Minority businesses leery of label

Designation opens doors to work but can imply limitations

(chicagotribune.com) When Valarie King-Bailey launched her information technology business in 2004, she played up her 24 years of industry experience as she went calling on customers. Less important, she said, was her company’s status as a minority-owned business.

“I’m selling IT solutions,” said King-Bailey, owner and chief executive of OnShore Technology Group. “If companies don’t need that, it doesn’t matter that I’m a black woman.”

Just as minority politicians generally try not to overplay the race card as they seek broad support, many minority-owned firms are cautious in how they market their companies.

“We need to be concerned first and foremost about not using that as our calling card,” said Pamela Blackwell, president and chief executive of Blackwell Consulting Services, a minority-owned management and IT consulting firm with about $46 million in annual revenue and 250 employees. “Our customers are coming to us to help them improve their businesses. You have to be positioned as thought leaders.”

Being certified as a minority business enterprise will take a company only so far, said John Sterling, the African-American founder and CEO of Synch-Solutions, a Chicago IT firm with $24 million in annual sales.

“It’s been a double-edged sword for an organization that’s our size and our profile,” he said. “Sometimes, it gets us into deals so we can be a part of projects we’re capable of, but sometimes it has a stigma that we can’t work as a prime contractor.” (more…)