Roz Lewis With Greater Women’s Business Council

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business. And this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have the president of the GWBC, Roz Lewis. Welcome, Roz.

Roz Lewis: [00:00:28] Hello, Lee. How are you? Hello, everyone. Hope everyone’s having a great week.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:35] I am doing well. I’m so excited to catch up with you. As the president of GWBC, you’re over — all the markets GWBC serves Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, you must have been pretty busy these last several months since the last time we connected.

Roz Lewis: [00:00:52] Absolutely. You know, I thought that during COVID, you know, with all the pivoting and swiveling, that that was a challenge. But actually, the biggest challenge, I think, for everyone is how do we transition to the next normal. And so, that has been interesting. As a matter of fact, I just got back from being out of town in South Carolina at a Sonoco supplier diversity event and supplier event that was actually very good of how they’re encouraging their prime suppliers to join our organization and identify women’s businesses to do business with. So, it’s always great to have those type of corporate champions with us.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:41] And I think that’s what makes GWBC unique, for any women-owned business to have an advocate and a partner that’s helping connect you with these enterprise-level organizations. It can catapult your business into a whole new level just by being part of, you know, the team and getting involved with GWBC in your area.

Roz Lewis: [00:02:03] Absolutely. You know, and I just mentioned Sonoco, but there’s a host of corporate champions that are a part of our organization, as well as our phenomenal board of directors, our staff, you know. And, you know, we often talk about doing business with corporations, but it’s also important for our women businesses to support each other, you know. And with Greater Women’s Business Council, we have about 1100 now, over 1100 certified women businesses throughout the three states, with revenues up to almost half a billion dollars. So, when you look at that, all of that experience is really great to share in building this phenomenal community of women businesses. So, we encourage women businesses to help other women businesses too.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:57] Right. And it’s businesses of all sizes. And I think that throughout the pandemic is really where the benefits of being part of a community like that really come into — become clear, because you have the association kind of giving information, education, and the latest and the truest information to their members. And you have the women helping each other kind of, you know, collaboratively get through this pandemic together. And then, now, like you said, we’re in this new phase where it’s critical, where everybody is kind of rowing in the same direction, and everybody is helping each other get through this.

Roz Lewis: [00:03:36] Yeah, you’re absolutely right. You know, just — here’s the interesting thing, a part of all of this too. Lee, when you think about it, it’s the supply chain challenges that are occurring. You know, no one is immune to them, right? Whether you’re a large corporation, or a small or diverse business, everyone is being affected by the supply chain, including the consumer, right? So, how do we connect, get innovative, think of ways in order to bring that product or service to market?

And, you know, I constantly say our women businesses are very smart, intuitive, understand, they’re also consumers, too. You know, we can’t forget that. And they are probably one of the best focus groups for any corporation to have in understanding how do we manage all the challenges that we are dealing with today. And that, we have to realize is just a norm. It’s just different challenges that we’re facing. So, I just think this time is a great opportunity for people to reinvent themselves, look at other opportunities out there in order to grow their business, elevate their business or product or service.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:01] And I think that there needs to be really a lot of evangelizing about the importance of becoming a certified woman-owned business. It’s fine you’re a woman-owned business, but take that step to become certified so you can tap into communities like GWBC and reap all of the benefits that a member gets by being part of this.

Roz Lewis: [00:05:24] Absolutely. You know, women network differently, you know, in the sense. And the certification is just a tool. It is just so that we know that you are who you say you are as far as operating, controlling and being independent in your business. And it doesn’t mean that we don’t certify women businesses who have male partners. You know, that is fine, that’s okay. But at the end of the day, she has to have that final decision regarding the trajectory of her business and the decisions that are made in her business.

And more importantly, what GWBC provides is that environment of being able to build relationships, because that was key more than anything else in the procurement arena is your relationship with that target customer, your relationship with that strategic partner, you know, or that joint venture? All of those are very key in how you maximize your opportunity to become a supplier of that target corporation or partner with that other woman-owned business or minority-owned business or small business.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:46] And I think another-

Roz Lewis: [00:06:47] Or even sometimes — and sometimes, you’re partnering with another corporation.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:52] Right. And I think another benefit that people don’t talk about is having a place, a community of people that are going through a similar thing you’re going through, so that you can ask them a question that you might be uncomfortable asking maybe a male business owner that you can ask another female business owner that maybe has navigated that same water and has kind of gone through that before you. And you know, you don’t have to have that learning curve that is so steep for so many people. You have a safe place to kind of collaborate, and to communicate and to educate.

Roz Lewis: [00:07:29] You’re absolutely right. You know, the one thing I always remember, there’s a church marquee that I would pass by on my way home, and I’ll never forget this one statement it had on it, “There are enough mistakes that have been made. You don’t have to create new ones,” you know. And when I saw that, I thought, “Oh, my goodness,” you know. So, how do we, to your point, capitalize on all of the challenges or issues that the businesses have gone before you, and being in a safe zone to be able to talk about what your challenges are? And do they have any solutions to that, so that you aren’t trying to navigate other landmines that may be coming down the road for you? How do you prepare, you know, for them?

