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BDI Buzz  |  October 2016 News!


Dear BDI Buzz Readers...


The BDI Board of Directors will soon begin planning for our 2017 programs and we need your input!  Please take a moment to participate in our MED Week 2016 survey – let us know what you enjoyed and what you think could be improved.  The survey will be open until the end of October. Please click the image below to access the survey


 
We also welcome input for our Breakthrough Breakfast series. If you have topic ideas or know a great speaker that can share relevant information, feel free to send us an email. And if you are a diversity practitioner and have ideas for our 2017 Diversity Practitioners Summits, let us know! info@bdiweb.org.
 
Finally, don’t miss our October Breakthrough Breakfast, 10/26, “Managing Professional Service Agreements and Professional Liability.” Speaker John Lowe of Lowe Consulting LLC, will provide an overview of contracting terms and the relationship between contracting for professional services and professional liability.

Thank you for your support!
Charissa Rotramel
Business Diversity Institute | Chair

Small Business Spotlight


Steven Nakana_Port of PortlandCompany: Just Bucket Excavating, Inc.
Owners: Willie Davis Jr.
Number of employees: 17
Years in Business: 16 years
Industry: Heavy Civil Construction
Phone: 503.364.3550
Website: www.justbucket.com

In 25 words or less, describe what services your company offers:
Heavy construction and excavation services for residential, commercial and government projects. Road construction/deconstruction, site utilities, drainage structures, and specialty: constructing islands, reshaping water channels.

5 things BDI Buzz readers want to know...

What makes your company unique?
JBE is multi-faceted company, able to install simple culverts, to construction of a 1 acre floating island for bird habitat.

What would our readers be surprised, to learn about your company?
The name Just Bucket Excavating was chosen after I purchased a small excavator with a big bucket.  When I decided not to build an RV park on the coast, local residents wanted me to remove brush and trees.  The City’s Public Works Dept. also needed some excavation work competed.  When the Federal government asked me to work on a project, I knew then, I needed a contractor’s license and a name.  While watching a Nike commercial (Just Do It) and looking at my excavator with a bucket the name came to me…” Just Bucket”

Describe an adversity you have overcome, and how you overcame it?
When looked upon as a minority company, larger firms feel you don’t know what you’re doing.  When finally given the chance to demonstrate my abilities, more opportunities were presented to my company.

What is the best piece of advice you've received?
Work hard to meet your long term goals.  Treat others as you want to be treated and Always lend a helping hand.

What is your favorite quote?
Actions speak louder than words.

Educational Training

 
What To Do When A Client Won't Pay

At least once a week, I think about the client who owes me $25,000 after skipping out on paying his final invoice. Two years ago, in January 2013, I found myself -- as a new entrepreneur -- trying to collect the balance due on a project we had completed during the previous holiday season. It was a huge social-media-outreach campaign for a client who had been recommended. We signed a contract and secured a 50 percent retainer before starting and then completed it on a tight deadline.

Once the job was done and all the final reports were submitted, we sent the final invoice for payment. That's when the client disappeared.  » Read more
 
15 Proven Ways To Get Client
to Pay Their Bills On Time

There are better ways than quietly checking the mailbox every day. When you go above and beyond for clients, you expect to get paid just as fast. The biggest disappointment for a freelancer or small business owner when those expectations are not shared by the client when the invoice comes due.

Staying silent and just checking the mailbox every day isn't the best way to handle the situation, but constantly asking may annoy your client. There has to be a better way to get clients to pay their bills on time. » Read more
Port of Portland Sponsor - Med Week 2016 Ad


Our Mission
To support the growth and success of regional minority-owned and woman-owned businesses through sustainable business:
• Education and training
• Outreach, tools and resources

• Promoting collaboration of public/private organizations
  in these efforts
BDI Breakthrough Breakfast

October 26, 2016


Managing Professional Services Agreements & Professional Liability

– 
PRESENTER
John M. Lowe, Jr., P.E
Lowe Consulting, LLC
 

To Register
Click Here

WORKSHOPS

 

Nov. 3, 2016
GCAP Government Contracting Basics

EVENTS


October 20, 2016
Legacy Health Supplier Open House

October 19 ,2016
OPPA Reverse Vendor Tradeshow

October 25 ,2016
HMCC Oregon Leadership Program Reunion

November 2, 2016
US Army Corps Industry Day

WEBINARS


Ongoing

SBA Government Contracting Series
BDI Breakthrough Breakfast

 Dec. 7, 2016
Save the Date!

[ Quote of the Month ]
 
"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.." 

 – President Obama

Do you have
upcoming training opportunities?
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with us at

info@bdiweb.org.

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