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Embark on an exciting journey into the dynamic world of construction with host Patrick Parkman! Explore the fascinating intricacies of the industry, from the initial concept to the finishing touches and beyond. Join Patrick as he engages in lively conversations with the visionaries of construction – the imaginative architects, skilled artisans, and strategic minds orchestrating every detail. This podcast is more than an exploration; it's your exclusive ticket to an immersive experience where we reimagine and perfect the entire construction process. Tune in now and be part of the excitement! The construction landscape is evolving, and you won't want to miss a moment of the transformation!
Speaker 2 0:00
Hello listeners. My name is Yami adeyamo, and I am the Community Engagement Manager here at Juno construction company. Every so often I create an opportunity to host a podcast with a focus on supplier diversity as we celebrate construction inclusion. Week, I wanted to create a space for some important organizations to share their mission and the resources they are providing to the community. Today, I have the opportunity of having some special guests. Our first guest is Ms, Gabriela Matute. She's the current Executive Director for Georgia Hispanic contractor Association. Next I have Miss Stacy Robinson, who is the Vice President of National Association of Women in construction, also known as NAWIC, the Atlanta chapter. She's also the business development manager for Han company. And lastly, I have Mr. Ernest Ellis, the current president of namac, National Association of minority contractors of Atlanta chapter, and he's also the owner of Fs 360 thank you all for being here, starting with you. Ms Gabriela, what is Georgia Hispanic contractor Association focusing on with regards to your mission,
Speaker 2 1:21
we need to grow. We need to grow steady. We need to give opportunities to our people. We need to identify ourselves, not only as, you know, workforce in the business, but we are owners. We are women entrepreneurs. We have a lot to give, and we have a lot to learn, and that's why we are trying, you know, to create opportunities, to give, you know, networking opportunities, educational opportunities, to create partnership with another organizations, because we think that we would if we were together, we can build more. And this is not about only Hispanics or not about this group in this minority. It's about everybody, how we can build better at Georgia, how we can create opportunities, and how we can share knowledge and, you know, and relationships within within us. And I think that's we're going on the right path, and we're still looking how much more, how many more opportunities we can identify, and we can work to make it happen.
Speaker 1 2:18
That's awesome. And yes, the Hispanic community is a good bit of the large force of the workforce. But like you said, the key is equity ownership, right, and being able to have a voice to help in certain aspects. So we think we definitely understand that mission, and we definitely support that. How about you? Mr. Ernest,
Speaker 3 2:43
so the National Association of minority contractors is a national trade association headquartered out of Washington, DC. For the last 55 years, namac, as a trade association, has been advocating on behalf of minority contractors in the trenches, all the way back to the roots of the civil rights era. You know, Congressman Ronald dullams, you know, was one of the foundational pioneers to help our founding out of Oakland. And from that time till today, you know, we have been at the forefront of making sure that number one minority contractors have access to opportunities. We've historically had to overcome and fight institutional barriers to opportunities. You know, not just on the government and municipal sectors, but you know, in some private sector marketplaces, were completely excluded. From a workforce standpoint, I think the last statistics were 6% of the workforce was African American. When we make up about 13 to 14% of the population, women were around 13% and obviously make up half of the population. And so, you know, part of our mission is to ensure that we have access to opportunities. With the Juneau, with Centennial yards, a Grady Hospital, a well star, wherever we feel like we're capable, that's where we want to be. We're also advocating on behalf of the things that our membership needs in order to be able to grow and scale and and to be able to develop wealth at the end of the day. I mean, you know, I am a many time entrepreneur, started Fs 360 not for my health, but for wealth, you know, because this is a tough business, and so we want to advocate on our members behalf at every level of government and every level in the marketplace to tell the story. You know that we have capacity, we have bonding, we have people, we have a desire, we have a passion, and we want to leverage the third pillar, which is really relationships. This is a relationship business. And you know, I tell young entrepreneurs and even some new entrants into the business, I mean, be prepared. Invest two years to develop the relationships, because the risk factor is high, the failure rate is high, and the transient factor is real. And so relationships matter. So we have meet and greets every month with prime contractors and and our MBE black and brown members, and those relationships have developed great contract, deal flow. And, you know, we'll continue to do those kind of things, you know, from access to advocacy to relationships, as well as creating opportunities to develop, because there is a lot to learn. You never stop learning in this business. So those are our pillars, and we continue to focus on them every day.
