In this episode of Women in Motion, host Lee Kantor is joined by Erika Castro from Salt River Project (SRP) about the crucial role of women in corporate procurement and supplier diversity. Erika emphasizes the importance of building relationships with women business owners, effective networking, and preparation for events. She highlights SRP’s commitment to community engagement and collaboration with women-owned businesses.
The episode also previews an upcoming procurement conference organized by WBEC-West, stressing the value of face-to-face interactions and proactive networking for business growth. Erika provides practical advice on articulating value, seeking feedback, and maintaining connections.
Erika Castro is the Supplier Diversity and Supplier Management Manager at SRP Salt River Project.
SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit organization providing reliable, affordable and sustainable water and energy to more than 2 million people in central Arizona.
Follow the Salt River Project on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Erika Castro with the Salt River Project. Welcome.
Erika Castro: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Please share a little bit about Salt River Project. How are you serving folks?
Erika Castro: So, Salt River Project, also known as SRP, is an Arizona company. It’s a public water and power utility with over two million customers here in the Valley. And the Valley, we kind of refer to like the Phoenix metropolitan area. But, yeah, water and power utility, that’s what we do. That’s our bread and butter.
Lee Kantor: Now, what’s your background? Have you always been in that line of work?
Erika Castro: Yeah. So, I actually have been with the utility for I’m going on 16 years, so definitely have enjoyed being in the utility space. And my background is in corporate philanthropy, but most recently within our supply chain area working in supplier diversity.
Lee Kantor: Now, you are one of the corporate representatives at WBEC-West. Can you talk a little bit about why it’s important for your firm to be a member of WBEC-West and to be a corporate rep?
Erika Castro: Yeah. So, SRP has been in the Valley for over 100 years. And SRP’s establishment was actually established pre-statehood, so it’s really important for SRP to just really be engaged with the community, and more importantly, with the business community because, obviously, SRP can’t do all of the things that we do if we don’t partner with suppliers that can get us the services and good to be able to provide reliable, affordable power and water.
Lee Kantor: So, when WBEC-West has an event, like they are having in Henderson coming up September 17th through 19th, their 21st Annual Procurement Conference, how do you kind of attack that? Is that a must attend event for you and your team? Can you talk a little bit about how you kind of get the most from the corporate side of the table?
Erika Castro: Yeah, absolutely. So, I’m also a proud member of WBEC-West and I truly believe in its mission of advocating, supporting women business owners, and ensuring that they have the opportunities necessary to compete for sustaining contracts and opportunities. And so, for SRP, really, it’s an imperative. Like I mentioned, we are not able to do the great work that we do at the utility if it wasn’t for many of our women business owners. And so, in this case, it’s really important for us to be there.
Erika Castro: WBEC-West is our regional partner for WBENC, and not only are they just an amazing team – so I am going to brag on the team – but secondly, they’re very intentional with everything that they do. And that means a lot for SRP because we know that when women business owners are competing for contracts, they’re ready. They’re ready and they’re well-prepared, and they’re winning contracts.
Erika Castro: So, like I said, for us it’s really important to be there. It’s an imperative for us to be there. So, we are planning on attending with several members of our procurement team, which is super exciting because we always like developing the connections with our women business owners, but women business owners, also – we call them WBEs – they’re super excited to meet our procurement folks. And so, just making those connections, I think is really important because at the end of the day, we’re kind of the funnel and the advocate for women business owners and the utility. But procurement, who knows about the projects, those folks are the ones that is really important for WBEs to meet, so we’re really excited to go with a team of folks to the WBEC-West conference.
Erika Castro: And you asked a great question, Lee, about just preparing, and so we do prepare in advance for the conference to make sure that if there’s anything upcoming that we need, that we’re looking for those things at the conference.
Lee Kantor: So, we talk a lot on this show with WBEs, but we don’t talk a lot with the corporates, so I’m just trying to give the WBEs a little insight into how the corporates prepare, and how you’re kind of getting the team ready, and how they’re kind of gathering the information that’s important to them so that the WBEs have an idea of maybe how to kind of anticipate some things so they’re better prepared. So, can you share a little bit about, you know, when you’re in a meeting with the procurement folks and you’re saying, “Okay, this conference is September 17th through 19th, here’s the game plan. Here’s the best way to kind of get the most out of it.”
