Blog #3 - Interview with Modern Times, Inc - Martha Valenzuela
In this Blog episode we interview Martha Valenzuela and discuss working in an online environment, the challenges, and ways to stand out.
Host: Alex Fitchmun
Alex
Thank you for joining us today on G Line 2.0, the podcast for Small and disabled Veteran businesses seeking opportunities on the LA Metro G Line bus rapid transit improvement project. My name is Alex Fitchmun, and I will be your host for today's episode. I, along with many others, are part of a joint venture known as Valley Transit Partners, or VTP for short, which includes Stacy and Witbeck Flatiron West and Model Railway Systems for those who are unfamiliar with the San Fernando Valley, the G Line is an existing bus route with a dedicated corridor. That extends from the North Hollywood B Line to the Chatsworth Station in the northwest of the valley. The G line BRT improvements project will improve the existing bus rapid transit system by reducing travel times and increasing safety. The project is being delivered by a progressive design build and is currently in the first phase, which means that the most significant subcontracting opportunities are still to come. You can visit our website at www.vpjv.com for more information about staying up to date with the LA Metro G Line bus rapid Transit improvement project. Before I welcome our special guest, I would first like to give a brief project update to those subcontractors that are interested in upcoming potential bidding opportunities. We are well on our way to finalizing the 60% design requirements of the project and should be done with the 60% design by January of 2024. Our current anticipated construction start date for the project will be sometime in late 2024. For, most of the subcontractor bidding for this work will occur in early to mid 2024 and there are also early works packages coming out later this year, so please stay tuned for those opportunities.
Alex
So joining us today is Martha Valenzuela, Vice President of strategic relationships at Modern Times Incorporated, one of our SBE/DVBE Partners. We have been working with modern times since the start of the Metro G Line improvement project as our primary SBE/DVBE outreach coordinator for today's podcast Martha and I will be discussing how the SBE/DBE, business community can successfully navigate and work in a virtual world. Martha, you and your team have been an absolute pleasure to work with and I wanted to thank you. For being on our podcast today.
Martha
Absolutely. It's an honor and a pleasure to be here with you today. Thank you so much for inviting us.
Alex
Absolutely. And so to start us off, can you please tell us a little bit about you and your company and how you support the Valley Transit Partners joint venture on the Metro G Line project?
Martha
Yes. So I work for Modern Times Inc, also known as MTI, which is a certified firms program manager for the G Line project. As part of our role, we work to engage the small business community to engage and support them with submitting bids to compete on project opportunities. This is one of the areas that truly helps us ensure that we meet the projects small business enterprise SBE's as well as the disabled veteran business enterprise DVBE goals on the project while also working to strengthen the small business community to become more sustainable. And enabling them to effectively compete for subcontractor opportunities on public works project. MTI supports several metro projects and other infrastructure projects throughout Los Angeles and across the country. We do everything from small business programs to workforce development, jobs, coordination to community outreach, as well as construction relations and some media relations.
Alex
That's really great to hear. And with Modern Times being an SBE themselves, I would imagine that you know exactly what to look for in assisting the small business community.
Martha
Right, exactly. So, we ourselves have been certified since we started back in 2009 with our goal of harnessing the strengths of diversity and technology to help deliver best business results. We definitely understand the benefits of certification and work to help other SBE firms understand how to best tap into those benefits.
Alex
Great. And your team has been very good to work with both on an in person and a virtual capacity. Could you please share with the listeners a little bit about your experience working virtually and the successes and challenges you've seen? How do you navigate this?
Martha
Yes. So our main goal at MTI is centered around developing creative ways to engage local businesses and providing access to learn about project opportunities in the areas where they live and work. In general, we want small businesses to have more access to work opportunities, and we've found that virtual outreach events have been extremely successful. We've seen that in some cases offering virtual meetings and workshops can be easier for small business owners to attend. Of course, there are networking advantages to in person meetings. So we will continue to host those as well. But we do often also provide hybrid options as well to get the best of both worlds, which allows for small businesses to participate based on their availability. For us MTI as a company, we have always been comfortable with working in a hybrid capacity. Some of our team members are located across the country at projects sites. So sometimes they're out at an outreach event or out working in the community. So even before the pandemic, we had systems in place to help us collaborate and communicate effectively with one another, even if we weren't working in person together. The challenge, I think, is finding times when the entire team can come together to make sure we don't lose that sense of community. And I would say the same applies to the small business community meeting and networking in person is invaluable, and building community and business relationships is necessary. And oftentimes that's done in person. However, curating these types of environments for networking and procurement matching in a virtual setting, has been a game changer for small businesses, allowing them to participate in multiple events, oftentimes in the same day.
Alex
Yeah, absolutely. And have you noticed that there are some tasks and jobs that are just done better online or in hybrid environment? And do you have plans to move more to the workforce into the into an online scenario? Do you notice any benefits to doing work online?
Martha
Yes. So because so much of what we do is developing and supporting Community programs we need to oftentimes be out in the Community doing that type of work right? So, opening up the events to online participants or doing virtual one-on-one meetings can help us be more inclusive in our efforts. So, we will always continue to do that, but we don't have any plans as of yet. To move our team into an online only scenario.