Speaker 1 5:42
Yeah, I mean, like you said, access is key, and through that is relationships. So having those relationships so that you could have access to those opportunities, and also the development piece is big as well, too. Because, again, if, if these companies are trying to grow, trying to be better, which I mean, I imagine that they are, then they need resources, right? They need to be provided training to grow and develop. So one thing that you were kind of touching base on is just, you know, the fact that you are the owner of Fs 360 so I want to ask you, what has inspired you to be involved in namac
Unknown Speaker 6:28
Well, so I've always
Speaker 3 6:32
felt blessed to be able to share lessons learned over the years. And I tell my children, you know, younger family members, people that I work with and mentor, I mean, people that you know, like Darryl, James, Justin Lee, that are in the business. Look, I want you to make different, better mistakes than I made, you know. And at the end of the day, you know, in our communities, a lot of times, we don't have those sage voices that either can share or will share, to be quite honest, I got mine. You get yours? Well, that that that's, that's a failing premise. You know, one of my favorite lines is rising tide lifts all ships, you know. And I look at namac Not only as a trade association, but for me, it's somewhat my ministry. You know, I say I wasn't called to preach, I wasn't called to teach, but I'm called to help in this regard, and at the same time, you know, I'm helping my own company and my people, because I'm creating a better industry. So rising tide really does lift all boats. And so whether it's ghta or naywick or namac, we're all trying to create a better industry because it just creates a better country, and
Unknown Speaker 7:42
that's awesome. How about you, I
Unknown Speaker 7:44
think, is to serve
Speaker 2 7:48
I'm a journalist myself, so this is another industry, absolutely different for me, and having the opportunity to help somebody connect, to create, you know, an opportunity to, I don't know, send an email to someone and educate them. I mean, our community needs education. Needs to know that they're valued. And you know the opportunities are there so how you can connect, and if you have, you know, probably facilities that, I mean, opportunities to create for them to connect and to help. And I think that is more than value and and I have a team that they have the same mindset here. So we're here to self, to serve our community and to connect with another communities.
Unknown Speaker 8:31
That's awesome. Oh,
Speaker 4 8:33
for me, inspiration. You know, when I first started in the business, I started out as an interior designer, and I just remember going to school being a one of three at the Art Institute in Houston in design. And I think we all can relate of being in these spaces. We're probably the one ofs that we're used to that. So, you know, for me, being able to see more women in this construction industry, and I always like to tell people, because I'm on the furniture side. So I tell, I tell folks, you know, everyone builds these wonderful buildings, but then you got to sit on something. So that's when I come in, right? You know? But for me, it's definitely, I think, to what Mr. Ellis was saying earlier, is that that mentorship and getting this younger generation to just to see me, I was able to kind of talk to three classes at Spelman, it was just like a full circle for me, because my sister and I graduated from Clark and to be able to look into those girls eyes and to tell and they see that I'm doing, I'm like, I'm the first African American for the Han company in this role in Atlanta, right? And when you look at the company as a whole, they've had, I think three women total. So you know, for me, I'm in these spaces where I'm the only one that looks like me. So to be able to, you know, like Mr. Ellis said, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, it's not me just coming in the door. I just want to make sure that they keep coming in the door behind me and offering up these opportunities and exposing them to, um. What I'm doing because, you know, there's some great talent out there. And to Mr. Ellis's point, you know, you're hiring, and you want to see folks that look like you. That's just, you know, that's what keeps me inspired. And then, you know, folks will ask me, Well, how do you do everything? You do you do it, right? You just do it,
Speaker 1 10:15
yeah. And I think it's important not only for people to understand the mission of the organizations, but to understand what is driving the individuals within the organization, the leaders of this organization, right? Because here you all have shared, you know, different reasons why you all are doing what you're doing, and that motivation, right? Like you said, I mean, I'm sure you all have a lot of other things that you got going on, right, but when you reflect back to, okay, why am I doing this? That motivates you, right? So you're not just doing the basic minimum, no, you're going out and above and beyond, spending time taking people to lunch and mentoring them, you know, and different things like that. And that's so fulfilling, you know, I've been in this supplier diversity role for about two years now, and, you know, people always ask me, Well, do I miss the field, you know, operations? I'm like, No, not really. I mean, I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I do. But, you know, just being able to just make a difference, just being able to make an impact, and to to get a call that, hey, yes, you know, I got that opportunity that you know, you've been helping build a relationship on I mean, it's so rewarding, you know, and that's the reason why I'm always motivated, because, you know, I'm ready to make an impact, ready to just help people and to serve others as well too. So I'm glad that we share those common things. So, so next question is, okay, well, why? Why do you think that is vital for minority trades to join organizations such as namac nawick or Georgia Hispanic contractor Association? We can start with you, Stacy,
Speaker 4 11:49
