Tag: Small BUsiness Tips

Kizzy Parks, Ph.D.: The Hustle Gets Her Company to the Inc. 5000 List!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Hustle your way towards success like Kizzy Parks!

BACKGROUND

Although an adopted child, Kizzy Parks, Ph. D. grew up in a family who encouraged her curiosity in terms of excelling in school and being entrepreneurial. 

She used to collect and clean golf balls that she saw in an alley behind her friend’s house and resell them to golfers, as a kid. 

Kizzy then went on to earn her bachelor’s, masters, and a doctorate degree in psychology and established K. Parks Consulting, Inc. (KPC), a management consulting firm providing professional services including staffing, IT, training, and curriculum development. 

Over the years, KPC has trained and coached thousands of students and increased their list of customers in both commercial and government spaces including the United States Army, Department of Education (ED), and several non-profit and Fortune 500 companies, among others. 

KPC was also recognized by different organizations such as the Association of Employee Resource Groups and Councils and the Society of American Indian Government Employees.

The company was also awarded as the 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year Award and ranked in the Inc. 5000 “Fastest-Growing Private Companies” List twice!

“Everything is possible. Hands down. If you want to succeed, you’re going to succeed. If you want to fail, you’re going to fail.”

K. PARKS CONSULTING

  1. Parks Consulting started as a company expert in diversity and inclusion. However, when Kizzy noticed a slight shift in the landscape, she decided to move to training and development.

“I knew if I continued down that path, I was going to be so pigeonholed and I was never, ever, ever going to get out of it.”

  1. Parks Consulting then decided to become part of the 8a program, only when a client in the Navy asked them to. They are actually in their last year in the program.

“It goes along with the lean startup approach, we hands down a practice which is an essence. You may build a prototype, your minimal viable product, but you don’t go out there and spend all this money and resources to build something that nobody wants or you don’t know if they really want it.”

HIRING MISHAPS

Although K. Parks Consulting is considered as an expert in training and development, the company has also its fair share of mishaps in terms of hiring people. 

One particular employee who has a lot of corporate experience was removed by a client and caused the company to suffer for three years.

The other hiring mishap that Kizzy also experienced was when he hired a company to do a background check for finding people for government contracts. However, they weren’t able to do their job perfectly and she fired the company. 

So, Kizzy advised to hire slow and fire fast because she had been there and she faced a lot of problems.  

ADVICE FOR BUSINESSES

1. Know your why.

In everything that she does, Kizzy always goes back to her “why.” She knows that she wants to help others, that’s why she has aimed to be an entrepreneur ever since childhood. 

“So my why has always been and always is to help people. That’s why I went into… psychology is about helping. So for me, all of the ventures that I pursue, all of the contracts, I go after all the opportunities, it all is around helping. It’s all around helping. That’s my why.”

2. Create your own ocean.

Kizzy doesn’t go after shiny objects because it’s too much competition. Rather, she goes to opportunities that most people overlooked. 

“So, I go after things that many people overlook. Also, I don’t like to get involved in protest and drama and, you know, everyone fighting for the same client. There’s too much, just because there’s so much, there are so many agencies in the government that buy as well as CBREs and all these other ways to get business that, you know, focusing on that one agency, because they’re within an hour drive from you, I  just, I don’t do it. I don’t do it at all.”

3. Work on your skill set. 

We often lead with our set asides, but you should be working on your skill set, so that you’ll be able to execute the responsibilities being given to you. 

“All these other little things, there’s little techniques to get them closer to wanting to work with you, not just because you’re an 8a or service-disabled or because you have 20,000 years of experience with the FDA, doesn’t matter. They have to want to work with you because at the end of the day, you have to have a solution to their problem.”

4. Hit the ground running. 

Don’t directly go to big contracts without doing small projects because these may be small, but this will be able to start building your past performance and get a little bit of money.

Don’t be afraid if you think that this will derail you towards your goal. As long as it helps you build your business while making money, then it is worth it. 

“There are other ways to obtain your goals, it just takes a lot of sweat equity.”

5. You can have more niches. 

You can have more than one niche if you can’t choose one, as long as you are able to fulfill your promises and can work on it. 

“The point is, I look at it from that perspective, if these big companies are diverse, why shouldn’t I be diverse? As long as it makes sense. You know, again, it has to make sense for you. If you feel uncomfortable pursuing staffing contracts, then don’t do it. If you feel uncomfortable providing ammunition, then don’t do it. But if you feel comfortable filling, you know, computer technology opportunities, then why couldn’t you?”

6. Build your network. 

Your business won’t grow without you networking yourself and your business. So, while you’re still small, you need to start communicating with decision makers and other people in your industry. 

“Because you think about it, you hit 30 a day, let’s say 10 of them say yes. How much work is that? You are probably almost close to 50,000.”

4. Exceed people’s expectations. 

Provide the best products and services because whether you like it or not, people have their own biases. 

You have to hustle. You have to take care of your clients. You have to resolve their pain points. You have to make their lives easier, so that they won’t replace you. 

