The Top Five Minority Business Mistakes And How To Avoid Them (Part I - Continued)

Mistake Number One: Failure to Focus (Continued)

The Robert Frost poem, The Road Less Traveled says “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Everything changed when I stopped and assessed the roads before me. On the one hand, I could continue on the path of “networking” at multiple events and driving myself batty with little result or I could take the road less traveled – the road of reflection.

On the road of reflection, a business owner must cease from his efforts, reflect on his purpose, direction, strategies and results to see if it is working. If it is, then wonderful! That business owner should just continue to build on that solid foundation. But if not, as it was in my case, the business owner has to have the courage to make needed changes.

When I realized the dead end of involving myself in multiple organizations with little result – that is, spreading myself too thin – I made two key decisions that you should also consider. I immediately cut the ten or so organizations that I was involved in to two organizations that I would focus upon for business-building. Second, I decided that I would put in meaningful time, financial resources and service with those organizations in order to build relationships and to serve others.

Thus, I went cold-turkey on all of the evening business mixers, luncheons, match-making events and others and began to focus on the two organizations that I felt I could best build upon, substituting quantity for quality. As the quote from the Frost poem above states, this made all of the difference. In a short period of time, I had built significant relationships within each organization and I leveraged those relationships into a business that went up like a rocket.

Sometimes our business relationships are a mile wide but an inch deep. I would suggest narrowing your focus to your best prospects and deepening those relationships. A few quality relationships will yield a much greater harvest than several superficial ones. Ultimately, you are the benefactor of this strategy on many levels.

You will develop business relationships that last a lifetime – the kind that keeps on giving – year in and year out. You will cut down on your “busy time” and increase your quality time; and you will develop actual business much faster because you will build rapport and trust with your targets. People like to do business with people they know and trust.

Perhaps you are making Mistake Number one right now. You are spread too thin, looking for leads and business in too many places. This may be your time to stop and assess your business and your strategy. If you have fallen victim to this deadly mistake, then you can reverse your direction right now. Take a few hours aside and think this through. It will make all the difference!

Top Five Minority Business Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) Part I

Hello Friends: It's been a while. I'm glad to back after a long hiatus. What is amazing is that many of you have found the information in this Blog really helpful as we receive constant feedback and our analytics tells us that you are making use of our pages. I thought I'd resume the dialogue with an excerpt from one of your favorite pieces: The Top Five Minority Business Mistakes And How To Avoid Them.

Just avoiding one of these mistakes can make a world of difference in your business. For example, many years ago I decided that I would stop making Mistake Number One below, and that sole decision transformed my business. The current national business environment is challenging and that creates pressure to push harder, sometimes spinning your wheels in order to make something happen. A wiser approach is to slow down and think clearly through your business and objectives. Once you’ve given it some thought and created a plan of action, it is time to execute!

Mistake Number One - Failure to Focus

In 1997 I started a solo legal practice. Going against conventional wisdom, I started my firm with no capital, partners or resources. I literally had a rolodex of a few colleagues, a dream and a lot of faith. The business gurus will tell you this is not the recommended approach and, in a perfect world, starting a business on those terms is not advisable. However, we all know that life rarely hands you the luxury of perfect timing or resources. Sometimes you have to just grab the ball and run with it and that is what I did.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen,” and that’s exactly what happened in my case. Once I grabbed the ball and started running, I was able to obtain client referrals, an office to work out of and even an assistant to help me get started. Within three years I went from an initial retainer of $250 dollars on my first case, to over one million dollars in annual revenue. In that roughly three year period I learned numerous lessons that serve me to this day and will serve your business as well, if acted upon. That is the great thing about principles – they work the same way all of the time and they have predictable results. What worked for me will work for you – principles are no respecter of persons.

In the early part of my venture I didn’t know very much about timeless principles. I simply got out my rolodex and started to “hustle” – to call upon everyone I knew to let them know I was open for business. I also began to join networking groups, trade associations, lawyer groups, small business groups, trade-fairs, multiple chambers of commerce, multiple professional connection groups and the like – if there was an event, I was there with business cards in hand. Within a few months I realized that I was wearing myself out!

On top of that, I became aware that I was obtaining mixed results from all of the associations and events that I was attending or participating in. Particularly because I am a lawyer, many small businesses wanted free or very close to free advice and several groups wanted my involvement on committees or other time commitments from me with little return on investment. I further discovered that from a business-building standpoint, even the legal trade associations were a waste of time because who attended those meetings? You guessed it – other lawyers! Thus, I would always be just one of several other similarly situated professionals in the room and that was getting me nowhere very fast.

