We have always been fertile ground for original minds. Visionaries whose ideas and passion changed the world.
When Richard Conerly left the military two years ago after more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, he had a nice job waiting in San Antonio and another attractive offer in Washington, D.C. The most intriguing proposal, however, came from his sister. She suggested he move to Mississippi and start a supplier business. She argued that he would be closer to family and she, a construction company owner, would become his most reliable customer.
Conerly, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, moved to the Magnolia state and started HRD Results in 2007. The company, now called HRD Safety, supplies safety gear, such as eye and face protection, ear plugs, protective clothing, gloves and other equipment, to a growing number of companies. Today, while Conerly jokes that his sister has yet to buy from him, the firm’s list of clients is an impressive one. HRD Safety supplies safety equipment to Toyota, L-3 Vertex and Mercedes-Benz, and the company’s sales totaled $900,000 last year.
Conerly noted that one entity he has counted on since coming to the state has been the Mississippi Development Authority’s Minority and Small Business Development Division. He credited division staff with providing valuable assistance and resources that helped him start his own business and helped him achieve success.
In speaking of MDA staff, Conerly remarked, “They do a good job. I am just grateful for folks that do a service to help other folks.” He recalled, for example, that MDA officials once spent four hours searching for a parts number for him. “I didn’t get the contract, but I was just grateful for the service,” he said. “They almost seemed to make it more important to them than it was to me.
MDA staff also helped Conerly certify his business as a minority business enterprise. This certification program identifies capable minority and women-owned businesses participating in the procurement activities of educational institutions, governmental agencies and private entities. A database of minority and women-owned businesses is then created, which serves as a directory of products and services and also identifies prospects for procurement and contracting opportunities.
Since becoming certified as a minority business enterprise, Conerly has taken advantage of numerous other opportunities and resources that the division provides – from contracting opportunities to informational workshops and seminars designed to help individuals improve their businesses. Conerly said one of his keys to success has been ‘running with’ the information he has received from MDA. “I have a good working relationship with them and try to attend all of their events. A lot of business is all about relationships. Once they bring people to the table, it’s our job to make the relationships work,” he said.
That concept is not just rhetoric for Conerly. In fact, he met his current business partner at an MDA event. “We were in a session. I asked a lot of questions. Afterwards, this guy sought me out and said he wanted to see if we could do business together,” Conerly said, in explaining how HRD Results teamed with a non-minority firm to become HRD Safety.
Conerly also appreciates MDA’s willingness to be a constant supplier of information and assistance. “They do a great job in keeping you abreast of upcoming opportunities. They helped me with a contract with a Washington drainage authority. They helped with my relationship with Toyota,” he said, as his telephone started vibrating. “This is them right now. They are going to feed you information for free that others want to charge you for.”
In looking to the future, Conerly has set a goal for HRD Safety to achieve $10 million in sales during the next decade. “Some people may say it’s far-fetched,” he said. “I think it’s very attainable.”
