The skanner., March 06, 2013, Page 9, Image 9

Finance
Business
continued from page 1
tractor’s license. He was just 22 years old
when he launched his construction compa-
ny. Today, he can smile when he remem-
bers how he financed his business – but he
wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
“Everything was on a credit card,” he
says. “At age 21-22 you don’t know up
from down. But I just stuck with it and just
figured: if I can stick with it, I can do it.”
Looking out for jobs that included heavy
equipment excavating, Martin gained
experience and built his company’s portfo-
lio. Contractors have to pay out a lot of
money on equipment, materials and wages,
before and during jobs. And they often
have to wait for their money.
He had to learn to walk the difficult line
of construction financing. Bid too much –
a danger for small companies that can’t
buy their materials at deep discounts – and
you lose the job. Bid too little and you’re
soon out of business with a ruined reputa-
Northwest Infrastructure
tion.
So, after each job, Martin would pay off
the credit cards, take a chunk of his profit and use it to buy trucks and
heavy equipment.
“It’s up and down,” he says. “It’s the same cycle over and over and
over again. For years it was like that.”
But Martin stuck with it. Today, 20 years later, he runs a successful
construction company doing something close to $7 million a year in
contracts. He owns 13 trucks, several pieces of heavy equipment, and
employs 20 people, based at Northwest Infrastructure’s 8,400 square
foot shop in Sellwood.
This year his company is moving 250,000 yards of dirt to make way
for a new reservoir at Kelly Butte. The firm is also working on Portland
Community College’s Rock Creek expansion project, as well as a host
of small projects.
Martin has also found a better way to finance his business. For the last
couple of years, he’s been working with Albina Opportunities Corp., a
business loan nonprofit, that works with established minority and
women-owned businesses to help them grow.
Albina Opportunities Corp. isn’t for start-ups. It’s for businesses with
a track record of success that need help to move to the next level. It spe-
cializes in loans and technical assistance for businesses owned by
women, minorities, immigrants or operating in low- and moderate –
income areas. Northwest Infrastructure qualified.
“We went to Albina Opportunities Corporation to grow,” Martin says.
“We needed to take that last step. And you need a bank to back you.
They gave me a credit line and increased the credit line as we got busier.
“Once they find out what your need is, they not only provide you with
the tools to be successful, but they provide you with teaching on an
abundance of business topics.”
Business advisors also help entrepreneurs like Martin step back and
look at the big picture so they can make smart expansion plans.
“The advisors can help you analyze your business and show you
what’s going to help you grow: you identify the next stages and the pro-
gressions that need to be made to be able to move to the next level.”
People of color have faced steep barriers in the construction industry.
Martin is a member of the National Association of Minority Contractors
which has worked for decades to expose fake statistics, dirty tricks and
the failure of government agencies to include minorities in contracting
and employment opportunities. Thankfully things are changing in Ore-
gon, he says.
Hard goals are what make the (prime) contractors work with minority
contractors,” he says. “If that minimum percent requirement wasn’t
there, they wouldn’t reach out to small and minority contractors.”
Albina Opportunities Corp. helped Martin to bid for larger contracts
by backing his company with a guaranteed credit line.
“They’ve played a major role,” he says. “As we continue to get big-
ger jobs I plan to increase our credit line with them. My intent is to con-
tinue to grow and use Albina Opportunities Corp. as much as possible.”
Terry Brandt, founder and executive director of the nonprofit, says
the nonprofit hopes to nurture more African American entrepreneurs so
they can become successful on the same scale as Martin.
“That’s what we are here to do,” he says.
A father of seven children aged from 7 to 18, Martin says he hopes to
be able to pass down the business to his family. His eldest son, gradu-
ating this year from Heritage High School, will start out as a pipe layer,
he says. His eldest daughter, a sophomore, works in the office over the
summer.
“They love the business,” he says.
But Martin is also committed to giving inner –city youth opportuni-
ties to learn construction trades at Northwest Infrastructure.
“They need an opportunity and you can make a good living in this
business,” he says. “I know how important it is that someone will give
them a chance to learn a trade, where they will be treated fairly, not just
there to meet a quota. They need someone who will believe in them, so
they will believe in themselves.
“But it’s no cakewalk. You need to show up on time. You need to
dress right. You need to be respectful. Or you can lose your job, because
that’s life. You have to teach them the way it really is.”
32nd Annual
St. Patrick’s Day
Breakfast
Saturday March 16, 2013
9am – Noon
Donation Adults $7.00 Children under 12: $3.50
St Luke memorial community COGIC
2700 NE Sumner
Portland, OR
For more information Call (503) 249-3908
or (503) 284-0710
Pastor Leanell Adams * First Lady: Pinkie Adams
March 6, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 9