Erika Castro: Yeah. So, we kind of approach it from the perspective that each one of our procurement individuals that will be attending, they kind of have their area of responsibility. So, someone may be very specific that all they do is, you know, IT support, someone else may just do, let’s say, marketing and communications and environmental support. But once we kind of have this conversation with our procurement individuals, we kind of go at it from the perspective that you are representing our entire supply chain at SRP. So, really, the goal is to ensure that we are talking to everyone else and we’re kind of getting a feeler out there for everyone else in procurement of what is needed or what are the big things that are kind of coming down the pipeline where we may need additional sources of WBEs.
Erika Castro: And so, that’s really kind of how we approach it. We have a discussion and we kind of just survey, survey all of our peers on what they need. So, in that way, when we go to the conference, we know the types of things that we need. And obviously for the types of things that we don’t need, I always tell this to anyone that I meet, whether it’s at SRP or not, is that it’s so important, I think, to always give some positive feedback to WBEs, because, one, they look to you for that experience from the corporate perspective.
Erika Castro: So, although there may not be opportunities in business, it’s so important to make sure that you’re giving them feedback and that you’re giving them some honest, good feedback that they can take back for other potential relationships for them or other potential opportunities. Because the last thing that I want is, you know, to have our team prepare and go into this conference making everyone believe that everyone’s going to do business with SRP tomorrow, and that’s just not really the reality.
Erika Castro: So, one, it’s kind of just knowing what it is that we need going into it. But two, if we know that there’s not a fit, still making sure that we’re, one, accessible – and that is one thing that I’m really proud of at SRP is that we have a great team – and you can be assured that if you reach out to anyone from our team, they’re going to get back to you. And oftentimes, I think there’s a lot of folks that are reaching out to procurement and supplier diversity, and I think just the fact that there’s not a lot of resources in those departments, it just takes a little bit longer maybe to get back to someone. We have a great team and we have a strong team, so that’s one thing that we really pride ourselves with is that we love to provide feedback just in the true essence of helping develop one another.
Lee Kantor: And it sounds like relationship part of this is very important. You don’t want this to be transactional. You don’t want it to be like, I sell widgets. I don’t need widgets. Buy. You want it to be more human to human.
Erika Castro: I mean, one of the things that I always talk about is, you know, the relationship part should always come first. And even when we talk about matchmaking, whenever a WBE and a corporate gets into a matchmaker, I really don’t like being in a space where it’s just like you get someone’s 30-second pitch, and then you don’t really learn anything about that person. I want to get to know you. And I know that for anyone that has gotten a contract, really, they say people do business with who they trust, and so, for me, I think definitely it’s developing those relationships.
Erika Castro: And I know that a lot of folks would agree with that. It’s developing the relationships, the work comes after. Because kind of what I mentioned, even if there’s not an opportunity immediately, if I’m in conversation with someone internally, or even externally because there’s a huge network of us folks that talk outside, so it’s other corporate representatives talking to other corporates, and even if we can’t use them, if we’ve developed this relationship with a certain individual, a WBE, we’re more likely to recommend them. “Oh, you know what? We haven’t been able to use this person but, man, they would be great.” And so, yeah, absolutely, relationship building I think is the number one that I would say coming in here and really trying to develop that and just being yourself.
Lee Kantor: Now, I’m glad you brought up this matchmaking event that’s going to happen there and sharing a little bit about how you prepare your team to kind of go into that event. Is there some kind of do’s and don’ts? You know, like these are red flags. These are green flags. Are there things that you can share with the WBE? Like you mentioned one, I want to know a little bit about you as a human, not just your elevator pitch. But can you share a little bit about things that you like and don’t like?
Erika Castro: Yeah. I mean, I really appreciate when we can come into a conversation and when a WBE will ask for feedback. There is one event in particular that I attended where I heard a pitch of a company, and this is a great example of kind of being open to feedback is that this company kind of talked about they were in the painting industry and they talked a lot about doing business with a certain segment and government work and a ton of government work. And it sounded like a lot of their work really was focusing on in this particular segment of homebuilders.
Erika Castro: And so, you know, one of the things that I proposed to her after that conversation is, “Well, have you thought about procurement with large corporations because the type of work that you do -” and it was a specialty type of painting “- if you’ve seen any of these large corporations, they have beautiful facilities, have you not thought about getting into procurement with large corporates?” And she hadn’t thought about that.