When this reality came home to me, I admit that I was tempted to “keep plugging away” hoping that if I just kept networking, eventually being involved in all of these groups and associations would somehow pay off – one day my ship would come in. There is something about the human mind – once you’ve mentally committed to a course of action, your tendency is to cling to that course even if it clearly fails to yield results. It is somehow difficult to put down even a failing strategy and to move in a different direction. Yet this is exactly what you must do (and often) to succeed in business – there are no sacred cows. You have to discern when a strategy is not working and then to go about making the needed changes.

Find out the changes I made and how those changes positively affected my business in "Top Five Minority Business Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) Part II," coming soon!

Best regards, Coach

Mistake Number 3 - Failure to Set Realistic Expectations

Hey team: Please enjoy this outtake from "The Top Five Minority Business Mistakes and How to Avoid Them" which I've been offering as a FREE resource when you join my mailing list on my Minority Business Coach Fan Page on Facebook. Just sign up and I'll send you the full report. Knowledge is learning from your mistakes. Wisdom is learning from other people's mistakes. So be wise and grab your copy today on Facebook - Minority Business Coach. Now read on:

One of the biggest mistakes made by small and minority businesses is failing to set realistic expectations about attracting large corporations as clients. I have been in minority business development circles for many years. There is a consistent complaint from some minority businesses that the system is broke and that it's virtually impossible to get business from large corporations.

First, it is a spiritual principle that you will have what you say – or what you expect. Thus, if you say getting business is impossible then it is – you will receive according to your belief. But that is a topic for another publication. On a business level, I would like to set a few things straight. It is true that our nation has a long way to go for minority businesses to get their fair share of the national business opportunity pie. There is no doubt that it is becoming increasingly harder for small and minority businesses to compete. The frustration felt by many small businesses is real.

Nevertheless, there are strategies that have worked for the minority businesses that are winning this battle and they will work for your business as well. As difficult as the road to obtaining that large contract may seem, there is a pathway and you can learn how to access it. However, as suggested above, much of this begins in your mind. Armed with the correct outlook, you will position yourself for success and it will eventually come to you.

First, I would encourage small and minority businesses to take the long view on obtaining corporate business. Small businesses often overlook medium sized companies and even fellow small and minority businesses in order to camp out at the corporate tent. In my experience, it is much easier to attract several small or medium-sized clients than one corporate giant.

Minority businesses should continue to knock at the corporate door, but simultaneously, they should act as if they will never receive a corporate contract and focus their energies on more accessible targets. This is a matter of placing a positive spin on the theory of cognitive dissonance – keeping two seemingly different ideas in mind. On the one hand, you continue to work for that corporate contract. But on the other, you work as if you will never receive one and develop your business, in spite of, corporate contracts.

This serves many purposes. When the time arrives for you to receive that large corporate contract, you would have been well-prepared to handle the business having taken the time to build out your infrastructure and services with smaller clients. Second, big corporations want to do business with companies with a track record. The long view will allow you to develop experience, references and capacity. You will also develop self-confidence and grit along the way.

This was true of my business. It took me about one year to develop my first large, corporate client and that was miraculously quick! But before I developed that client, I built a sustainable business on several small and mid-sized companies. Having a well-run business in place, I could then play the waiting game of developing the larger clients. Once I obtained the first corporate client, their credibility and endorsement of my services enabled me to win many more. Today my firm services many world-class corporations.

Note however, that the first client and the first endorsement came because of outstanding service delivery and results. Assuming that you can deliver on that in your area of business, then you can have those corporate clients in due time. Along the way, develop your business, expertise and testimonials and be ready for the big break. Your realistic expectations will make you a better business person. It will keep you hungry, yet never despairing - not having obtained, but always learning; always sharpening your saw.

In truth, the worst thing that could happen is obtaining a corporate contract but not being ready for it. If you blow that opportunity it could be a long time in getting another – word travels somehow. I’ve seen very tiny minority companies attempting to do business with gigantic, global conglomerates. Not that this is impossible. Remember how I began this article – anything is possible. Also, by following the advice given in the full-blown Special Report from which this piece is excerpted, it is quite likely that even a micro firm can do business with a giant. I did it when my business was small and so can you.

