[Maria Elena Duron]

Great article! Doesn't this motivate you to network well?

2008-05-21
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By TANNETTE JOHNSON-ELIE

When Ylonda Glover launched a leadership training franchise six years ago, she realized that networking would be essential to her company's survival.

So Glover set out to build relationships that could open up opportunities to grow her Pewaukee company, Tri-Success Management Institute Inc., which specializes in leadership training and strategic planning.

Her efforts are paying off as her company has gone from zero profitability in its first few years to annual sales of $50,000 to $60,000.

"My business grew on networking. I never made a cold call," says Glover, 40. "I learned that it was all about relationships. People do business with people they know. As a small-business owner, it's important to establish long-term relationships. Those relationships that you build no one can take away from you."

Glover belongs to various professional and business networking associations in the Milwaukee area and isn't afraid to venture outside of her comfort zone when she has to.

"I used to drive out every Tuesday from Milwaukee to Pewaukee to network with a group of predominantly white women and men," said Glover, who is African-American. "They were some of the friendliest people I've ever met. They taught me how to network."

Because others were willing to help her, Glover has made it her mission to teach urban entrepreneurs in Milwaukee how to network and build connections to gain business. She especially wants to help women of color succeed in business.

Small business champion

For her work, Glover was named 2008 Minority Small Business Champion for Wisconsin by the U.S. Small Business Administration. She and other award winners will be recognized on June 6.

Her passion for helping others stems from her upbringing on N. 29th and W. Burleigh streets. Glover knows what it's like to feel disconnected from opportunity. She was the youngest of 10 children to be reared by a single mother, and she was the first in her family to graduate from both high school and college.

"My mom passed on her faith and determination to succeed. She came here from Mississippi, divorced with 10 children. Yet, when she retired, she was debt free and owned her own home," said Glover. "I felt that if she could do that as a single mother, then what could I do that my mother couldn't?"

Glover, who is married to a network engineer and has two children, is involved in several high-profile initiatives in Milwaukee's business community. Among them is the Milwaukee Urban Entrepreneurship Partnership, a national program launched in 2004 to promote minority business development here and in cities nationwide.

Glover is among a group of business people hired by the UEP to serve as coaches to 22 small firms from the inner city.

Tina Kelly-Beckett, UEP's executive director, said Glover has linked entrepreneurs to resources in the community where they can obtain technical assistance.

"She's very valuable at strategic planning and strategic connecting," says Kelly-Beckett. "Her gift is helping others to be successful in business."

The art of networking

Cynthia Henry is one of Glover's proteges. Henry is the owner of AYZHA Fine Arts, which promotes multicultural art and supports master, mid-career and emerging artists. Henry coordinates art exhibits at galleries, trade shows, public institutions and corporate and private events.

When Henry launched her fine arts business two years ago, her dream was to increase the visibility of ethnic artists in Milwaukee.

"I look at art as being a means to address diversity because art crosses all color lines," said Henry, who wants to open an art gallery some day. "Yet, when you go to a lot of local companies, you'll see a lot of artwork, but not by people of color."

While Henry has stayed true to her mission to be a cultural catalyst for others, she didn't realize how tough it would be to make a name for herself in an industry where networking is critical.

"Ylonda has helped me to build my skills and knowledge as to how to run a business from the start-up to opening," said Henry. "We don't really have any established black-owned galleries in Milwaukee. She took me out to visit black-owned art galleries in Chicago to show me that it's possible."

When coaching a small business, an important first step for Glover is to help an entrepreneur implement a strategic plan.

"My goal always is to help people to not only create a strategic plan, but to help them integrate it throughout their operation," she said.

Her reward is knowing that she's helping small-business people such as Henry to build connections that can uncover opportunities for growth.

Get connected