atlanta tribune article
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Atlanta Tribune - November 2007TRANSCRIPT
BRIDGEBUILDERSBy Audrey Arthur
Lori Beard-Daily Mary Parker Rosemary Jones Gail Webb Tarece Johnson Hassell
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“I’m in it to win it,” says Lori Beard-Daily, CEO of LBDAdvertising Associates. Beard-Daily is referring to her goal ofbecoming one of Atlanta’s top advertising/public relationsagencies. She may well be on her way to achieving that objectivehaving earned a coveted spot earlier this year as one of 28 com-panies taking part in the Georgia Governor’s Mentor ProtégéProgram.
The GMPP was launched in 2001 as a conduit for support-ing formal mentorship relationships between Atlanta corpora-tions and emerging Georgia small businesses. The program,sponsored by the State of Georgia and eight companies: TheCoca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, GE Energy, LockheedMartin, Hardin Construction, UPS, Turner Broadcasting Systemand Georgia Power, falls under the direction of the GeorgiaEntrepreneur and Small Business Office, a division of theGeorgia Department of Economic Development. Six yearsafter the first mentor relationships began, more than 100 minor-ity-owned, women-owned and small State of Georgia business-es have completed the program as protégés.
Counted in the program’s 2006-2008 class are 29 mentorcompanies including AT&T South, C.D. Moody ConstructionCompany, Deloitte Consulting, Gulf Stream Aerospace andThe Home Depot. The 28 protégé companies signed on for theprogram are just as diverse, ranging from a non-profit, commu-nity-based development organization and document manage-ment company to a transportation provider.
Companies chosen to participate in the program must be inbusiness for at least three years and for no more than 25 years,with increasing financial revenue according to Gail Webb, direc-tor of the GMPP. They enjoy the advantages of a mutually ben-eficial relationship that lasts between 12 and 18 months.
“Businesses selected as protégés benefit in several ways,”says Webb. “They have an opportunity to be mentored by acompany that will help them to strategically grow their business,and they get to enhance their professional development. Thereare also opportunities to market themselves not only to corpo-rations but also to government entities that could possiblybecome their clients.” Quarterly reporting sessions, monthlymeetings, networking events, and workshops are inclusive of theMentor Protégé program.
Training is at the essential core of the program. So much sothat several mentor companies routinely sponsor their protégésat entrepreneur training programs at Tuck School of Business atDartmouth, Kellogg School of Management at NorthwesternUniversity, FastTrac® GrowthVenture at Georgia StateUniversity and Alliance Academy. And with the support of theirmentors, a fair number of protégés attend conferences hostedby the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, theNational Minority Supplier Development Council and otherorganizations.
“I have heard first-hand the impact this program has onGeorgia’s small businesses,” says Heidi Green, deputy commis-
The Georgia Governor’s Mentor Protégéprogram is turning unlikely partnershipsinto exemplary archetypes for supplier diversity.
sioner for global commerce at the Georgia Department ofEconomic Development. “Not only is there job and investmentgrowth, there are improvements and successes in new ways tostructure internal operations, bringing clearer direction and broad-er thinking.”
In addition to committing resources of time, institutionalknowledge, and in some cases, tuition support, corporations alsodelegate one of their executives to serve as a point person in theMentor Protégé program. Rosemary Jones, director of supplierdiversity at TBS, oversees her company’s participation. TBS was along-time sponsor of the program before stepping into whatJones describes as a more intimate role as a mentor in 2005.
“The biggest benefit to being a mentor, I think, is TBS’scommitment to helping our [protégés] become more prof-itable,” says Jones. “It benefits us because it realizes our corecommitment of inclusion. We see diversity in many aspects asthe core reason for our success. It benefits TBS that we supportcompanies that look like our customers who use our productsand services.” She continues, “When we reach out to thesesmall businesses and see their inherent potential, we want to bea means that can help them get to the top. The key to successfor them is aligning their strategies and helping them workthrough steps in front of them. We are helping to keep theentrepreneurial spirit alive.”
Having completed its first mentorship with ALL(n)1 SecurityServices, an African-American woman-owned security firm in2006, TBS is now a mentor to LBD Advertising Associates, alsoan African-American woman-owned agency. “We saw theGovernor’s Program as a golden opportunity to allow LBDAdvertising into our space to help identify how we couldadvance their business and accelerate their growth,” says Jones.
