Small Business Today Magazine SEP 2014 ELP ENTERPRISES | Page 10

business together. The plan was for Martha to go out and get
accounts that were required to buy from minority classified businesses and she would in turn buy the product from the remanufacturing company to sell to her clients.
Martha began working out of her house and started ELP Enterprises, Inc. as a woman owned business. She became certified
with the city of Houston and the state of Texas. When Martha
first started, she sold toner cartridges for copiers, printers, and
faxes. Since then, with the help of Ruth Ann Barron, the company’s primary Corporate Sales Representative, Martha has expanded to include other products including the complete gamut
of office supplies. In addition, Martha has grown the company by
diversifying into other areas that include the oil and gas industry
where she sells chemicals for the uphole drilling process.
Martha is always taking advantage of ways to improve and expand her business. She became certified and affiliated with the
Women Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA) and the Houston
Minority Supplier Development Council (HMSDC). In addition,
she started regularly attending networking events and meeting
people who could give her insight into opening new doors that
would lead to new business. Through these events, Martha acquainted herself with procurement managers from large corporations like Shell and Exxon. She tried selling to these larger
companies for a couple of years but without success. Finally, while
attending a networking event, a procurement manager suggested
that since their companies had existing contracts with vendors
for products that Martha offered, she might consider trying an
entirely different strategy by selling products unrelated to the office supply industry.
So an opportunity presented itself and a door opened for Martha to start selling chemicals. She knew nothing about the oilfield
industry or the drilling process. While previously working at the
oil and gas company, she learned that it was a man’s world in
that industry so she knew there would be challenges in this new
venture. In spite of the obstacles, Martha continued to network
fiercely as she promoted and introduced her new product line
to anyone and everyone she met. Martha developed a business
relationship with a manufacturer and with their support she has
been able to provide a necessary product at a good value. “In
addition, I have the advantage of offering my certifications to help
my customers meet the needs of their set aside goals,” stated
Martha.
Even though Martha is a wor