“That’s why you have to be even better because everybody makes mistakes. There’s no perfect company out there. So, you have to be ready to deal with it. So, kind of just being “okay” is just not going to suffice because, then, what they’re going to do is take you out of the picture, take your work, and award it elsewhere, or just remove it from the 8a program.”

4. Be in a support group. 

You are not alone in this journey of building and managing a business, so it is recommended to have an outlet or a group of people to receive support from. 

“What’s great about them is regardless of our industries, we all have the same kind of problems, right? There’s you need to hire, you need promote. How do you let somebody go? How do you deal with when somebody committed fraud or, you know, natural disaster or something like you described when there’s literally a fire and how do you handle it, or if you’re being sued or you’re going through a divorce. I mean, we talk about everything in there and we also learn.”

5. Have faith. 

Be thankful for both opportunities and challenges in your life and have faith that you will be able to overcome every challenge.

“I really started to focus more on my real… on my faith and having a stronger connection to God and working on a lot of things internally.”

RESOURCES

If you want to hustle your way towards success like Kizzy M. Dominguez, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

The Hustle Gets her Company to the INC 500 list

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=065GN7dRqGU

076 & 077: Kizzy Parks, Ph.D. – The hustle gets her company to the INC 500 list

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/076/

How to Believe in Yourself? (First Steps)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVf0tcHRK1A

Corliss “Mama U” Udoema: Inspiring CEO shares Advice on Business and Faith!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Gain timeless wisdom in running your business and your life with Corliss “Mama U” Udoema’s Advice on Business and Faith!

BACKGROUND

Corliss “Mama U” Udoema served for over 20 years in the US Marine Corps, as an Assistant Officer in Charge for the Facility Supports Contracts, and as a Supervisory Procurement Analyst in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, respectively. 

Then, in 2006, she founded Contract Solutions, Inc. (CSI), a professional staffing and management support services company providing acquisition support, training solutions, human resources, and technology solutions.

She is also the President and founder of Agape Love in Action, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to helping people in need. 

With all of these, her motto in delivering excellence is a reflection on why she is an acclaimed businesswoman and CSI is part of the Inc. 5000 list for the last consecutive 3 years, and the 2019 USDA Small Business Contractor of the Year, among others. 

THE SUCCESS CONTRACT SOLUTIONS, INC. 

1. Starting the Business. 

Mama U was not really interested in starting a business but when asked by a friend to do it while doing some contract administration with her, she then founded CSI. 

Meanwhile, she also took a position as a Senior Acquisition Consultant at another company, however, after the company lost a contract, she decided to really focus on her business. 

With this, she decided to be part of the 8a program, after being told that the government would only call them back if they are part of a GSA schedule or any other business development program.

“So that’s what I did. And they would ask for something. Then I would, you know, give it to them immediately. Even if I had to get somebody to walk it through, you know, in another town, another state, I would do that.”

2. The Secrets for their Growth. 

In order to really achieve business growth, she hired excellent individuals who have the necessary expertise in various fields needed for their services. 

“A lot of times we want to know the answers, but there’s so many times when you’re running a business, you’re not going to always know the answers. So here’s what I tried to do. I tried to know what I know as opposed to what I don’t know… I tried to find someone that does know. So, you know, the different little things and that’s one of them. And the other one is, you know, to surround yourself with champions.”

Moreover, she makes sure that she works effectively as a rooftop manager who sees all the angles in order to gain the trust of her employees. 

“It’s not easy because when people don’t see what you see, sometimes they won’t… they won’t trust you enough to follow.”

Most importantly, what makes CSI an outstanding company is how Mama U and her team steps up in really achieving their motto. 

“Do it with excellence. You know, no slides was allowed. Do it with excellence. Do it with excellence. And people (will) come back.”

ADVICE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

1. Have a strong foundation.

When you are starting out as a business owner, you need to have a strong foundation that can handle your growth and success. 

For instance, this might be getting the right information about the marketplace from Small Business Technical Centers, or networking with other businesses. 

“One tiny, you see one little step, that’s the key in business… You just can’t start off, you know, at the top, you know, and make a plan to grow it but don’t have it. It’s like me, if I tried to put 60 people on the foundation of what I had when I first started, it would, what? It would crumble. It would not be strong enough. So, you have to make sure that you, as you build out your foundation, that is strong enough to support what you’re going to put on top of it.” 

2. Plan the end in mind.

Whether you are on your way to success or you are starting out, you need to have a roadmap to help you focus on what you planned to do. This is why you need to have a business plan.

“When you think about critical path with respect to the business, the first thing to me is a good business plan. You’re beginning with the end in mind, right? Some people say, ‘Oh, well, I’ll just, you know, wing it.’ Well, you know what? That’s probably what you’re going to end up with, a chicken wing.”

3. Do not get into a better-than-nothing relationship.

In employing team members and dealing with clients, you should be with someone that is really interested in what you offer and, in return, you should treat them right. 

For instance, you should hire someone that is interested in your $50 pay for an hour because when you hire someone who really wants $70, then that person might stay in your company but is looking for another company who provides better pay and benefits. 

This also goes with your clients. They might give you an opportunity but just once because they will look for another company the next time. 