I think, I think it's exposure, right? I think that, you know, for women, especially when it comes to in construction, you know, we need to see ourselves in those spaces. I think that the I think it's great for the construction industry, because it brings a different kind of mindset that, you know, that's I also feel about how that's, you know, that's why diversity is so important. To have other people around the table. So you're having some other points of view that not not not only male dominated, but seeing it from a different side and seeing it from minority side, which is fantastic. So for me, I think that, you know, we need to be in the we need to be in those spaces. I think to Mr. Ellis's point earlier, when you think about commercial real estate in a whole three to 4% is minority of all of it, right, in the commercial real estate realm of it. So again, it's that exposure that, you know, for me, that's really important when it comes to and that's why I do what I do. And I think that, you know, diversity and seeing women in these spaces, because it's making people even think about, think about just the construction zone and being on site, right? They're starting to think, Now, where's the closest bathroom? Like women are in these spaces now, right? So the way you, the way you conduct your trailer, and how does that look? And, you know, changing. And for females, you know, like I said, we're the back. I mean, these are, these are things that men really never had to think about, because, you know, y'all just go behind someplace, right, right? That was never an issue for a man. But thinking of, when you think about construction, and you think about women in this in this field, you know, just thinking about those spaces and how to make, how do you make those accommodations? And I just think it's, it's healthy to have that diverse, that diversity of having a female on site, on how things you know, how you know projects are being built in, conducted and project managed? Yeah, I
Speaker 1 13:43
think that's important for sure. Like you said, even with PPE, thinking about, Okay, I think I was hearing some news about how there's no newer PPE, you know, gear for for women. Women, right? Yes, your safety
Speaker 4 13:58
vest, all that hats, hard hats that are not so gigantic on our heads, but come a little smaller so they can fit on our heads. Gloves, right? Those simple things, because we're on the we're on site, right?
Speaker 2 14:09
That's right. And I will add, to what Stacy said, I will add we have resources. I mean, there's a lot of resources out there, and people don't necessarily know, because they're, you know, working from seven to 10. So you, you come to us, and we can guide you. We can provide you resources. And even if we don't have the answer, we're going to connect you to the person who has the answer. So and then leads you to opportunities, more opportunities that you can find. And I think it's good for us to see us there. I mean, for instance, I'm here. I do not speak English, so I'm here. I'm talking. So seeing me here gives you, you know, okay, I can be there. I can do that. So it's not only about these kind of people and these group people. I can be there. I can go there. I have to prepare myself. Be there. So I think that's the main reason that we organizations like ours are very successful, and we try to, you know, to bring more people in. Yeah, the fact
Speaker 3 15:11
that matter is, you mean, you don't know what you don't know, right? And if you're in the market, it doesn't matter which industry it is, if you're in the market, and you're out there by yourself on an island, you just don't know what you don't know. And I mean, again, I overuse it, but Rising Tide is beneficial to everyone, because the collective knowledge that we're able to pull together from shared experiences. Everybody wins in that scenario, the owner wins, the prime contractor wins. The trade contractors win. You know, the minority contractors win. And you know our communities, you know, whether it's largely Hispanic or African American, we have cultural issues that we have to overcome. You know, in order for us to maximize our membership, I mean, there's a certain level of distrust that our communities face. Let's just be honest. I mean, you know, we have to sell our ROI all the time. What's the return on the investment all the time? Why should I be a member of namac all the time? And, you know, because, again, there's just those trusting issues that, look, I can go out and do it on my own whatnot, but for 55 years, we just had to continue to do so, and Atlanta has been one of the stronger chapters over all these years, you know. So it is just so very important for us to continue the missions that we have, all of us, and to be able to collaborate and work together and at the same time do what we have to. To encourage, you know, firms like Juno and large owners to not only continue to do what you're doing, but even step it up, you know, because, you know, again, fast fact, there's not enough majority firms to do all the work that needs to be done. White firms couldn't do all this work if they wanted to, you know. And so at the end of the day, you know, I look at it as even to this question and earlier question, you know, there's a ton of opportunity in this is enough for everybody, and there's a ton of wealth building opportunities for a young woman who wants to go into electrical field, get our journeymans out of the way. Start our own firm, you know, as more than enough opportunity for a young kid who's coming out of high school doesn't want to go to college, and in five years, he'll be making $75,000 a year as a superintendent, and he's middle class with no debt, middle class with no debt before you 25 mean, that's a good place to be. So there's a ton of reasons why we should continue to do what we're doing in our individual missions. Do you know, continue to do what it does and it's investment and commitment, because it's just good for everybody? Everybody
Speaker 1 17:52
wins? Nah. I definitely believe that. And you know, I know that. You know the organizations that you all are involved with. You know, we do have one common goal, and we're all in just different, I guess, different areas of the journeys, right? So as for you, Ernest, what is namac Atlanta chapter like? What's your main focus for this year? What have you all been, really, you know, trying to target for this year.