Alex
Great. It seems like your team is very flexible and working with the Community, which is a great thing for the busy small business owner. I think that the pandemics really forced us to change and get more comfortable with operating aligned. Do you have any best practices that you and your team utilize for attending meetings virtually? Are there any steps or checklists that you follow?
Martha
Absolutely. To start, I would definitely say like any meeting, I think the key is to come prepared. That means having the technology ready, downloading any of the platform apps that you're using, having the program installed, having your computer and camera in a good spot, your headphones out and charged, proper lighting, all of those standard things, right, oftentimes to your point, you will see checklists that help you remember these types of things? We definitely have them internally at MTI. We also use a platform by the name of murals as a way to engage with our team in real time during our meetings. We oftentimes ask ice breaker questions going into our meetings to create conversation amongst the team. Our leadership also meets in advance to develop meeting agendas to ensure that we're driving success during our meetings to keep everyone on the team engaged. We also have virtual backgrounds that we've designed for our team, specifically team members that are working on different projects throughout the country, so the background will be reflective of those projects that they're on. Again, in a way to engage the audience and as always, be respectful, right? It's easy to get distracted. So, staying focused is of most importance and on these virtual meetings, I know that it's easier said then done of course, but I think I would end it with that piece, is doing your best to remain focused and not get distracted.
Alex
Yeah, that's really good information and probably very relatable for most of us attending virtual meetings. Among other scopes your team specializes in SBE and DBE outreach. Do you have any recommendations that you could provide to our listeners for getting exposure to obtain contracts in the online and hybrid environment?
Martha
Absolutely. First and foremost I would suggest coming prepared, doing some homework to understand who your audience will be prior to attending the meeting is the most sure way to ensure that you will have a successful outcome coming out of that meeting. For example, during a virtual pre proposal meeting, typically prime contractors attend those meetings and it's a perfect opportunity to connect with those attendees. So I would suggest having your most updated capability statement ready with your contact information and send a message to some of the primes that you recognize on the call, introduce your company and the services you offer that can support them in the project that they seem interested in pursuing. Also include maybe a nice no ask for a follow up opportunity to discuss the opportunities further with them and their team. The other thing you can do to gain exposure is request a list of the attendees coming out of that preproposal conference to identify the primes that align with the services that you offer. You can then also follow up by sending them an e-mail introducing your company and your interest in contract opportunities while also attaching your capability statement and requesting a follow up meeting. Lastly with the power of technology and through these virtual meetings you can send a message to all attendees. Introducing yourself, providing your name, your company information, contact information as well as any collateral material that you might have. So, most of these virtual platforms allow you to attach information as well, so you can attach any collateral material. And the great thing about that is that now means that the event organizers have your message and your collateral information that they can share as well on your behalf.
Alex
These are all great recommendations, Martha. Thank you. I think to add to that, making a good first impression goes a long way in helping to secure future work. I think reaching out to potential contractors can be very intimidating, but the only way we grow is to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Martha
Yes, I would absolutely agree. And of course it is extremely important to get familiar with interacting with potential contractors, even if it means doing something that you're not totally familiar with or comfortable with, one of the things I would suggest is to your point, getting comfortable with the uncomfortable while stepping out-of-the-box a little. This is definitely something that these contractors are used to receiving inquiries from the small business and trust me, they want to hear from you. They want to know about your company, and they want to see how they could potentially gain credit for working with your firm, so it's to your best interest to ensure that your sharing that your company even exists and the scopes of services that you offer are available to their team. So definitely, please don't shy away from the unknown, even though it's out of your comfort zone.
Alex
I couldn't agree more. I know that in the past you've held workshop meetings for the SBE/DBE businesses that help support them in this ever changing environment. Do you plan on hosting any workshops in the future that our listeners would be able to attend?
Martha
Yes, absolutely. So we are working on identifying dates closer to when the procurement is expected to ramp up on the project. We'll be sure to notify firms when these outreach dates have been solidified and locked in. So please keep an eye out for our newsletters and future e-mail blasts that we'll share more information about contracting opportunities with the VTP team.
Alex
I'm sure that many of our listeners can benefit greatly from those workshop meetings. How can they sign up for those newsletters to get notified?
Martha
Yes, that's a great question for those interested in project opportunities, please visit the VTP project website at www.valleytransitpartners.com. And then on the top right of the screen, you're gonna see a “Contact Us” link. Click on that and fill out your information to be included in future E blast. Also, if you're interested in keeping up with modern times incorporated and what we're doing across the country, please feel free to visit our website at www.moderntimesinc.com/newsletter.
Alex
Great. Well, that concludes the interview for today and we look forward to hearing from modern times about both future workshop opportunities and community outreach for the SBE/DVBE business community. Martha, you've been a wonderful guest to have here on the podcast and thank you so much for taking the time out of your day for being here.
Martha
Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me today and we look forward to continuing our work with the VTP JV team and supporting the small business and veteran owned community. Thank you so much.
Alex
Yeah, great. We can't wait to see what the future holds.
Alex
Thank you so much for joining us on G Line 2.0, the podcast for smaller disabled veteran businesses wanting to stay in the know about the opportunities happening on the LA Metro G Line bus rapid transit improvement project. It was great to hear from Martha about how to work effectively in an online environment by hearing how her and her team utilize different tools to make working online a success. If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe to stay up to date with project updates and interviews with guests on the Valley Transit Partners team.