Erika Castro: So, going back to your question, I think one of the things that I really appreciate as always that I’d like to recommend in any sort of matchmaker, you’re always seeking out either advice or just open to any feedback. I think that’s always a great thing. And I guess things that you want to stay away from is, one, obviously, I think in any matchmaker setting, you have limited time. And so, the last thing that you want is to take up the entire conversation. If there’s five people in the table and you’re going on for now three minutes, it’s not being mindful, I guess, of the other folks at the table. So, I think just kind of having the awareness of how much time do you have, how many people do you have, and not kind of overtaking that conversation because I think that could be perceived negatively.
Erika Castro: So, that’s what I would recommend that we definitely be mindful of others, but, two, also be open to the feedback and suggestions of whoever’s there, not just from a corporate standpoint, but I think there’s a lot of great feedback and suggestions that can be made from other WBEs. Because you might have a WBE there that’s been in business for 20 plus years and someone that’s just starting out, and I think there’s a lot of great feedback and advice that can come from someone that has a seasoned business or an experienced business.
Lee Kantor: Right. And there’s a lot of synergies that might be just waiting there if you’re kind of open to that. Now, when it comes to working with your company, how important is kind of doing the homework and research and really understanding? Because if you’re a WBE and you can’t go to every single corporate matchmaking, you can’t go with everybody, so you’ve got to pick a handful, is it important for you to hear some of the kind of key words and some of the hints that maybe they have done some homework and that they have kind of at least understand some of our pain points and some of the opportunities within our organization?
Erika Castro: I mean, especially being in the utility space with a lot of our upcoming initiatives and our renewable initiatives, I think there’s a lot of value to be had and someone just making sure that they’re prepared. And I always think this way, if there’s a corporation and we know what we’re looking for going into it, I think the same concept could be made for a WBE that they come prepared to the conference knowing which corporations they would like to target, because, like you mentioned, you may not get face time with everyone that maybe you’d like.
Erika Castro: So, understanding, let’s say, that if a utility was in my area of focus, that if I haven’t talked to one of the utilities, that I will make it a point after the fact to connect with them or to reach out. And I always think that it’s also important to note that, one, yes, doing your homework, but, two, if you maybe haven’t done your homework because maybe you just haven’t looked at this company, maybe it’s someone that’s out of state, a company that’s out of state, I think it’s understanding, you know, come with some questions like what kind of questions can you ask the company that’s going to help them solve their needs, and what types of maybe new innovative things are happening where maybe you could help solve a problem for them.
Erika Castro: And so, absolutely doing your homework, but then also having a plan going into it because I think sometimes, especially with some of the conferences and the amount of people, it can be a little overwhelming for WBEs. And so, if they come prepared, they know that they kind of have a plan in place. And if they meet additional corporate’s along the way, well, that’s just a cherry on the top.
Lee Kantor: Right, that’s the bonus. Now, is there any advice you can share when it comes to maybe following up and networking with folks that, like you mentioned, you’re going to see some of them at this matchmaker event, but you’re going to just see some of them, maybe you’ll go and attend one of their speaking events or maybe you’ll run into them at lunch, how would you kind of navigate the networking part of this with the corporates because we respect your time and we don’t want to be so forward that we assume that you’re going to make time for me. How would you do that from a networking standpoint in order for me to maximize my best chances of interacting with you and, maybe at some future point, doing business?
Erika Castro: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s important to always lean in. I know this is kind of maybe a played out term, but I always say just lean in. And even if you can’t have a five minute conversation because, to your point, people are busy and they may be talking to others, just introduce yourself. Make it a point to introduce yourself and maybe provide a business card and ask them for theirs so that you can kindly follow up after.
Erika Castro: And the other thing, I think, is just making sure that you clearly articulate what it is that you do in any sort of follow up. Whether you do get a chance to talk to folks on site or whether you’re following up, it’s just being able to clearly articulate that, because I think many times you hear of companies that they kind of say, “Oh. Well, I do X services?” And you’re like, “Okay. Well, what about X services?” So, I always like to ask for examples, “Well, give me an example of something that you’ve done.” And if they have examples for me for the utility space, “Well, do you have examples specific to the utility space?” If they do, great. If they don’t, then I just ask for an example, period, because I think that can kind of help me figure out, “Okay. Yeah. Then, that would be a great person to introduce to X person internally.”
