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Offering A Better Product
Winning business strictly on having the best product is the ultimate goal.
May 30, 2008
I
t’s ironic – as well as downright inspiring – that Exhibits South Corp., a woman-owned
company, does more than $430,000 worth of business with other woman- and minority-owned businesses.
“I’ve had major corporations and people like Johnnie Booker [of Coca-Cola] stick their necks
out for me,” says Marlene Kelly, president and CEO of Exhibits South. “ And, by networking with the
corporations, we also get to know other female- and minority businesses, and it allows us to help
each other and grow.”
Kelly joined the company in 1992 and bought out the retiring owner (a woman) in 2005. Her
first duties included automating the accounting system; today she’s chiefly involved in sales and
marketing. The company posted revenues of $5.9 million in 2007, up 37 percent from
2006.
As with many small companies, it was doing business with corporations – namely
Georgia-Pacific and The Coca-Cola Co. – that propelled the company forward. She had done small
projects with Georgia-Pacific about 20 years ago and then sought larger
work.
Even before the company was certified, it designed small tabletop displays for
Georgia-Pacific. Now its assignments include two-story exhibits. In 2003, the company scored a big
victory – winning a major project based solely on its design submission. “It was a decision purely
on who offered the better product. We really proved ourselves.” Over the past five years,
Georgia-Pacific has done about $1 million a year with Exhibits South, which serves several
Georgia-Pacific departments. In fact, the two companies were partners in the Governor’s Mentoring
program.
Another key moment for Kelly was attending a diversity meeting and having Coca-Cola’s
Johnnie Booker seeing her standing alone. “Everyone was trying to get Johnnie’s attention, and I
didn’t know anyone,” she recalls. “Johnnie came over and invited me to be with everyone else – sort
of like inviting me to the party – figuratively and literally.”
Exhibits South does projects not only with Coca-Cola, but also with Coca-Cola Enterprises,
Coca-Cola Recycling and The Home Depot.
The process of getting certified was “like going through a maze. It’s a hard process, and
you have to prove you’re a woman-owned corporation,” she says. “I had to prove that I didn’t work
out of the trunk of a car. They wanted to see real employees.”
As her business grows, Kelly is ready for the future. Her two daughters are now involved, as
is her husband.
Plus, she is anxious to give back. “I have always dreamed of owning and managing my own
business,” she says. “Having the opportunity to share my working experience with the young people
in our company and seeing their growth and development in our industry is what it’s all about.”
