The Power of Partnership

Today the Board of Directors of the Florida Regional Minority Business Council held its annual Board Retreat for strategic planning. The session was moderated by Dick Huebner, President of the Houston Minority Business Council, one of the most successful and well run minority business councils in the country. Dick did an outstanding job of helping the Board to crystallize a plan of action to fulfill its mission of fostering minority business development in South Florida through the work of the Council.

As I listened to the input and the respectful give and take among my fellow Board members, I realized that this is what partnership is all about. The room was filled with representatives from some of America's top corporations, minority-owned businesses, quasi-governmental entities and our awesome CEO, Beatrice Louissaint. Each participant had a point of view, each participant held strong beliefs about the proper course of action on a multiplicity of topics, but each participant checked his/her ego at the door, rolled up their sleeves and got down to work.

The day was stimulating, challenging and invigorating. As a Board, we are united in our mission and empowered to accomplish (and to exceed) our goals. This is the power of partnership at work. I am proud of and motivated by the spirit of rugged individualism that permeates America and the high-powered A-Type personalities that I serve with. However, there is definitely truth in the proposition that Together We Achieve More! That is what a TEAM is all about.

The great basketball player Bill Russell once said, "The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I'd make my teammates play." That is the essence of teamwork and I experienced it today and I'm thankful for the opportunity to make a difference with folks who I genuinely respect and admire. If you don't have a strong and supportive team, my friend, trust me, you need one!

Go FRMBC for 2008!

If You Build it They Will Come

Ten Years ago I attended a MED Week (National Minority Enterprise Development Week) Conference in Miami, Florida. MED Week is sponsored by the MBDA (Minority Business Development Agency), which operates under the U.S. Department of Commerce. In its own words, the mission of the MBDA is "to achieve entrepreneurial parity for minority business enterprises by actively promoting their ability to grow and compete in the global economy." The MBDA accomplishes this goal, in part, through its annual MED Week conference in Washington DC and select jurisdictions around the country.

I was enlightened and encouraged by the display of governmental and private sector support for minority businesses. One particular booth at the conference caught my attention: The Florida Regional Minority Business Council (FRMBC) - you've got to know your acronyms to do minority business. I quickly learned that the FRMBC is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) operating in South Florida - my home base. I was told that the FRMBC exists to connect minority-owned businesses to corporate America.

"Tell me more," I said. I was intrigued by the statement. I had worked in corporate America and for corporate law firms, but I was unfamiliar with the idea of an organization made up of corporations with a mission of contracting with minority-owned suppliers. Being "minority-owned" and in the start-up phase of my business at that time, I gobbled up the information and swore that I would soon affiliate with the organization.

The following day I got back to the grind of starting a new venture and quickly forgot about the council. I filed away the information and would review it wistfully from time to time as I continued to build my business and my brand. About a year later, through informal networking, I made a contact with an insider in a local Fortune 500 company. Through hard work and diligence, I won the corporation as a client. The influx of business helped me to grow the business rapidly.

Our firm developed a strong reputation and hired the talent needed to keep the business growing. During these formative or building years, we held no minority certifications and did not market ourselves as a minority-owned business. My business sold professional services (a law firm) and at that period in the supplier diversity evolution, professional services was still outside of the mainstream of minority business development. Thus, a minority certification was probably of little value at that time, in any event.

Eventually, we won additional large clients based upon word-of-mouth and up-selling our existing clients. It was at that time that we decided we had the girth and experience to seek even larger opportunities and pursued a minority certification. The point of the story is this: Many MBEs experience frustration in trying to build their businesses through Supplier Diversity channels because they seek to do business with major corporations prior to building a truly sustainable business. I would suggest that MBEs should do the opposite. They should first build strong businesses and then advertise their minority status.

If you build it (a great business) they will come!

You Must Give in Order to Receive

I have a passion for small and minority-owned businesses. We'll call them minority business enterprises (MBEs) for the purposes of this blog. One of the frequently asked questions I receive from MBEs is, "how can I get the attention of major corporations that I want to do business with?" or some other variation on that theme. There are many answers to that question, but I would like to focus on a few strategies that I've used and watched others use with great results over the years.

The first of these strategies is the principle of service. MBEs must learn to give in order to receive - to serve before they are served. MBEs that are certified through the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and its affiliate councils have the tremendous (and fruitful) opportunity of serving in their local minority business council. Typically, the local councils are under-staffed or thinly-staffed and in need of help from the certified MBEs in their jurisdictions.

There are numerous opportunities to serve. MBEs may serve in their area of expertise or may choose to volunteer time and resources to the council in another realm. There are excellent opportunities to serve, chair or co-chair several committees with interests as diverse as event planning to technology. By serving on one or more of the local committees, MBEs will obtain the ability to work closely with other MBES and corporate members.

In so doing, relationships will develop naturally and the MBE will eventually be able to present its qualifications/attributes in a non-threatening, non-salesman like fashion. As the MBE proves itself faithful in service over time, it will experience this breakthrough: Corporations will seek out its services without ever being approached or solicited! This is because people do business with people who they know and trust. Volunteering time, working hard and getting a job done right is a great way of developing trust.

From time to time I speak with MBEs who claim dissatisfaction with NMSDC Supplier Diversity programs. They claim that the funds invested to become certified have not yielded any dividends. They usually register complaints about the local minority business council and its seeming ineffectiveness. When I hear from these companies, I ask them if they are involved or serving in the council in any shape or fashion. The answer is usually no.

I then share with them the benefits of serving (on many levels) and the opportunities available to begin serving right away. Few follow the advice. The others simply make excuses why they can't serve and continue complaining about their lack of business.