3-09 B VIEW - Mobile Chamber of Commerce

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How the Alabama Minority Business Enterprise Center is helping companies fulfill their potential M inority-owned businesses are growing faster than the national rate, according to statistics from the U.s. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency. Darrell Randle, the Mobile Area Chamber’s vice president of small business development, provides concrete evidence of that growth. over its three year’s of existence the Alabama Minority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC) had a goal of securing $22 million in procurement contracts. MBEC not only met its goal, said Randle, it quadrupled that amount, resulting in $65,885,400. The center and its team have assisted 200 clients, helping them create 143 new jobs and increase sales by more than $8 million. 14 9.09 | The Business View | MoBiLE AREA ChAMBER of CoMMERCE The Minority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC) is operated by the Mobile Area Chamber and funded through federal grants. Since its beginning three years ago, locally more than xx businesses have benefited from this resource, resulting in new contracts, new employees and additional sales. Pictured here are Pamela Ramos, MBEC project director, and Darrell Randle, the Mobile Area Chamber’s vice president small business development. Full Speed Ahead The Chamber established MBEC in October 2006 to help minority-owned businesses. Pam Ramos, MBEC project director, said three years later, half of MBEC’s customer base falls in the Strategic Growth Initiative category – businesses that bring in $500,000 or more in revenue. “The government feels that those businesses have the greatest impact on the community,” Randle explained, adding that MBEC also helps companies that have rapid growth potential. According to Ramos, MBEC’s goal is to assist minority-owned businesses with growth strategies and to develop their company. The organization considers growth and development to be two different entities. “‘Growth’ means increasing revenue, the number of employees, contracts, additional financing – increasing balance sheets,” Ramos said. “‘Development’ refers to more executive-level professional development for clients,” Ramos said. In that arena, MBEC focuses on helping companies define and implement a business strategy and assists clients with financial management. According to Ramos, one of the most important roles MBEC takes is to strategically align companies with one another so that they can form mutually beneficial relationships. Minority businesses, Ramos said, “Often don’t have the relationships that nonminority businesses enjoy. We help bridge the gap and leverage relationships through the Chamber.” Randle stressed that as the city of Mobile positions itself to compete globally, developing minority businesses is vital to economic development. “If we want to compete globally, everyone has to contribute. We have to make sure minority businesses aren’t left out of the loop. They’re part of our vibrant community.” One of the tools MBEC has produced, in partnership with the Chamber and the city of Mobile and Mobile County, is the first comprehensive, web-based minority business directory for the Mobile region, including Baldwin, Washington and Escambia counties. The directory lists more than 500 businesses, but Randle estimates there are some 4,000 minority-owned firms in Mobile and the surrounding area. “We hope to get at least half of those by mid- 2010,” he said. The directory is available on MBEC’s web site, www.mbecalabama.org. The center is funded through a federal grant as well as by the city of Mobile and is located at 450 Government Blvd, Suite A, directly across from the Chamber in downtown Mobile. Pam Ramos can e reached at 433-2250 or for more information, visit www.mbecalabama.org. Between 1997 and 2002: • The growth of minority-owned firms outpaced the national rate, as they increased by 30 percent compared to 10 percent for all classifiable firms. • Gross receipts for minority firms grew by 12 percent, which surpassed the growth rate for all classifiable firms. • 14 percent of all minority-owned firms are in healthcare and social assistance, which is the largest single industry sector for minority firms. Source: Minority Business Development Agency report, Characteristics of Minority Businesses and Entrepreneurs. A copy of the full report can be found at www.mbda.gov/minoritybizfacts.
Hungry for growth Bruce Crosby gives all of the credit for the rapid growth of his business, Crosby Catering, to the Alabama Minority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC). “If not for the Mobile Area Chamber and MBEC, my business would not be what it is today,” he said. Business is booming for the catering company that started small and now aspires to be a food service provider for major companies in the Mobile area. MBEC has been “very beneficial, even when I needed clerical help,” Crosby said. “They helped me design my logo, develop contracts, find leads and find people to help with financing.” Eventually, Crosby opened The Chicken Box on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Mobile, a carry-out restaurant that moved to the Saraland headquarters of Ryla Inc. at the end of July. “Ryla has a built-in customer base,” Crosby said. “There are 600 people now, but there will be 1,200 employees, and we’ll serve breakfast, lunch and dinner there.” MBEC helped pair the two companies. In addition, Crosby is in negotiations to become the main food service provider for Bishop State Community College, where he already serves breakfast and lunch for the Upward Bound program. He also feeds 125 people at Hargrove & Associates’ monthly safety meeting. “I knew the Chamber would put me in contact with other businesses, but I had no idea what all would be available,” Crosby said. Mobile AeroTeam Inc. President Ida Buish works with MBEC to help expand and sell her manufactured products to other companies in the aerospace industry. Bruce Crosby with Crosby Catering says he found success and growth for his business through the help of MBEC that matched him with incoming Ryla Inc. Crosby serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at the new company that moved into the former Hertz building in Saraland. An important part Ida Buish was immediately interested in what the Minority Business Enterprise Center could do to help her grow her business, Mobile AeroTeam. A Native American, she started the company in a bedroom of her home in 1999, selling industrial cutting tools. Over the years, the business grew to occupy a second, then a third bedroom and expanded to the shed behind her home. After outgrowing her home, the company became Mobile AeroTeam and Manufacturing in 2004. With just seven employees, the business manufactures parts for aircraft, working with the military and Mobile Aerospace Engineering as well as some non-aircraft clients. Buish serves as president, and her husband, Fred, is vice president of the company, “but with so few people, everyone does everything around here,” she said. “When MBEC first opened, they had a meeting for people to come in and find out how they could help,” Buish said. She attended the meeting and was impressed by the scope of solutions that were available. “They were very good at answering my questions and steering me in the right direction, finding the people I needed to talk to.” MBEC’s most helpful contribution to Mobile AeroTeam has been helping the company find contacts to do business with and to partner with, said Buish. “The contacts and seminars they’ve put on have been very helpful for our business,” she said. MoBiLE AREA ChAMBER of CoMMERCE | The Business View | 9.09 15
Page 1 and 2: THE BUSINESS VIEW Mobile Area Chamb
Page 3 and 4: THE BUSINESS VIEW is published mont
Page 5 and 6: Positive Business News When You Nee
Page 7 and 8: MoBiLE AREA ChAMBER of CoMMERCE | T
Page 9 and 10: $154,367,380 Disposable Personal in
Page 11 and 12: Promotional marketing delivers a po
Page 13: Powering Up for Prosperity The Mobi
Page 17 and 18: Area business and community leaders
Page 19 and 20: Envision Coastal Alabama Community
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Page 23 and 24: Nobody works harder than the owners
Page 25 and 26: Chances are good that you are payin
Page 27 and 28: The Offshore Inland Marine & Oilfie
Page 29 and 30: Two Members Elected to Chamber Boar
Page 31 and 32: 7 9 SEPTEMBER CHAMBER CLOSED LABOR
Page 33 and 34: Member News Mark Pipkin of Hernande
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3-09 B VIEW - Mobile Chamber of Commerce

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