Small business symposium speaker encourages mentorship

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

A decision that Ted Parker made decades ago elevated him in the construction field to the point that he could confidently encouraged others to do the same.

Parker told his audience at the AC Marriott Hotel how having a mentor turned out to be essential to his development. He currently serves as Director of Outreach and Vendor Diversity for Ajax Construction, a company that he’s had two stints with.

Parker made his point by telling of the time he almost didn’t make the decision that turned out to be beneficial. As a small business owner, Parker said he showed up at an established construction company in hopes of landing a sub-contract partnership. However, he hedged after reaching the office building. 

He sat in his vehicle for several minutes before deciding to go make his pitch. 

He got more than he sought, ending up with a friend in Ajax’s founder Block Smith, who became one of his first mentors.

“It’s a lot. You need a coach,” Taylor said afterward. “You need a leader; you need a mentor continuously throughout your career. Otherwise it’s real hard to get there.”

Parker’s audience was attendees at the Regional Supplier Diversity Symposium, which had the sub-theme Optimizing Job Creation and Business Growth in a Resilient Economy.

Parker spoke last Tuesday during the second of three sessions, titled “Alliances: maximizing impact with mentor—protégé and joint ventures.”

“You see these old guys getting ready to retire, you need to go talk to that guy because he has been there or she has been there,” he said. “If you let that knowledge go, once it’s gone it’s gone.” 

At one point, Darryl Jones, Deputy Director of OEV, reiterated the importance of having a business mentor.

“It’s not who you know,” Jones said, “it’s who knows you.”

Pointing to construction of a new headquarters for Tallahassee Police Department, Parker said some of the company’s mentees will be working on the project. He added that more than $4 million of the $135 million budget for TPD building will go to minority sub-contractors.

At that point, Jones encouraged business owners who classify as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise or Minority Women Business Enterprise to register with his agency.

That point was also driven home by Kenneth Taite, a Florida Department of Transportation Project Consultant, during a discussion about certification and knowing how to leverage their DBE status.

Later on, Jones pointed to several projects that minority-owned contractors could be or had been a part of, including Tallahassee International Airport, Capital Circle, and Star-Metro transfer station at South Meridian St. and Orange Avenue.

 Apart from qualified businesses, Ajax will open 10 percent of work on the TPD project to TEMPO participants. Individuals who lost jobs during pandemic or anyone in need of an opportunity will also qualify for work.

“I don’t care what you are,” Parker said, “we want to give you a chance.”

A key element of having a mentor is the confidence that a small business owner could gain, said Taite, who also owns Haggai Construction. 

Seeking mentorship from big companies is like having “a big brother behind you,” said Taite, who was also mentored by Ajax. “Even though they are large, you can pick up the phone and talk to the vice president. I just feel like I’m not out there by myself trying to do this. 

“I’m constantly being in places where a company my size shouldn’t be. I do that because I know I have this partner. Even when our venture is over, they are still there for me.” 

Kimball Thomas, administrator of Tallahassee Engaged in Meaningful Productivity for Opportunity (TEMPO), lauded the job opportunity for the program’s participants. TEMPO serves at-risk young people ages 16-24.

“These kinds of agreements are vitally important in respect to helping people who are not traditional classroom-type students who want to go into technical or vocational education get a tremendous jump start on that career with hands-on experience in the work field,” Thomas said. “Then, they can relate that to some other types of certification that they may want as they go along.”

Throughout the workshop segment of the symposium, one constant was job opportunities for minorities and minority-owned businesses. It opened with Derrick Mitchell, a division director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion HCA Healthcare, giving an overview.

Minority-women owned businesses are essential to Blacks being able to develop generational wealth, Mitchell said.

“We are creating jobs for members in that (minority) community and also showing that those jobs that are creating generational wealth, financial stability in helping small business owners to be a critical part of the community that they serve,” he said.

Ed Hill, owner of Florida Connect Academy, said he came away feeling encouraged about what his company is doing to help young people find a career path. FCA, which emphasizes jobs in construction, connects high school students with jobs. 

“I think kids are looking for something. There are a lot of athletes trying to find out what they are going to do for their next step,” said Hill, former head football coach John Paul II High School. “They may not make it to the next level but these are hard-working young men and young women that understand teamwork.”