“When you get those things in sync, you’ll have good retention. Your clients will be happy because they won’t have to follow the bouncing ball all over again. You know, time… and you do excellent.”

4. Deliver excellence. 

Regardless if you offer products or services, it should be delivered with excellence because if not, it will strongly affect your company. 

This also goes with hiring employees. You strongly need to have people who believe in your vision because if they didn’t, then it would be hard for them to achieve your goals and do their tasks with excellence. 

“I realized that if I work 24 hours a day, as hard as I could… that the best that I could do was average. And I said, ‘I don’t do average as that.’ But once I got the platinum card, then I came back and I started to contract there with her. So, you don’t, I know you’re not a person that does average, I know you’re not.”

5. Just be patient. 

The three P’s that you need are prayer, planning, patience. You might find it easy to pray and plan things, but patience is where most people get into problems.

“You started, you have a pot of dirt, you have that seed, you have that business seed, right? And you know, it takes time. And when people come and look, they don’t see anything, right? But you know, you have a seed in the ground and it takes time. You don’t just put the seed in the ground and then, you know, and the pot and in two days later, boom, you’re big. So it truly is a step by step process.”

RESOURCES

If you want to listen to Mama U’s wisdom in running your business, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

022: Corliss “Mama U” Udoema – The most inspiring CEO great grandmother of all time talks business, faith and timeless wisdom

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/022-2/

GREAT GRANDMA CEO drops all the Wisdom!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut4sdy6C2ds&list=PL6-jBNNcc98vTBvNhFYfUTeH0k-Vx2VBH&index=5

Janetta Brewer: Government Contract Compliance Expert

Posted on by Eric Coffie

An experienced government contract compliance expert, Janetta Brewer shares important information on the rules followed by the federal government and how businesses should remain compliant to all of these rules. 

BACKGROUND

Janetta Brewer, Esq. had worked in different roles in various government agencies including the US Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Air Force, Department of Homeland Security, and in the Department of Defense. 

In her last federal appointment, she was  a senior member of the Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy staff wherein she developed acquisition regulations and guidance that helped streamline the process and improve contract execution outcomes.

Currently, she is the owner of her own consulting company, Blue Alchemy Consulting, where she helps both government and industry clients in providing innovative policy processes, IT systems, and workforce development solutions. 

PROCESS OF CHANGING THE FAR OR DFARS

Primarily, the Federal Acquisition Regulation is the set of principles, rules, and regulations that govern the federal procurement process.

However, consider that if you are working with other agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, or the GSA, these agencies have their own rules to supplement the FAR.

Then, when the 809 panel or the people appointed by the Congress to streamline  the acquisition process recommend changes in the regulations, there’s a process to follow before changes are made. 

At the FAR staff level or the DARS staff level, whenever there’s a recommended change to a regulation, these people have to review and assess that proposed change first to determine its impact to the industry and to small businesses and to what extent. This is a requirement. 

The government will then issue a proposed rule highlighting all of their assessment and its impact to various small businesses and industries.

In most cases, this is where the industry groups come in place and put their inputs on whether they agree or disagree to the proposed ruling together with their reasons. The government heavily relies upon the input that was received from industry groups in this process.

Afterwards, the government will then create a final rule highlighting all of the changes through their assessment of the industry recommendations. 

So, the final rules go into the maximum extent possible as the government tries to reduce the cost and impact on the industry while maintaining the regulatory requirement in place.

“We can not do something the Congress has mandated. We can only throw our implementation, try to do it in a way that reduces the impact of contractors.”

ADVICE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

In dealing with the government, you need to be compliant with the rules that are put in place.

Don’t just focus on building better products and winning new contracts, you also need to build a compliant operational framework. This way, when the government does an audit, there will be no errors found. 

“One of the ways that you invest in a company is exposing them to better ways to build a compliance framework so to speak. I would say that’s one of the areas that’s typically neglected as just companies in general.”

Also, you need to use the solicitation to your advantage. Consider that when there’s a dispute or changes in the instructions that are not written in the solicitation, you have both the ability to highlight that it is a change in the overall contract and ask for some type of remedy towards those changes.

“The more knowledge you have and the more you understand what your obligations and requirements are, but also not just what yours are but what the government’s obligations and responsibilities are to you, then you feel more comfortable and confident speaking.”

Lastly, you need to begin with the end in mind. If you aim to work with the federal government for the next five years, then you need to build the appropriate processes and framework that are in compliance with the rules and regulations. 

“Because as you grow, obviously, sometimes you don’t necessarily have the time to invest in the backend stuff and it’s always easier if you have the framework in place to begin with and try to build it on the back end.”

RESOURCES

If you want to watch the full video of the interview with Janetta Brewer as she shares important information on the rules followed by the federal government and how businesses should remain compliant to all of these rules, then be sure to click the links down below.

016: Janetta Brewer ESQ – Government Contracts Compliance Expert ­

https://govcongiants1.wpengine.com/podcast/janetta-brewer-esq-government-contracts-compliance-expert/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcAqs6jHAt0&list=PL6-jBNNcc98vTBvNhFYfUTeH0k-Vx2VBH&index=2