it becomes obvious for having a third party person come in and look around.

Kim Davis: [00:14:05] Oh, absolutely. And, you know, one of the things we do is, we leverage our cross-industry experience to provide the best solution for our clients. And so, for example, if we’re working with a government entity, we can leverage some things that we’ve done for more cutting edge industries and bring that to bear to that client. And so, that’s really the value becoming an extension of those teams but, also, bringing those cross-industry experiences. Because we’re nimble, we’re able to flex to our client’s ever changing environments.

Kim Davis: [00:14:40] And so, that’s one of the reasons that I believe our oldest client has been with us almost since day one and the team is continuing to grow. I was actually the very first person to support the client. And I’m no longer there, but I have four people there now. And so, I think it’s because of those things that I just mentioned why we’ve had longevity there.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:02] Now, you mentioned working with commercial organizations and government agencies. Do you have a sweet spot when it comes to industry? Like you’ve mentioned, that you kind of cross pollinated across a lot of different areas, but do you have an area that you feel that this is an area that’s a sweet spot?

Kim Davis: [00:15:19] You know, we’ve done quite a bit in the utility space. And I mentioned a while ago that, you know, I recently participated in this Goldman Sachs program, and so what I identified as my growth opportunity is to penetrate the federal government market. And so, right now, I have supported that market just minimally as a subcontractor. But I’ve been spending quite a bit of time laying the foundation to pursue federal government contracts. In fact, we were just awarded a few GSA schedules and we’re working on a few more.

Kim Davis: [00:16:01] And so, you know, from an industry perspective, the services we provide are really cross-industry, but have had a lot of experience with the utilities, some healthcare experience, and now looking to grow in the federal market space as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:17] Well, congratulations on all the success. If there’s somebody out there that wants to learn more about what you’re up to and maybe have a conversation with you or somebody on the team, is there a website?

Kim Davis: [00:16:29] Absolutely. www.davisprofessional.net.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:33] And right now, are you looking for other professionals to join the team or are you now more focused on growth and trying to find more clients?

Kim Davis: [00:16:42] Oh, both. Both. So, you know, always looking to grow the team, grow that network, so we can support our projects and also support some of our fellow small businesses as well and looking to grow as well. So, open to both.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:58] Good stuff. Well, again, thank you so much for sharing your story today. Kim Davis with Davis Professional Services. That’s davisprofessional.net. Thank you, Kim. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Kim Davis: [00:17:11] Thank you, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:12] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.