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Second Annual Minority Business Enterprise Electrical Summit
By Brittany Jones
Sojourner Truth Reporter
In the backroom of the Mott Library, those of the electrical
industry gathered for the Second Annual Minority Business
Enterprise (MBE) Electrical Summit on February 26.
Guests from other career fields – students, teachers,
general contractors and more –
added to the diversity of the audience.
From 9:30 a.m.- 2 p.m., the attendees gathered to learn how
to better their businesses and how to succeed in changing
times.
Karl Parker, president and CEO of Parker Enterprises was the
master of ceremonies for the Summit.
The conference began with introductions of audience and
overview of the business.
Parker set the atmosphere with a pep talk of letting go of
traditional thinking or “left to right” thinking.
“You have to start thinking right to left, of what you can
be,” Parker said. “Think outside the box and big things will
happen.”
Our president is a right to left thinker, he continued. That
is what bought the changes.
Talks of how to deal with income statements, balance sheets
and cash flow statements bought on the business aspect of
the event.
Coleena Ali, vice-president of marketing and business
development of Parker Enterprises, discussed current and
future marketing trends.
Ali commented on the effect of the Stimulus Act on
construction companies for 2009 and 2010.
“There are opportunities out there,” she said. “We just need
to learn how to make good decisions in offer to run
profitable companies in 2010.”
The “green” market was an important trend highlighted.
Megan Reichert-Kral, Incubation Director of University of
Toledo, talked of how the economy was moving away from
“black” (coal, oil) petroleum-based energy to “green”
(solar, wind) energy.
“Growing in the Green Economy,” pointed out the many avenues
of energy alternatives available for businesses to invest
and utilize.
Reichert-Kral bought up the Ohio House bill “25%
by 2025.” This bill designed a plan to convert 25 percent of
Ohio’s energy to be renewable or advanced by the year 2025.
“It’s new. It’s growing. It’s changing so fast,” she said. “It’s an
infant business and that means creation of new jobs.”
A certified MBE business can be eligible for federal set-asides-- a
certain percentage government funds and contracts reserved
for women or minority owned businesses.
In the section “Doing Business with the Federal Government,” Rob
Puppos informed attendees of the procedure to get these
investments. Puppos is the Director of the Procurement
Technical Assistance Cooperative at University of Toledo.
The goal of PTAC is to “increase government contracting to small
businesses.” It offers services free of charge.
Puppos stressed the benefits of selling to the government
because it is a huge potential client. In his presentation,
the government bought about $400 billion of products and
services last year.
Donnell Cathey, a managing partner from the InnoTrans Group,
conducted the transition between the morning and afternoon
sessions.
His topic, value innovation, pointed out the changes in planning if
a business wants to keep up in these fast and growing times.
He went on to talk about the transformation in technology.
Recognizing these developments, he continued, will put a
business ahead of the rest.
“You are in business because you are an innovative thinker,” Cathey
said. “You need to plan two to three years from now, not
just tomorrow.”
The afternoon session concentrated on business relationships and
education.
Erik Johnson, president of Ivy Development Agency, discussed
mentor/mentee relationships.
Due to time restrictions, the presentation jumped to the
importance of MBE partnerships.
David Wood headed this discussion. Making alliances between
minority businesses would help to trigger and increase
growth. He gave tips on how to maintain these relationships
and strengthen them over time.
“Staying in constant communication is important,” Wood said.
“Get your name out there and get work. It’s about teamwork.”
These strategic alliances, he stated, would help gain a
competitive edge because one have more resources due to the
partnership.
Wood is the director of Minority Contractors and Business
Assistance Program.
The summit ended with a bit of a stir within the audience
because of the different viewpoints of Project Labor
Agreements or tradesmen unions (plumbers, electricians,
etc).
The controversy involved the labor unions forcing businesses
to hire union workers, but these unions have few minorities.
Due to the roused response, Parker commented on continuing
the topic virtually.
“We wanted people to learn about the green economy, get money from
the government and learn a new way of thinking,” Parker
said. “We wanted to break those chains of thinking of what
you can’t do.”
Parker Enterprises LLC is a “professional
services firm offering program and project management,
facility assessments and operations support, engineering
design and analysis, construction management, technical and
business strategy services to public and private sector
clients nationwide.”
It is African-American owned and founded.
The third annual summit will be held next February where the
topic will focus on all types of minority-owned
businesses.
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