The point is that in some instances, small business owners are unrealistic about the needs of the conglomerate that it can really solve and its own capacity to meet that company’s global demands. These are obstacles that minority businesses have to realistically face with real solutions, like filling a niche market or by teaming up with another small company to build capacity. The problem is that some minority businesses fail to adopt these strategies and in so doing, they fail to meet their goals and repeat a cycle of frustration.

Thus, my advice to minority businesses is: (1) Build your business in spite of large companies (2) Prepare while you wait for the large contract (3) Adopt the long view on your hopes of doing business with large corporations (4) Be ready to ACT when opportunity comes knocking (which it will, eventually) and finally (5) Keep a positive outlook! Your break is around the bend. Never give up. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, "Never, never, never, never."

Your friend, The Coach



Photo from trybna.com.

How To Work a Minority Business Trade Show (Part II) - An MBE Perspective

Trade shows can be massive and overwhelming to even the most ardent marketer. I’ve been to several trade shows which seem like a world without end. In such an environment, it is quite easy to lose your way. As I shared in the previous post, to be effective, you need to plan your objectives and goals for the show, including targeting your audience and using your time wisely. Below are three additional strategies that will make your trade show experience pay dividends.

Network, Network, Network

This piece of advice seems elementary. After all, isn’t networking is a huge part of why we attend trade shows in the first place? However, in a trade show environment, even your networking must be strategic. I’ve been in many situations where, if you are not careful, you can get weighed down with everyone else’s message at the risk of getting out your own.

You could find your pockets stuffed with business cards and brochures from plumbers, architects, accountants, etc – all wonderful people, but not your intended targets. Thus, you must vigilantly protect your time and stick with your plan to reach your intended targets. As you network, make a quick assessment of the contact and file them away accordingly. Later, after the show, you can further organize for follow up.

Also consider networking with the experts at the workshops that generally accompany the trade shows. These folks are experts for a reason. Many times they are connected within an organization or company that you are targeting and you can have one on one time or an entree into the company through this contact. Experts are usually willing to share their information and contacts. They are also typically used to being in such an environment and so they are open to shepherding someone who approaches them in a direct and professional way.

Reconnect With Existing Clients

Another great usage of trade shows is to reconnect with existing clients. If you have clients that are attending, make an appointment to meet with that client at the show or over lunch or dinner. This is a great time to have some relaxed time to catch up with your client, converse about the relationship, obtain feedback and to make any improvement or adjustments necessary.

It is also a time to gently up-sell that client for additional services or increased business without a sales routine. One of the greatest sources for business, either through expansion or referrals, is your existing clients. For numerous reasons, an existing client is far easier to work with than a prospect. Spend time with your existing client to seek ways to grow your business or at the very least, to say thanks. It is amazing how something as simple as a thank you will cause your client to go to bat for you.

Follow Up!

Without this last piece of the trade show puzzle, your efforts and expenditures are absolutely in vain! We know that the cost in time, money and opportunities is extremely high and so you must have a mechanism for following up after the show. I have used trade shows very productively in the past and continue to use them as a marketing strategy. However, it is only effective because I make sure that after the show, all of my contacts are organized, placed in a database or spreadsheet and scheduled for timely follow ups. Without following up, your contacts are meaningless and grow cold very quickly.

Because I usually display at trade shows, I am often approached by small business owners who are interested in providing services to my firm. I listen to the marketing pitch, receive the materials and then I always tell the person to follow up with a call or an email. We all know where most of those marketing brochures wind up after the show and so it’s just a lot more effective to receive an actual phone call or an email.

In dozens of shows I’ve attended over a career lasting almost two decades, I can count on my left hand the amount of people who actually called, emailed or followed up with any other form of correspondence. It is my experience that the amount of follow up that takes place after the trade show is very low. Perhaps the small business owners return to the “soup” so to speak and in a short time, the trade show is a distant memory - at least until next year when the cycle of spending time and money with little return on investment renews itself.

Approached in this manner, trade shows are a little more than a social event. That can be an enjoyable aspect of the show and need not be ignored. It is always a pleasure to get reconnected with colleagues at these events, but I always remind myself of my purpose in being there. This keeps my substantial efforts well-spent and ultimately monetized. I would encourage you to adopt these six steps for your next trade show and watch your client base grow.

Drop me a line about how this strategy is working for you:wayne@ironpillarmedia.com. Best regards!

