CEO Roundtable

On this episode of the CEO Roundtable Podcast, we sit down with JuanPablo Prieto, Director of Diversity Programs for the Chicago Transit Authority.

The foundation of what JuanPablo and his team do is helping small businesses in Chicago with contracting opportunities with the CTA. “We're very committed to making sure our contractors and the workforce also on our projects reflect the community that we serve.”

While the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (DBE) has been around for a long time, it’s only been in the last decade that they have really developed the small business aspect of it. 

“The small business community is made up of powerful people like U.S born first-generation. They have decided to take their lives into their own hands and bet on themselves. And that's one of the best investments you can make is on yourself. But we have had to do some education around things like you don't always have to be a subcontractor. We need to go a step further and help prepare the businesses to do business with CTA.” 

One of the things JuanPablo and his team try to put out there as much as possible is that there are so many other opportunities working with CTA outside of construction. They contract for professional services, engineering, law staffing companies, cleaning companies, PR/media production companies, the list goes on. 

“What my personal goal has been ever since I took over the department at CTA is I want to create more prime and build wealth in our communities. In the Latino community, in the black community, the Asian community, Native American. Whoever qualifies. The DBE women-owned businesses, I want to create more wealth and we can't create wealth if we don't expand, we don't grow right to become prime contractors.”

How they do that is by really understanding things like where is this small business at currently? Where do they want to go? From there, they are making the tools accessible to help those businesses get there such as leveraging existing capital, getting new capital, figuring out how to build interest rates into overhead and profits, etc. JuanPablo and his team may not be small business owners or work for the government, but they are constantly keeping their ears to the ground listening to the community and trying to develop from there. 

Whether you’re a small business owner or are curious about the various opportunities the CTA has to offer, JuanPablo shares a wealth of insights, information, and advice on this episode of the CEO Roundtable Podcast: https://www.tfocb.com/ceo/podcast/juanpablo-prieto

On this episode of the CEO Roundtable Podcast we’re joined by Paul Hammond, CEO of Free Range Studios. 

Free Range is a full service studio that provides branding, web development, creative and storytelling services. With everything they do, they have a great focus in the social impact space.

“We work with a lot of nonprofits. We also work with for-profits. We work in the education space. We work with NGOs and government organizations who are really looking to branch out and do good in the community. It's a lot of fun. Everyone's got their own mission and we really help them tell their stories.”

Paul talks about how these days, regardless of the industry you’re in or if you’re a brick and mortar business, everyone needs to have a digital presence and understand how to make themselves known online. 

“It's so important to have a human voice as a brand and to be able to connect with people as a human people, want to connect with people and people connect to stories. It's so important that your brand has a tone, a personality that connects with, with those people in a way that they want to continue to engage with you.”

Free Range Studios was founded in 1999 by Jonah Sachs and Louis Fox. They built up the creative storytelling side and carved their niche out in the nonprofit storytelling space. Paul started off as an employee and recognized some issues from mismanagement to culture over the years. After receiving his MBA from Babson with a focus on Entrepreneurship, Paul and a few partners were presented with the opportunity to take over Free Range as owners. 

“Being able to really align our culture at Free Range with the goals of the nonprofits and the social organizations we work with is something that's so important. We basically saw an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, we've got these great relationships. We've got these great clients. We love the work that we're doing. Let's get Free Range back in a position where it starts to get the attention it deserves.”

A now thriving company, they’re building some incredible products such as an online calculator that can calculate your ecological footprint. Working for the greater good of the world and tackling some of the biggest issues that the world is facing today alongside the companies they’re helping is the main priority for Paul and Free Range. 

Tune into this episode of the CEO Roundtable to hear more about the global impact Free Range is helping companies move the needle on, more about Paul’s own journey from employee to owner, and what it takes to reestablish a brand and culture. 

Manny Flores, CEO of SomerCor, joins this episode of the CEO Roundtable Podcast.  

Since 1990, SomerCor has been a non-for-profit small business lending company. Its mission is about providing access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs or as Manny calls them, “the dream builders and dream makers.”  SomerCor helps them access a SBA 504 loan. The low cost financing helps entrepreneurs buy their own facility, hire more people and invest in local communities.

While there are plenty of for-profit companies like credit unions and banks that offer these services, the primary difference is the mission. As a mission-based organization their number one objective is what is truly in the best interest of the business, what is truly in the best interest of the community. Private companies may have similar goals but with shareholders and private owners, a lot of emphasis is put on profitability and what they can make for their investors.  

As Manny explains, they can’t do it all themselves. 

“We have a lot of different partners. We work with different economic development organizations. For instance, we're a partner, the city of Chicago. We're a partner of Cook County. We've worked with the department of commerce and economic opportunity. 

One of the reasons why I think we're successful is that while we have a very dynamic and talented team we believe in collaboration. We believe in working with other organizations. We're not going to be able to do it by ourselves.”

Today SomerCor markets themselves mostly through word of mouth, through the Small Business Administration, and an overall grassroots advertising campaign. 

“In my humble opinion and through my experiences it is really making sure that you are incorporating members of these communities as part of the initiatives and enterprises that are bringing about this reinvestment in our neighborhoods.“

Listen to this episode of the CEO Roundtable Podcast to learn more about SomerCor, how they’re helping small businesses of Illinois and about Manny himself.

On this inaugural episode of the CEO Roundtable Podcast, we’re chatting with Daniel G Abrego, CEO of ACSI Tech. Dan has been in the telecommunications business nearly 20 years, 10 of those years as CEO.

As a company, ASCI provides telecommunications services to some of the biggest names in internet service. As an influential organization, it’s changing the way companies should think about their employees. 

For Dan, that thought originated out of compassion for the struggles that those in his industry are accustomed to. “Unfortunately they live check to check and if their car breaks down or something, you know, we deal with some contractors, we have our own in-house employees and I find myself offering some loans or whatnot.

We decided to implement ACSI dream foundation and part of the goal is to teach everything about telecom from modern day technology from cryptocurrency and NFTs; for everyone of all ages.

The key component, is that unlike traditional higher education organizations, Dan hopes to be able to offer employment upon completion of their programs. And as that thought progressed, on how he could help his employees, another idea came to Dan which prompted another company to be born: Buschman Entertainment. A nickname from his drinking days, when a six pack of Busch Beer would cost only three bucks, he went with it and hasn’t looked back since. 

“If we hire you, we allow you five hours to yourself to do what you want to do and help you and spearhead that initiative, whether it be in music or other creative initiatives. So, we built a little studio in our warehouse, and my son who more recently got his degree in audio engineering will  help produce some of their music. Then, being honest with them, if we feel like they're good we'll continue that initiative. If they're the only ones that feel that they're good, then we'll say ‘Maybe you should consider something else.’”

Another component of how Dan looks out for his employees is their health and wellness. While still providing the traditional medical benefits one would come to expect, he also offers his employees something less traditional, too. 

“If you don't, you don't prioritize the wellness of your employees. They're just not going to perform physically or mentally. What I did was offer non-traditional Eastern medicine. You can get acupuncture, massage, you want to take your kids or yourself to karate martial arts, you can do that. We bought the program and the employee is only required to pay 50%.”

Tune in to hear more on this unique approach to creating a culture that promotes creativity and wellness as a priority for its employees.