By Steve Rochun
Before a need can be met, the need must first be understood. A chance meeting at a workshop introduced Reggi Sturns-Kemp, Patience Rose and Collette Portis, each of whom had individually questioned their need to attend a workshop about the dark web, a part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines. Once there, introductions and conversation helped them realize it had less to do with the workshop and more to do with meeting each other. Several months later, Rose would set up a meeting between the three of them to discuss a new collaboration. RED Development Group was formed. RED is the acronym for Research – Education – Development. The intent of the group is to navigate businesses from their current status to stability, profitability, sustainability and expansion. “We don’t drive the ship; we are here to help guide or direct the ship to the owners desired destination,” said Rose. The three principals have strong business and community service backgrounds and plan to leverage this knowledge to help others in the business community.
Reginalea Sturns-Kemp, the chief executive officer, has 14 years of CEO experience and understands the importance of making critical investments in technology, implementing innovative processes and making sure companies have standardized procedures. A graduate of Clark Atlanta University, College of Business and The University of Oklahoma, College of Architecture, Sturns-Kemp is a staunch community advocate and philanthropist who has served or is currently involved with: Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business [10ksb], The Women’s Center of Tarrant County Board of Directors, RED Worldwide Advisory Board Member, Women Steering Business Board of Leadership Fort Worth, American Society of Interior Designers, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce and many other organizations.
Collette Portis, the managing partner and chief financial officer, started her first business at age 14. She is the founder and visionary of Collette Portis & Co. and Destined Designs. Portis is a business coach and strategist with more than 20 years of experience in a range of fields and is a certified SCORE mentor. Originally SCORE was an acronym for the “Service Corps of Retired Executives.” Founded in 1964, SCORE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free and confidential business mentoring services to prospective and established small business owners in the United States. Portis is an alum of Leadership Grand Rapids and has several masters degrees and currently working to complete her doctorate in transformational leadership.
Rounding out the team is Patience Rose who serves as the chief operating officer. She is a Value Builder-Certified Business Advisor and certified business coach. A dynamic strategist, Rose has worked with high potential executives and entrepreneurs and has navigated more than 500 clients to phenomenal top and bottom line growth in myriad industries over the past 20 years. Rose has been recognized by the National Association of University women, Who’s Who among Black Executives, Daughters of American Revolution and named by her clients as a “Business Wunderkind.”
These women have seen a need in the business community to utilize their tools, education and know-how. Portis says, “There is a large amount of business owners who either don’t know or understand the value of their business. This is where we come in. One of our business components (models) is that we help owners establish the value of their business for short- or long-term purposes.” Their aim is to leverage the strength of the owner, employees and the core company products to assist in building the value. “Whether it is to assist in obtaining funding or preparing to sell a business, we offer proven, perfected processes to navigate business owners and entrepreneurs through the eight drivers that affect the value of their business. This then leads the owner to understand and map out a strategic business plan for recurring revenue, innovations for developing growth, generational wealth and making informed decisions for exit strategies, if they so choose,” says Sturns-Kemp.
As a management team, the principals believe it is important that everyone be heard for the success of their company. They make it a practice in their meetings to never interrupt when another is speaking. Every voice is important and respecting value is the basis of RED Development Group. These three driven and passionate women coming together and meshing their knowledge, previous successes and skill sets to form a company is amazing in itself. They are positive, convinced and certain. Each has a strong personality and understands how to maintain balance and rely on the strengths of their partners. They embrace their similarities and differences to create a stronger bond for their business. At the end of the day, they want the same thing for their clients and for themselves, — success and happiness.
On the morning of the workshop they had attended, they met in the parking lot. Portis said, “We knew immediately we would do something to change the world.” All three are confident that through RED Development Group, they are on their way. Sturns-Kemp, Rose and Portis are three of a kind, yet have distinct differences. Like three aces in a poker game, they are confident that working together is a winning hand: the diamond, the club and the heart. Happenchance? They don’t think so. They agree that their coming together was meant to be.
