Depending on how one looks at it, even an empty sardine can has some value when it comes to business development, just ask leading Mississippi businessman L. Socrates Garrett.
Garrett, chairman and CEO of Garrett Enterprises, Inc., was the luncheon speaker for the Mississippi Gulf Coast/Delta Alliance for Economic Inclusion first Mississippi Small Business Conference.
The Farmhaven, Miss. native told a packed conference room of business owners and aspiring business owners at the Jackson State University e-Center Tuesday, June 8, the story of how as a boy he would take sardine cans and shape them into little trucks. “I would play with those cans all day,” Garrett said.
Garrett believes that his ingenuity then may have been the catalyst that propelled him to becoming the entrepreneur that he is today. He has gone from having a sardine-can trucking company as a lad to having a well-recognized trucking company today.
The Alcorn State University alumnus told conferees that he learned early in life that race has no place in business. His father was a civil rights activist who became angry because his church wouldn’t allow him to hold civil rights events at the church, so he built a building to conduct his meetings. His mother was a teacher, who would have been fired if she became actively involved in the civil rights movement. “My father wanted to protect his race, and my mother wanted to protect her family,” he said.
“In 1959, race relations were so bad in Mississippi until my mother sent all of her children to Piney Woods Country Life School,” Garrett said. “At that time, I was about 13-years-old. What was interesting about the Piney Woods experience was that I was running from cruel white folk in Northeast Madison County, and when I got to Piney Woods, my instructors were predominantly white. They were doctors and professional people with Master’s degrees, and they came down to volunteer their time and teach us at this unique institution. So, I had a mixed environment.
“You see race really has no value. It will keep you angry and won’t allow you to focus on your target. Now, if you’re in politics, you may want to do race, because it can get you elected. But business people must be allowed to work across racial barriers and seek opportunities wherever you find them even if it takes you to Iraq.”
His comment about seeking opportunities wherever one finds them were in line with the conference theme, “Access to New Opportunities.”
Before becoming a business owner, the business education major – who decided not to teach – worked in the field of business in California and Mississippi, and in the United States Army.
He worked in Mississippi for Xerox Corporation from 1973 to 1980. He was promoted to branch sales manager for Xerox in 1975, where he managed 150 employees in four states and oversaw a $60 million budget. “After I left Xerox in 1980, I learned a valuable lesson. I was the top sales person at Xerox. That’s how I got promoted so fast. So when I left them, I thought it was all about me. When I went into business [for myself], I found out I could not sell anything,” Garrett shared.
“See there is something out here called goodwill, and I realized that I had not created any of it. Nor had I invested in any of it. Consequently, my business failed. I lost everything. I went from a big house in Lakeover to a one-room house on Palmyra Street. Got a divorce, lost the cars and status that I had always enjoyed,” Garrett explained. He said he locked himself in that one room for two weeks in deep thought evaluating himself. He credits his mother with helping him get up and pursue his dreams. She explained to him that he saw things that others did not see.
The small business giant got up and the rest is history. Today, Garrett Enterprises, encompasses much more than a trucking company. It includes a publishing company (The Mississippi Link newspaper), an engineering service, an environmental division, a non-profit organization (New South Development) and other entities. The company has 75 employees and was named the 2009 Business of the Year by the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership.
Garrett is a highly sought after speaker for business conferences, conventions, and other motivational engagements.
Many conferees were inspired by Garrett’s speech. Judy Huell of Truckers Services was among them. “Mr. Garrett gave an outstanding speech. He was very motivational. He has inspired everyone here, because I know he inspired me,” she said.
Huell said she would take some of the things he said and apply them to her business, which is based in Vicksburg, with a branch in St. Louis, Mo. “If we take what he [Garrett] said and do it, we surely will be successful as a small business.”
Earnest L. Cole, CEO of Strategy Management Services, Inc., echoed similar reactions. “I think it was an excellent speech. He’s a very motivating guy – brilliant,” Cole said.
Conference luncheon moderator Dr. Lurlene Irvin, director of Jackson State University Center for Business Development and Economic Research, said she wish they could put Garrett and his pearls of business wisdom on retainer.
“This is the second time he has spoken for our group and he always says yes when we call,” Irvin said.
Irvin and her staff coordinated the conference designed for those interested in starting or expanding a business, as well as those whose businesses are recovering from economic or natural disasters. The workshops were specifically designed for aspiring entrepreneurs, bankers, credit unions and business professionals.
Some of the topics helping attendees access new opportunities included: Marketing 101: Social Media Marketing for Your Small Business, Establishing Business Credit and Improving Your Credit Score, Diversity – Doing Business with the Corporate and Public Sector.
“This is our first conference of this nature, and we plan to have another one next year and beyond,” said Irvin during opening remarks.
Conference sponsors and contributors included the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), BancorpSouth, Trustmark, BankPlus, Jackson State University, Regions Bank, Whitney Bank, Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks U.S. Department of the Treasury, First Commercial Bank, and Mississippi Development Authority.
Conference partnerships included Enterprise Corporation of the Delta and Hope Community Credit Union, MinCap, U.S. Small Business Administration, the City of Jackson, Jackson Business Accelerator, Mississippi e-Center at JSU and Earnestine Bilbrew of MCFAC.
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