Speaker 3 18:23
Well, the big to do this year was get a national conference complete and done. I mean, that that was, that was an important conference, you know, for the national organization. It was here, I think, in 17 and, you know, we had covid, you know, and then so 20 and 21 were tough years to gather. And so you were just continuing to try to get get sea legs back. But, you know, at the same time that conference was, was built up, you know, from a lot of events and programming that we had over the course of the year that you've been at, most of them, you know, that leads to, again, relationship building. You know, at the end of the day, this, this business being, being as tough as it is, even borderline dangerous, where people get hurt, you know, and we actually lose lives in this country where the margins are thin and you know, in order to have the trust that must be in place, we have to continue to do everything we can to develop relationships, you know, between our members prime contractors and try to pull the owners into the equation, and that's going to be a very strong focus for ours next year. I mean, Atlanta is blessed to have a plethora of fortune, 500 firms and large private companies in this city, you know. And I've had conversations with many of them, you know, Delta Airlines, Georgia, power, you know, centennial. Yards, you name it. And said, Look, if you want to make an impact for real, if you want to be in the billion dollar roundtable as a fortune 500 firm, have an intentional program around construction. Have an intentional program around construction. And if you really want to drive a home, make sure your executive's bonus is tied to it, because that's how things get done. You tie somebody's money to it, then that box will get checked. And so we're going to have a real strong push over the next year, the next couple of years, to try to recruit and bring in as many corporate players to see the value in what we all do, because there is value there. Oh
Unknown Speaker 20:35
yeah. And I think last year
Speaker 1 20:39
was called, I'm not sure what event was called, but you had CIM and some other, you know, owners there involved in the meeting with the different trades. And yes, it is important, yeah, meet the primes. It is important for owners to be involved, right? Because so many times I mentioned this to trade partners that, yeah, it's good that, you know, there's a lot of opportunity in the public sector, but how about the privacy there? You know, that's where we need to really see more of that increase said, and it really starts from the top, which, again, I mean, we're a GC, right, but we're working for our client, right? And they usually set the tone. So, so that that is important. How about you? West Georgia, Hispanic contractor Association. What are you all focusing this year? Yes,
Speaker 2 21:24
I think there's several, several aspects. First one, knowing a little bit more about our members, because sometimes they join the association, they don't participate. You don't know what the needs are, and they don't share the information with you. So we're trying to listen to them, to open the space and say, Hey, we have this today. Actually, we had something called Casa vierta Open House, meaning that the members come and talk about themselves and what they're looking for and what join the association. That's very important for us. Another aspect is Latinas in construction. We have a group of women, so we're trying to give it a shape, because we are so important women in this not only in this industry, but on all industries. So how we can, you know, identify ourselves, how we can find our best place to fit in and not necessarily be competing with and be part of something and like really mean that. So that's another thing that we have focused this year a lot, and another thing is safety. We created an online platform safety, what you can join and we can see people, they need, you know, courses information, you know, make some classes about safety so they can do on their own pace and their own language, which is very, very important for us. And I think also, and I leave it for last, but it's not the least important is partnerships, alliances. We're trying to identify, you know, those groups or organizations that we can work together for something in common, that we can see in this room. We can, we need to reinforce that. And that's what, of course, 2025 will be challenging as well in these aspects, and, of course, many more. But I will say these four things that we have focused this year a lot on, yeah,
Speaker 1 23:11
that's one thing I observe about the organization. You all have done a lot of partnerships with, you know, different organizations, because, again, you need a allyship, right? You know, building that community to help each other out again with the common goal. So how are you, Stacy? For us,
Speaker 4 23:28
our biggest thing that Kelly and I want to work on for this year is definitely networking and mentorship. So, you know, I'm a big networker, and I'm big on mentorship, so that's something that we definitely want to do. I want to take it to a different level. This year, we have a mentorship program. But I also think, because we're the largest chapter, and because everyone's so busy, I'm hoping to do maybe some smaller opportunities where we can do it in, you know, where people probably live a little closer so that way, like, you know, in another organization, I host a happy hour, you know, on the third Wednesday of every month, right? But at least there's smaller groups of people kind of, kind of can network a little bit better and to have some a closer knit, more conversation. Because sometimes when you get into that big general meeting, not everybody has time to kind of network and get to know everyone, but then, but really strategize about making sure that these little satellite things that we're doing, we're making sure that we bring in students and mentorship into those conversations, so they can hear professionals and folks that are doing it every single day. The other thing that we want to work on is education and training. So your to your point earlier, we've got a couple folks that do some safety training, and so we really want to do that. It's so funny. At our our lunch this past year, I don't know if y'all heard but they had these little poppers and and everybody popped, but we they forgot that they were little candles on the table. Well, everything went up in flames at the at the Dunwoody, Dunwoody Country Club, and it was just. It's amazing how we had this room full of women in construction, and there were men there, and it was like, Where is the firearm show, right? So we're, you know, doing training on fire safety. And, you know, we've got a great blueprint series that we do that's free. So that way, you know, youngsters can, you know, reading blueprints, because those are important, and those are important. And then, you know, again, and then for folks that have been in a little, been in the program, or been been a part of neighborhood, we want to do more leadership development. How do we take, you know, those Sierras, you know, coming in for mentorship, and then we help them take that to the next level, right? Because we understand that, you know, we want folks to make more money, but in order to make more money, you got to know more things, right? So we want to make for that to be kind of more equitable, to see them grow and and and grow and be promoted in their in their own companies, or in or within their company system that they work in, or if they have their own company. How do we help them bring that to the next level?