And so, I agree with you, too, is that this is an opportunity for you to share information about what you feel were the success initiatives. But I will also say it’s important to talk about what I call your failures, right, which is actually just failing forward. It’s another opportunity for you to understand how in going through that experience, you’re going to be able to come out on the other side just fine. And I think that’s what’s important than anything else, is people being able to look long term at how they’re going to be successful.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:01] Yeah, I like to look at failure. I try to reframe it to learning that you’re — everybody is constantly learning. And just because something didn’t work out, you’ve learned something, and how can you take that learning and move forward with it, and not let it just stop you? You know, that’s the key.

Roz Lewis: [00:09:18] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:18] The stopping is the problem. It’s the learning and moving forward is the objective. You can’t stop. Nothing should be insurmountable. And especially when you have a community like the folks at GWBC behind you and with you, it makes it a lot easier not to stop because to me, you only fail when you stop.

Roz Lewis: [00:09:38] I agree. You know, they always say just when you’re about to give up, success is around the corner. So, those are the things you have to get up every morning. And I would tell you, that’s the one thing that I admire so much about our women businesses. They are risk takers. And, you know, they’re strategic risk takers, but they are. Anyone that goes into business is one. And the fact that they also care about their communities because they’re also employers, they’re hiring, they’re giving back their leaders, you know, in their community, but at the same time, they are also human beings.

And if COVID didn’t teach us that more than anything else, there were so many other challenges that took place, you know, with women businesses as it relates to their families and then also trying to keep their business above water, you know, as well. So, I agree with you. It is continue to get up every morning and look at it as a new day. You know, look at it as a gift in order for you to be able to go ahead, and work on that business plan, and actualizing it, so that you can also be successful.

And successful, you know, I see success is at different levels. So, it’s not always about thinking that, “I’m successful when I reach $10 million.” You can be successful at a million dollars. You can be successful at half a million dollars. You can be successful at $100,000. So, it just depends on how you view that and look at, you know, the big picture of what you’re trying to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:27] Now, you mentioned earlier about the community the GWBC kind of brings together. GWBC is part of a larger organization, WBENC, and they’re having their national conference here in Atlanta June 7th through 9th. Can you talk about why — first of all, that’s probably the first conference they’ve had in a few years in person, I would think. And then, why any woman-owned business should think very strongly about attending this event.

Roz Lewis: [00:12:00] Well, you know what, I’m so glad we’re talking about this. In a few weeks, yes, we’re going to be welcoming over 3000 women businesses and major corporations here in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Georgia World Congress Center. And that’s June 7th through the 9th. And you’re absolutely right, this is the first in-person conference that has been held since 2019. The last conference was held in Baltimore. What WBENC does is rotate their national conference across the country, giving visibility to the local or regional women businesses as well.

So, we’re very excited about hosting this event, and we’re actually co-hosting this with the Ohio River Valley Council. So, it’s the Women’s Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley. WBEC ORV is who we’re going to be hosting that with. So, Sheila Mixon is the executive director of the WBEC ORV. And so, we’re looking forward to welcoming all of these WBEs and corporations who have not seen each other in person in over two years. We’ve only seen each other in a box, you know, through a Zoom or Microsoft.

And so, I would say this is going to be an exciting time for you to come to this event. We’re doing something a little bit different than we have in the past. We have designed an ecosystem of a huge arena where there a re going to be several activities going on over the three day period. So, as far as exhibiting, it’s exhibiting all three days, so you don’t have to worry about trying to get to that target corporation in one day. You’ll now have three days to be able to access them. There will be a business networking opportunity where you’ll be networking with women businesses and major corporations from all over the country and international as well who comes to this conference because it is the largest women’s business conference in the country.

And so, we’re very excited about all the opportunities we’re going to have. There’s going to be different learning labs and stages that are going to be giving subject matter information and experts. And the arena, is what we’re calling it, the WBENC arena – excuse me – WBENC arena is going to be divided up as well into industries. So, if you are targeting one industry, you’ll be able to go in that area and talk to corporations or other WBEs.

But the other thing I want to share is the fact that we are not doing all of this without the assistance of our co-chairs who are Accenture, AT&T, The Coca-Cola Company and UPS. Those are our corporate co-chairs, as well as our WBE co-chairs, and they are Accel, ALOM, Ampcus, and BoldHaus. And so, we’re going to be welcoming all of those women businesses here.

