MARKETPLACE Wisconsin attendees learn valuable lessons from a panel of health care experts involved in purchasing and construction.
When it comes to doing business with the health care industry, there is a seismic difference between willing and being ready.
A panel of health care experts involved in purchasing and construction told small business owners at WEDC’s MARKETPLACE Wisconsin conference at Milwaukee’s Baird Center that understanding the needs of health care customers and demonstrating business acumen are essential.
“Readiness looks like you understanding my business, not just what you’re selling,” said Stacy Crouther, business diversity lead at Advocate Health. “You want to provide solutions. Readiness looks like you understand the scope and scale of our operation.”
Crouther said small businesses need to show that their organizations are well run, have their business records in order, have appropriate insurance coverage, and understand terms and conditions.
“You are partnering to give back to the community. You do more than just serve yourself,” she said. “You recognize where our socially or economically hurting areas are and you’re making inroads to making them better. Those are some of the things that readiness looks like, because it mirrors what we are doing.”
Industry and government certifications and membership in professional groups are also evidence of commitment and knowledge, Crouther added. “It shows that you’re really focused on executing what you have to offer,” she said. “It’s important for you to feed into that educational side.”
Eddie Rain, purchasing director at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said small business owners who approach large institutions must be realistic about their own capabilities.
“Understand your capabilities and don’t oversell yourself,” Rain said. “You don’t want to put yourself in a position to fail.”
Rain said that even if a business is not capable of being a primary supplier of goods or services, the collaborative works to connect them with a primary supplier who may need a secondary supplier.
Rodney Moutry, director of the Milwaukee Anchor Collaborative, agreed that those attributes are critical.
The collaborative aims to increase employment and small business success in an eight-ZIP-code area of Milwaukee with the highest level of unemployment and poverty by partnering with seven major health care and higher education institutions, called anchors.
“I understand that everyone may not be ready, but I would say ‘Don’t be fearful,’” Moutry said. “The businesses that are at that point today, they probably weren’t at that point a year or two ago.”
The anchors include Advocate Health, Ascension Wisconsin, Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Health, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Moutry works as a liaison between the institutions and small businesses, identifying potential opportunities. He helps business reach the point of successfully approaching these large institutions with business proposals.
“I might look at them and say, ‘You’re ready, let’s go.’ I may look at them and say, ‘You know what? You’re 50% there, but here are some of the steps we have to take.’” Moutry said. “When you have that opportunity… we really want you to be in a position to give it your best the first time.”
Lashonda Roby, owner of Encore Cleaning Systems, worked with the collaborative and has landed about 40 contracts.
“The Milwaukee Anchor Collaborative has provided a great amount of success for Encore,” she said. “Rodney has been there with me every step, following up with new opportunities. They’re pretty much the foundation of our success. The majority of our business comes from the anchors.”
