Marketplace Staffing Services
The Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council has made an indelible contribution to my personal success, and that of our organization, Marketplace Staffing Services
Marketplace traces its roots back some 13 years, to an idea and a dream that I had – a dream fueled by a passion to serve customers and to help them solve their staffing challenges
Today, we have a full-time team of over 20 people, five offices in 4 states, and place hundreds of individuals in respectable jobs every day -- and both they, and we, enjoy a future bright with opportunity
Our success over the last decade has come because we were able to hire an excellent team of professionals, work with an outstanding group of clients, and locate in booming markets like the Carolinas offer – markets bright with the promise of an even-better tomorrow. And also because we had an organization like my CMSDC working hard on our behalf
In the beginning, struggling to survive, my CMSDC was there for Marketplace Staffing with programs, tools and events that powerfully communicated the value of supplier diversity and promoted the consideration of businesses like ours by quality organizations like yours
Today, facing difficult economic times of a different sort, my CMSDC continues to expand business opportunities for Minority Business Enterprises, contributing to their economic vitality in a myriad of ways -- and I am living proof that my CMSDC is still working effectively and making a difference
Some months back, I attended the Wachovia-Wells Fargo Supplier Development Initiative on Entrepreneurship, gaining valuable insights on entrepreneurial essentials and financial planning, marketing strategy and managing growth for that program – which I was introduced to by my CMSDC
Just a few weeks ago, I was privileged to attend the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University for an intense week-long training on business strategy – made possible by a scholarship bestowed on me by – you guessed it -- my CMSDC
This powerful and life-changing event at Dartmouth made such an impression on me I came home and registered my two top executives at Marketplace Staffing for the program and sent them off to Dartmouth – to better prepare them and our organization for the future. I came home, stroked a check and sent them off – something I never could have dreamed of doing just a few short years ago
These powerful, organization-changing and personally rewarding life experiences have prepared me to be a better person, a better businessman, and a better community leader
They are experiences that a poor boy from the backwaters of Nicholtown dared not dream of just a few decades ago – nor could ever have been envisioned by a dreamy-eyed entrepreneur trying to start a small staffing business after hours from his “real job” just 13 years ago
But they are experiences that, with help from my CMSDC, and the trust and commitment of businesses like yours, I can now experience, learn from, and apply to growing our business and helping others grow – and that makes me bullish on the future for all of us
Marketplace has been a member of my CMSDC for 13 years now, and we still find the organization effective at identifying opportunities and opening doors
So today, I ask not what my CMSDC can do for me – for they have already done plenty
Today, I ask you to continue to support minority business enterprises, and to support my CMSDC – for there is still much work to be done.
Because truly, my CMSDC, with your help, can make a tremendous difference in the lives and legacies of the minority businesses that it touches – even as it helps you and your organizations achieve even greater success.
And that’s a winning proposition for us all.
