Arnold Sowa, Former SVP & CPO, MetLife | Finding Balance in Procurement

Women have been making huge strides and leaving marks in male-dominated industries. They are not just successful in their careers and business but also giving back to the community to uplift others. They are taking the risk to follow their passion and ambitions to break barriers and make a difference through hard work. However, despite their accomplishments, there are still some parts of the world that view them as inferior, and they are still fighting the battle to be respected. From social biases to gender disparity, women have been labeled with labels like “intense” and “hysterical” just because they are women who want to succeed. They deserve a shout for being able to break through the glass ceiling, prove their worth, and help others believe in themselves.

Join the conversation with Necole Parker as she shares her journey and the tools that have enabled her to attain great success in her construction business. Necole is the Principal and  CEO of The ELOCEN Group, a program and project management provider of the built environment with a focus on Construction Management, Design Management, Information Technology, Facilities, and Logistics Integration. Since forming the ELOCEN Group in 2007, Nicole has expertly managed and oversaw project life cycles from start to finish. These projects comprise primarily new reconstruction and renovation projects within government and commercial sectors. This has resulted in her successfully securing numerous notable clients, growing the company in both scale and capacity, and achieving significant revenue goals.

Here’s What You’ll Get In This Episode

[00:30] Introduction to the show

[05:48] Necole’s background and career journey

[08:18] How Nicole’s corporate jobs prepared her to run her construction business 

[08:18] What inspired Necole’s transition from corporate to entrepreneurship 

[12:32] Integrity and how it rewarded Necole in her business

[14:01] Selfcare practices to beat loneliness and show up as your best self

[15:55] Practical tips for navigating a male-dominated industry 

[18:26] The most important thing to focus on during negotiation

[20:55] Necole’s advice on partnership and how to select and walk with a partner

[24:07] Corporations that Necole has worked with and their impact on her transition

[26:28] How to open your network to grow your net worth

Notable Quotes

• Integrity is key to maintaining business relationships
• You can control your response, but you can’t control how people act
• Rome was not built in a day, and it didn’t fall in a day, so take your business one step at a time
• When giving your price or rate, never sell yourself short; give them everything about how you built the rate and what comes with it.
• Quitters never win, and winners never quit.
• Always be willing to learn because there is no one rule book on how to be an entrepreneur or professional.

Connect with Necole Parker

Website: https://elocengroup.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/necoleparker

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ceonecole/?hl=en

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/ceonecole?_rdc=1&_rdr