Erika Castro: Because our job really is to be the connector and the conduit between the WBEs and our internal businesses. And so, I think just making sure that you’re being seen, and if you know that there’s three corporate representatives there, make sure that at least touch base with one of them. And if there’s only one, then obviously you want to try to at least get them to give you their card or follow up. But definitely if there’s more than one, then make sure that you at least touch base and make a connection with at least one of the corporate reps.
Lee Kantor: Now, for you, this event in the past, has there been a story you can share, a memorable moment from a previous conference that you would like to share that maybe you made a connection or you helped somebody or something that you remember.
Erika Castro: Yeah. So, last year, we had a WBE that attended in the construction space, and they hadn’t been as connected with WBEC-West in a little while, and they were so thankful and appreciative that, one, we invited them to join us – and they’re an existing supplier – and two, that they were able to make all these additional connections, because one of the things that I know WBEC-West is big on and I always talk about is that this network is such a supportive network. Women help build each other. And although, you may not be able to do business with maybe a corporation, there’s probably another WBE that you can team up with or subcontract for.
Erika Castro: So, in this case, the company that I was mentioning, it’s ensuring that we were introducing them to a lot of other women, one, that they could mentor because this business has been in business for a while. And two, that they could have also kind of this network of people that they could then team up with or partner with on future projects. And so, coming out of there, this WBE was just super excited and very appreciative. And we have just seen their business flourish and grow not just with SRP but as a business. And I do think that a lot of that is a direct result of continuing to be engaged in events like this.
Erika Castro: You know, especially out here in Arizona, there’s a lot of growth, especially in the construction space. So, if there’s anything in that area, then it’s also kind of just knowing what area you live in and what are kind of the hot areas that are growing and developing, and how can I potentially work with the business like that to get future opportunities.
Lee Kantor: And this event is an opportunity for you to get in front of corporates that can really make a difference in your business. I mean, this to me is a must attend event. If you’re involved in the community and you’re a member, I think it’s super important to invest the time to attend here because meeting face-to-face with these people like yourself, it can be a game changing account if you can land a Salt River Project account for some of these WBEs. So, I wouldn’t sleep on this opportunity. I think this is a must attend event this September 17th through 19th. I mean, how often do people get a chance to meet with you and your team face-to-face like this? It’s probably not that frequently.
Erika Castro: I mean, there’s a few times a year, and then also the fact that I mentioned that we’re bringing folks in procurement. Oftentimes, myself and maybe someone else on the team gets to attend, but we’re not part of the procurement team that’s actually making the decisions with the internal client. That’s why I think this is just so important because, one, you have a team of folks that are going to be there. And then, two, I just think that just professional growth, who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want the professional and business growth?
Erika Castro: I think a lot of things that you may learn at an event like this could also help propel your business to the next level. And I think oftentimes we think, you know, I’m going to come out of here and I’m going to get a contract. And I think if you walk out of there and you made X amount of connections, you kind of have to make a goal for yourself and you come out with those connections. And you came out with all these additional learnings that can help you grow your business, I mean, that’s a win, because we all know that a contract won’t happen overnight.
Erika Castro: And so, I think, one, it’s just making that first introduction. And then, secondly, is that there’s just so many other opportunities for personal growth and development, both on a personal level and also at a professional level through your business.
Lee Kantor: And the dates again for this event is September 17th through 19th. It’s in Henderson, Nevada. You can go to wbec-west.com to learn more. This is the 21st Annual Procurement Conference. I think it’s a must attend event if you’re a WBE and you’re already investing in the community, take this next step and learn from your peers in person, meet them face-to-face, get in front of a bunch of corporates that can help your business get to a new level. I think that you should really attend this event. What do you think, Erika?
Erika Castro: I say it’s a great investment, like I said, in yourself and in your business, so I agree with you. As many people that can sign up and register, like you said, it’s just having access, and we all talk about having access to opportunities, this is it.
Lee Kantor: Yeah. This is where it happens. So, Erika, if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more about Salt River Project, what’s the website there.
Erika Castro: So, you can find us at srp.net/supplierdiversity. That will take you to our site, one, to where you can register to be a prospective supplier to SRP, and then two, it does have all of our forms of communication. It has our phone number, our email. And then, it also has just some other additional fun things that we’ve been doing, like tracking our economic impact in our community, so that’s on there as well. And I’ll say the website again, it’s srp.net/supplierdiversity.
Lee Kantor: Well, Erika, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.
Erika Castro: Thank you.
Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.