And then, we have what’s called our Regional WBE Host Committee. And on those committees, we have here at GWBC, we have Avacend, who is led by Kanchana Raman, and she’s also co-chair. Other WBE host committee, Kayla Dang of GMI, Anita Davis of Praxis, Paula Edwards of Lexair Electronics, Marlene Kelly of Exhibit South, Sarah Webb of InTandem Promotions, Tammy Cohen of InfoMart and Alison O’Kelly of Corps Team. So, we are going to have a huge welcoming committee as well for all of the WDEs. And guess, what? You don’t necessarily have to be certified. We’re hoping that by you coming and enjoying this experience, you will see the value of why certification is a tool, a resource to give you access to the opportunities to grow your business.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:39] Yeah, this is a chance for you to get to know thousands of women business owners, hundreds of exhibitors. There’s going to be speakers, dozens of speakers. You are going to be — the people that kind of make the decisions in supplier diversity and procurement, and get to know these people, and see them face to face for the first time in years. So, if you’re thinking about owning a business, and you’re a woman, or you’re a student, or you’re anybody that’s thinking to go along this path, this is a must-attend event. This isn’t something that’s going to come along next year. They travel around the country. So, for it to be in your backyard today or even in the southeast, you’re going to have to wait a period of time for this to happen again. So, if you’re in the Southeast, I would highly recommend making the trip to Atlanta to attend this event. It’s a three-day event. And you’re going to learn stuff, you’re going to meet people, and this could change the course of your business.

Roz Lewis: [00:17:43] I agree. You know, it’s interesting that you said that. I always take it from the economic standpoint. Just think how much it would cost you to travel to meet that target customer, where you’re going to have all of these corporations and women businesses under one roof. And again, to your point, Lee, it’s in our backyard, right? It’s right here in our backyard. It’s a short distance travel from the Carolinas as well, or even the bordering states, right, of Alabama, or Tennessee or Florida. So, I would highly encourage any woman business that’s even thinking about the fact that she’s looking at expanding and growing, especially beyond the local market to attend this event. It’ll be well worth your marketing dollars.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:36] Yeah, this is — I mean, just think about it, if you just meet one contact that can give you business over the three days or learn one thing that can help your business, it pays for the whole event. I mean, it doesn’t take a lot to make this financially make sense to attend this event.

Roz Lewis: [00:18:57] No. And you will be able to identify and look online as well, you know, to map out. It’s called map your show, where you’re going to be able to even map out where those particular customers are that you’re targeting. That’s the beauty of it. You’ll get to experience pitch sessions that are going to take place, you know, as well.

The other thing, too, because I know people are thinking, “Well, wow, if all of this is happening in one space, you know, what about the noise?” Well, thank goodness for technology, we will have that taking care of too, where you’re going to basically receive an app and then earbuds, so that you can listen to the different inspiring and innovative, you know, keynote speeches that are going to take place at the different stages as you walk around.

So, again, I think more importantly, what you need to prepare for besides your capability statement is your energy level, because that’s something you’re going to need in order to navigate through the next three days. Or if your calendar doesn’t allow you to attend all three days, we do have day passes. But we encourage you to register. And registration for online closes on May 30th. So, keep that in mind. And if you miss that date, of course, we have on-site registration as well. So, please visit our website for more information about the conference, and that is www.gwbc.org for more information or wbenc.org for more information about the conference. But we hope we’re going to see you there.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:57] Yeah, G-

Roz Lewis: [00:20:57] We look forward to seeing you there.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:59] GWBC.org will get you to the GWBC website, and you can easily — on the front page is the link to get you over to the WBENC website to register for the event. And like I said before, if you’re a woman-owned business, if you are thinking about, you know, getting into your own business, maybe you’re in a corporate side right now and you’re thinking about getting into a business as a second act of your career, you have to attend this event. This is an event that can change your business. So, I highly recommend you go to GWBC.org, register for the event, and meet this wonderful community that’s so supportive, that’s so collaborative that it’s a bunch of women that are trying to help each other be better and be successful.

Roz Lewis: [00:21:48] Exactly. And, you know, one of the things, I know we’re constantly on women, women, women. You know, we have a he’s for she’s to lead. So, I want men to also understand and know, you know, this is information, yes, they can share with their wives or their significant others, their sisters, you know, or other female business partners. But, you know, this is an inclusive environment. So, we want to make sure that people understand that as well, is come and experience this opportunity right here that’s going to be held in Atlanta June 7th through the 9th, you know, this year. And again, to your point, it will move around the country. So, this would be the most economical time for you to take that opportunity to find out more about the Greater Women’s Business Council, the WBENC network of fabulous women businesses and corporate champions.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:52] Well, Roz, thank you so much for the work that you do. It’s so important to this community, to the GWBC members, to just — it’s so inspirational to be able to chat with you today and to hear your story. Thank you so much for the work you do. It’s important and we appreciate you.

Roz Lewis: [00:23:13] Well, thank you, Lee. And one more note I’m going to say, Business RadioX will be there at the conference.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:22] That’s right. We’ll be broadcasting, telling the stories of the members, sponsors and the key leaders that are going to be part of this event. So, we’re excited to be there, but this is a must-attend event. I can’t emphasize it enough. I’ve been telling so many people about it. I just hope people take advantage of this opportunity because, you know, when it comes to your backyard, this is when you’ve got to take action.

Roz Lewis: [00:23:47] Exactly, I agree. So, thank you, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:50] All right.

Roz Lewis: [00:23:51] I really appreciate it. And thank you to your audience.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:53] All right. This is Lee Kantor for GWBC Open for Business. We’ll see you all next time.