How To Work a Minority Business Trade Show (Part I) - An MBE Perspective

In roughly six weeks, one of the nation's largest minority business trade shows will take place in New Orleans. The event is put on annually by the National Minority Supplier Development Council and detailed information about the conference and trade show is available at http://www.nmsdconline.com. There will be over 850 corporate and minority business booths and I estimate more than seven thousand attendees, representing the premier corporations and minority businesses in America.

This is a wonderful opportunity for MBEs to get their goods and services in front of major corporations. It is also an opportunity for MBEs to network, form strategic alliances and to do business with each other. Having attended many of these conferences, however, I also know that it can be overwhelming. From the opening welcome reception to the gala night, there are thousands of individuals coursing through the show and you can easily get lost in the shuffle. So with only a few weeks before the conference, I thought I'd share a few strategies with you about how you can effectively work a NMSDC (or any other trade show).

Make a Plan

The first part of your strategy occurs before you even attend the trade show. This involves sitting down and developing a strategy for what you hope to achieve from the event. What are your goals? Which attendees are must sees for you? How can you isolate and get face time with your best prospects? There are answers to all of these questions, but you must spend the time to think clearly about your aims. Trade shows are an investment of time and capital and so to just "show up" without a plan is a bad idea. Some people argue that trade shows are ineffective, but these are probably some of the folks who fail to approach the matter with a well thought out plan.

Reach out to Your Targets Beforehand

It is also a great idea to reach out to as many of your targets in advance, if possible. Let them know that you will be there and do your best to arrange one on one appointments. Depending on your relationship with the target you may be able to schedule a sit down meeting or even a meal outside of the din and fray of the trade show. The NMSDC trade show occurs over the course of four days. Within that time, there are plenty of opportunities to reach out to your best prospects away from the crowd. This allows you to get to know your targets on a more personal level and can set the table for future exploration.

Purchase a Booth if You Can But Don't Let That Prevent You From Participating

You do not have to display at the trade show in order to be effective. If purchasing a booth is within your budget then having a well put together booth with good signage and plenty of marketing materials can be a good way of establishing your presence. And of course, what is a trade show without all those giveaway items? But if you are not in a position to have a booth, or afford 1000 doodads, you can do well without one.

First, the name of the game is making quality contacts with quality people. That is why making a plan and reaching out in advance is so important. Having a booth does not guarantee that this will happen. Further, most of your contacts aren't interested in one more glossy marketing folder. It is far more effective to simply get a business card and place the info in a pda device under a folder designated for the show. Once you are back at the office, this facilitates easy follow up through emails, telephone calls, etc. In our new, greener economy, it's better to save the paper and send the marketing materials digitally.

These simple suggestions alone will help you to get immeasurably more out of your trade show experience. But in the weeks ahead, I will continue to share some of the strategies that I and other successful entrepreneurs have used to get the very best from our trade show output.

Stay tuned!

The Economic Stimulus Package and You

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an excellent seminar regarding opportunities for minority businesses within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or as it is more widely recognized, the federal Economic Stimulus Package. The event was organized by the Florida Regional Minority Business Council and facilitated by Dr. Fred McKinney, an economist who served on President Obama's transition team. This article will not provide an exhaustive treatment on the opportunities available under the Stimulus
Package.

However, there are several key take-aways from the discussion that I believe are extremely important to minority businesses. The take-aways are derived from three basic questions posed by Dr. McKinney at the outset of the event. Every minority-owned business enterprise (MBE) that is interested in profiting from the Stimulus Package should ask itself and then answer the questions. They are: (1) In three words or less, what goods and services do you market and sell? (2) What industries do you supply/sell to? (3) Do you have a written strategic plan?

These three questions are at the heart of the Economic Stimulus Package and You. In my January 2009 blogpost, I advised you to go to the White House website in order to educate yourselves on where the Stimulus spending will occur. You should also be aware of www.Recovery.gov and www.Stimuluswatch.org, but more importantly, you should research and gain understanding about state and industry-specific websites that detail how state Stimulus dollars will be spent. For example, information about Stimulus spending in the state of Florida may be accessed at www.Flarecovery.com.

Once you can determine where Stimulus spending will occur, then you will know, based on Question #1, whether you provide goods or services that will be purchased with Stimulus dollars. If you do not directly provide those goods and services, say, construction services, for example, you should then ask yourself Question #2. That is, do you supply or sell to any industries that will benefit from the Stimulus Package. Maybe you know nothing about construction or alternative energy, but perhaps you may provide staffing or other services to those industries that will directly benefit from Stimulus spending.