“We really want to be a part of their success.”While LBD Advertising had a healthy list of corporate
clients as an advertising sales company prior to being acceptedinto the GMPP, Beard-Daily and her husband, Byron Daily,LBD Advertising president, were ready to re-brand the compa-ny and set in motion a move to become a more traditionaladvertising and public relations agency. “I thought the programwould help us focus on how to get there,” says Beard-Daily.“Rosemary Jones has been tremendous in giving us helpfulinformation and introducing us to so many contacts includingHughes Media and Cartoon Network. I know I sound like acheerleader, but I’m so excited about where we are today. I hadno idea of the difference it would make to be in this program.Rosemary is good in terms of being the driver as a mentor, butas a protégé it’s a two way street. It’s my job to make it happen.It’s up to me to make the relationships work.”
Like LBD Advertising, ALL(n)1 Security Services credits itsmentorship under TBS with helping to take the company to thenext level. The company’s president, Mary Parker, emphasizesthat a protégé firm that gets involved in the program solely towin contracts is off the mark and missing out. She advises cur-rent and prospective protégés to set objectives and approach theprogram from a relationship and business management stand-point. “Take advantage of all the resources that are at your dis-posal during the program and thereafter. Let the mentors growyou up so you can do business with them.”
For ALL(n)1 Security Services and now for LBDAdvertising, Jones set up a customized six-prong plan thataddressed finance, purchasing, marketing, legal, humanresources and risk management — topics she found were para-mount for suppliers. Subject matter experts were identified with-
“The biggest benefit to being a mentor is TBS’s commitment to helping our [protégés] becomemore profitable … It benefits TBS that we sup-port companies that look like our customerswho use our products and services.”
— Rosemary Jones
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in TBS’s various business units to counsel the protégés. Atthe start, Jones and Beard-Daily sat down and named keyareas that needed development within LBD Advertising anddiscussed where Beard-Daily wanted her company to be inthe next one to five years. In Beard-Daily’s case, it wasdecided that a corporate attorney would meet with her toreview employment liability contracts from a corporate per-spective, TBS finance representative would talk about waysto access capital and coach Beard-Daily on how to presenther company when a need arose to request funding, andmarketing would take her through the basics of branding.
With insight gained from the Mentor Protégé program,some protégés come to realize a shift, or in some cases, atotal overhaul of their internal management processes isrequired. Take ALL(n)1 Security Services, for example.Parker recalls that one of the highlights of being in theMentor Protégé program with TBS was being able toobserve and experience firsthand how a large companyactually operated. “From a business perspective, it was veryenlightening, and secondly, the care and concern TBS gaveour company; ensuring that we received the greatest valuefrom the program was invaluable. With the access we weregranted to the different departments at TBS, we were ableto evaluate where we were with processes within our owndepartments.” Consequently, Parker’s accounting proceduresand human resource policies were standardized and shesoon began to bid on more projects. “I dare say our busi-ness has increased 300 percent and 100 percent of that is adirect result of the Governor’s Program,” says Parker, whois now looking to tap into the government market once hercompany receives 8a certification.
AGL Resources originally participated in the GMPP in2004-2006 and plans to resume as a mentor in 2008. “TheMentor Protégé program is important because it’s necessarythat corporations like AGL Resources partner with busi-nesses that need assistance, whether it’s by providing techni-cal assistance, coaching on service delivery and cost com-petitiveness, or helping them to get transparency or under-standing around the gas utility industry,” says TareceJohnson Hassell, manager of supplier diversity for AGLResources.
Johnson Hassell adds that one of the main challenges,on the supplier diversity side, for her company is the lack ofwomen and minority-owned gas pipeline construction com-panies. The Mentor Protégé program bridges a gap forAGL Resources in an industry where its critical supplierscomprehend the bidding process and are familiar with inter-nal networks. She’d like to see more small businesses thathave the desire to learn about gas pipeline construction, andthe potential to do business with AGL Resources, takeadvantage of the Mentor Protégé program.
Beard-Daily continues to make the most of her experi-ence as a protégé. “I didn’t get in this program just to haveanother feather in my cap. I’m in it because I’m moving for-ward. I’m on the tail end of greatness and I’m excited.”
Lori Beard-Daily, CEOLBD Advertising Associates
www.lbdadvertising.com
Mary Parker, President/CEOAll(n)1 Security Services LLC
www.alln1security.com
Gail Webb, DirectorGovernor’s Mentor Protégé Program
www.georgia.org/business/smallbusiness
Rosemary Jones, DirectorTBS, Supplier Diversity Program
www.turner.com
Tarece Johnson Hassell, ManagerAGL Resources, Supplier Diversity Program
www.aglresources.com
LBD
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