Inclusivity succeeds when founders are held accountable, says winner of Chamber’s equity award
June 18, 2022 | Channa Steinmetz
Fahteema Parrish doesn’t mind putting forward extra work to make sure her employees feel included, she shared, embracing an environment that supports individuals of all backgrounds.
“Parrish & Sons Construction is an example of what intentional execution of equitable work within an organization actually looks like. Equality and inclusivity are key focal points as my team consists of individuals who know what it feels like to continually be left out or not feel welcome when entering an organization or industry,” said Parrish, the owner and president of Parrish & Sons Construction.
Founded in 2015, Parrish & Sons Construction is a general contractor that specializes in excavation, grading, underground water and storm utilities, hauling and aggregate crushing and recycling.
Click here to learn more about Parrish & Sons Construction.
Parrish & Sons was honored with the Business Equity Award during the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s June 15 Small Business Celebration Awards Luncheon. The award comes alongside Parrish & Sons’ second consecutive year as a finalist for Small Business of the Year.
“The [Business Equity] award was an exciting surprise,” Parrish said. “Team Parrish & Sons Construction was glad to take home a win! And being honored as a Top 10 Small Business two years in a row is encouraging — as despite each day’s obstacles — it reassures me that I am leading my organization in the right direction.”
Click here to read more about the winner of the 2022 Small Business of the Year award.
Parrish & Sons Construction team, winners of the Business Equity Award at the 2022 KC Chamber Small Business Celebration; photos by Channa Steinmetz/Startland News
Parrish’s secret to creating an equitable and inclusive business: think S.M.A.R.T.
“Create a specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely [S.M.A.R.T.] plan and be accountable to the actions required to make it all happen,” Parrish said. “It must be collectively throughout the organization — starting from the top down.”
Responsible leadership has always been an important part of Parrish’s life, she shared, recalling growing up and watching her mother and father own and operate their own business. Parrish later gained several other mentors throughout her educational journey to determine a career path, she said.
In an effort to pass along the mentorship she once received, Parrish started an internship program for the next generation, she continued.
Parrish & Sons has a busy year ahead of them, Parrish teased. The expansion of the Kansas City Streetcar, Project Velvet (also known as the Golden Plains Technology Park that will be the site for Meta’s upcoming data center), and the KC Water Department’s Smart Sewer program are a handful of the projects that the Parrish & Sons team will be tackling in 2022.
Click here to read more about Meta’s plans to bring its massive data center to Kansas City.
With these major projects on the horizon, Parrish is not going to do it alone, she said. Prioritizing her team and building a community is what will ultimately lead them to success, she continued.
“We strive each day to ensure that all are welcome with each encounter as we will continue to carry the torch onward and upward — as the time is now to do the right thing,” Parrish shared.
Click here to check out the other nine companies named the Top 10 Small Businesses of 2022.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Video: Healthy workplace culture begins with intention, communication
Editor’s note: This content was sponsored by Mid-Continent Public Library but independently produced by Startland News. Creating a healthy workplace culture must be done early and with intention, said Adrienne Haynes and Dwayne Lewis. To help startups develop a strategic human resource plan, Haynes, managing partner of SEED Law, and Dwayne Lewis, president of Lewis…
From Google to KC, Beth Ellyn McClendon’s advice to startups: Test everything
Don’t fall in love with an idea, Beth Ellyn McClendon said. “Test everything, especially your assumptions, and allow yourself to be persuaded by data,” said McClendon, a seed investor who formerly worked with Google, Android, YouTube, Cisco and Netscape. “Try to remember — tattoo it on your eyelids if you have to – anecdotes are not…
Bodyrite duo cooks meal prep into personal training concept
Don’t just go with the flow at a traditional gym, Jamil Nelson said. Go with Flo. “Treadmills and ellipticals are pretty archaic to us,” said Nelson — or “Mr. Bodyrite” to his wife, Florese. “A jump rope is way better because it’s going to blow up your heart rate.” Modern workouts are all about functional,…
Tech tracks workplace bias: It exists ‘whether you want to face it or not’
During a summer internship with a large Kansas City corporation, college student Louis Byrd was unexpectedly called into the HR office. Although the incident was about 10 years ago today, it has not yet left his mind, Byrd said. “I’ll never forget this,” he said. “HR told me that the people on my team had…