If the answer to Question #2 is no, then you may want to revisit or create a strategic plan for your business that includes targeting Stimulus industries. The federal deficit is predicted to be 1.8 trillion dollars. It isn't easy to fathom that number, but you may think of it loosely as the number of dollars the federal government intends to (over)spend. It would seriously behoove all minority businesses to spend some time figuring out where the dollars are going and how they can meaningfully participate.

One of the best ways to do this is to certify your business as minority-owned at both the corporate and government level and pay attention to what is going on in the local news, national news, the Internet, government and the Minority Business Councils. Log on to the websites mentioned and www.nmsdcus.org and follow what fellow MBEs are doing. You may also read up on the certification process and its benefits in my book, Tales My Grandma Told Me, a Business Diversity Fable. However, be aware that time is of the essence.

As Dr. McKinney put it, "Don't wait until you see the cranes going up" before you begin your work. By then, my friend, it will be too late.

An Excerpt From The Coach's New Book

Get In The Game!

The excerpt below is taken from Part II, Chapter 3 of the Coach's New Book - Tales My Grandma Told Me, A Business Diversity Fable

Assuming that the minority entrepreneur understands that he will succeed based on business acumen and tenacity as opposed to relying on ethnic status and further assuming that he has a written plan; he is now ready to get in the game. Many MBEs wrongly assume that simply being a minority entitles them to participate in corporate supplier diversity programs. That is not entirely accurate. Virtually, all supplier diversity programs require minority participants to be certified by certain national, certifying entities.

For minority-owned businesses, the best known and most widely accepted certification comes from the National Minority Supplier Development Council Incorporated ("NMSDC").The NMSDC and its thirty-nine national affiliates, among other things, certify applicants as being legitimately minority-owned and meeting other set standards of business viability. Through its certification and various other programs, the NMSDC has created a database of certified minority businesses across numerous disciplines. Without this certification, minority-owned businesses are not prepared to compete within traditional supplier diversity channels.

The certification process is uncomplicated and is a must for all MBEs seeking to seriously exploit supplier diversity opportunities. Yet I am always amazed at the large number of MBEs that fail to become certified or substantially delay in doing so. MBEs must understand that NMSDC certification may very well be only a beginning, but it is the beginning within the realm of supplier diversity marketing. Minority entrepreneurs without NMSDC certification are uniformly denied entry to corporate supplier diversity programs.

So what will you do? Will you continue to sit on the sidelines or will you get in the
game and run to win? Log onto http://www.nmsdcus.org/ and learn how to obtain minority
certification in your region of the world.

Dirty Laundry

I was speaking to a leader in the minority business community recently who (with great pain) told me the story of how he'd stepped up to help a few MBEs that needed guidance with regard to building their businesses. My friend gladly scheduled meetings with these MBEs - I believe there was three of them - and to his great disappointment, not one of them showed up, or even called!

This is much like the stories I've heard from Supplier Diversity executives or Minority Council staff members who tell of the frustration of putting on programming, setting appointments, or even scheduling one-on-ones for MBEs who fail to appear, without justification and without professional courtesy. This is a cancer that must stop. There are too many people who are working extremely hard to provide opportunities for minority-owned businesses. When those opportunities materialize, we cannot repay that hard work with indifference.

Minority businesses that conduct themselves in this fashion hurt more than their own reputations. They hurt every minority business. The struggle for economic parity and empowerment for minorities is an uphill battle, laden with misunderstanding and stereotypes. One huge stereotype is what I call the Minority Myth - the idea that somehow minorities produce inferior goods and services or are unprepared for success and are unprofessional.

Minority companies that fail to show up for appointments and events long planned for their benefit reinforce the Minority Myth, erode trust for minority companies, in general, and hurt the cause. I understand that this is a small "minority" of MBEs that engage in these practices. The overwhelming majority of MBEs are outstanding business-people who prove their professionalism every day. These MBEs appreciate the value of people's time and the stakes involved for their companies and the MBE community.

Nevertheless, the offenders should be confronted (professionally of course) and instructed in the art of professionalism and the ramifications of their bad behavior. I want to encourage anyone reading this to have the courage to address this issue wherever encountered. And if you don't know quite how to then talk to someone who can and will.

How can MBEs complain about lack of communication and commitment from mainline corporations when we do not demonstrate those values? There should be no double standards. We should hold ourselves to the same standards that we hold others. If we don't clean up the dirty laundry, who will?

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.