Sherrill Lester, president and CEO of QMF Steel, says the growth plan she developed while participating in the 10,000 Small Businesses program will take the company to $25 million in revenue within five years. Lester is one of three recent 10KSB grads who won awards for their business success.
For immediate release — June 19, 2017
(DALLAS) — Sherrill Lester never thought she would go into the metal business.
Lester, president and CEO of QMF Steel and a graduate of the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Dallas, said she was working in 1994 in the print production department at luxury department store Neiman Marcus, “looking at pricey furs, estate jewelry and traveling around the country,” when she and her husband decided to buy a steel and aluminum small business in Campbell, Texas.
Lester said that the acquisition of their company happened almost by accident. Her husband, Steve, was a regional salesperson in metals; he was driving through a heavy storm in East Texas when he took the wrong exit and passed the business they now own. He stopped to greet the previous owner, who offered to sell the company to the Lesters. A short time later, they were the new owners of QMF Steel.
Lester said, “I went from furs to freightliners! I left the business of incredible wealth and riches and everybody wearing couture to the world of: ‘I need to buy a freightliner, and I need it right now!’”
Lester participated in the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in 2015, where she learned how to develop a solid growth plan.
10KSB is a nationwide initiative that teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their businesses. In Dallas, it is offered in partnership with the Dallas County Community College District.
The success of Lester’s business has been phenomenal: QMF Steel went from one employee, one truck and about $1 million per year in revenue in their first year as owners in 1994 to 29 employees, five trucks and $6.5 million in revenues in 2016.
Almost 23 years after buying QMF Steel, Lester won the 2017 “Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year” award in a national competition for her company’s work with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Prison Industries. QMF Steel saved the federal agency time and money by figuring out a more efficient and completely green way to supply the metal products that that department needed.
“It’s an award that shows that small business can be innovative,” Lester said. “We really are the ones who are quick to come up with a better idea.”
Lester said the best part of the
10,000 Small Businesses program was learning how to present a financial picture to a bank in order to obtain loans and expand the business. “If you walk into a bank with your numbers, and you have a plan, that banker wants you and loves you. They want to do business with you. They know you’re a safe bet,” she said.
Lester added that as part of the
10,000 Small Businesses program, she developed a growth plan that will take QMF Steel to $25 million within five years. She said that number is not farfetched at all.
Lester is one of three
10KSB graduates who recently won awards from the SBA in three different categories for their business success.
In regional competitions, Reginalea Kemp, president and CEO of Kemp and Sons, won the “2017 8(a) Graduate of the Year” award; Kemp and Sons is a janitorial services company based in Fort Worth. Royalyn Reid, president and CEO of Dallas-based Consumer and Market Insights, was recognized as the “Woman in Business Champion of the Year.”
A Mature Small Business Grows
Kemp said her father-in-law launched Kemp and Sons in 1972; she and her husband took over the business in 1998. The company, which provides commercial and environmental cleaning, employs 180 people and has operations throughout Texas, plus a satellite location in Alabama. Unlike similar companies, most of the contracts they are awarded run three to five years.
Kemp, who graduated from
10KSB in 2015, said the program helped her understand her financial situation better and also taught her how to continue to grow her company.
“The program helped me identify real growth opportunities and how to diversify and market our company,” Kemp said. “We stopped doing some forms of marketing and prepared to start new ones. And it also helped me to embrace social media and how it can be used to further enhance our business.”
The
SBA’s 8(a) Certification program is a multi-year program that assists disadvantaged small business owners by teaching them how to gain a foothold in government contracting.
“A lot of people get the 8(a) designation, and they think the government is going to be knocking down their doors to do business with them,” Kemp said. “But it’s not a contract. It’s a designation that allows you to bid for contracts. We were able to really work the designation and benefit from it and understand it.”
Multiple Award-Winner
Reid, CEO of CMI, said her award, the “Woman in Business Champion of the Year,” reflects her commitment to the community and to women-run businesses in particular. “My passion and focus, with anything I’m involved in, is giving back as a company and as an individual. My targets are women, minority and small businesses,” said Reid.
She added, “It is truly an honor to receive the award. It is important to me to be excellent in business but also to give back to the community.” Reid has won
multiple awards and credits her team for her success, although her family’s support is important.
“I have a great team that is great at what they do,” Reid said. “But it’s a family affair as well. We’re all involved. It’s not just the team and the workers — my family plays a major role.”
CMI is a consulting company that provides clients with non-traditional marketing strategies. It employs five full-time personnel and up to 20 contractors who contribute to business and community success.
For more information about the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at DCCCD, contact Cristin Thomas, executive director, at
cjthomas@dcccd.edu.
# # #