Speaker 1 25:58
Oh, that's awesome, you know, because, again, the mentality of, because I've done it, I'm not going to share how to do it, or that has to stop, right? So sharing that information and being able to elevate each other is important. So we talked about, you know, some of the resources that you know each of your organizations are providing, some of the things that you all are focusing on. And again, you know, we as GCS could definitely do a better job in creating opportunities. But one thing I wanted to talk about, and I'll leave this question open you all can answer, is, what do you see as barriers for diverse trade partners regarding readiness to be successful when opportunities are present? You know, because it's one thing for our, you know, for opportunities to be there. But if opportunities are there, and we want to make sure that, you know, Monterey trade partners are taking advantage of the opportunity, so they need to be prepared. What do you what have you observed, you know, as barriers to them not taking advantage of those opportunities?
Unknown Speaker 27:03
I mean, that's a three dimensional question,
Speaker 3 27:07
but I'll take a stab at it and try not to be too verbose. Number one is overcoming fear. You know, there that's just, there's just a reality that, you know, case in point, I don't want to go work at the airport because the airport's too hard. I don't want to work with this prime because their pre qualifications ask for too many questions. I don't want to give my financials because I'm afraid of what they'll see. I don't want to work a bit on this job because it's too big for me. I don't want to have this conversation, you know, with the prime contractor, because I heard there's a lot of that, and so, you know, so there's, there's that, I'll just call it fear issue, that just a lot of reasons slash excuses, that we kind of have a self defeating culture that we need to create. I mean, I know Daniel predominant really well. He's on our board. Kevin Harris is, you know, we've had many conversations, and we've had conversations about the cultural issues and hispanic community with regards to pre qualifications and potential immigration concerns and, you know, all that kind of stuff, you know. So again, some of those are cultural, some of those are individual, Silo issues. But so that's one. The other one is cash flow. I mean, cash is a big problem. And you know, the the craftsman, craftswoman contractor, you know, the trade contractor. You know, if you think about it, from the day one on their job, you know, from the from the first pay app, then the wait time, let's call it 60 days, because that's usually what it is. You know, you're talking 90 to 120, days from the day one on that job that we're financing the projects, or the subs are financing the projects. And, you know, firms like ours are right behind them. That is huge. And you know, so until we can come up with some innovative, you know, ways to create mobilization money and just recognize that, look, owners, you got to do better. You have to do better. You have to finance these projects faster, because it's costing, you know, it's costing primes, I mean, because and it's costing the owner. If they don't think that, you know, is not cost, charging them the cost of money, then they got another thing coming. You know, you're paying. You're charging them for that line of credit, or whatever the cost of money is, cash is an issue. And so that we can't ignore that fact. And then, you know, I always tell, tell our members look, you know, we have to look in the mirror and be construction ready. We have to look in the mirror and be constructed. Construction ready. And so don't take on work you're not qualified to do. Do your own pre qual, and know where you fall. You know, if your largest job is $200,000 don't go for a million dollar job, you know. That's too much risk, you know. So, so find out where you fall. Stay in your lane and. Be construction ready and do an excellent job, and because at the end of the day, lot of times we only get one strike. That's just the way it is. I mean majority firms, white firms. I mean they fail at the same rate or more than we do, you know, but they get more strikes than we do. That's just the fact to ignore. It is not being truthful, that's
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