 How was that period of time when you were working, having your consultant COVID? Because a lot of people ask me, my audience from YouTube about working as consultants in industry, can people make money as consultants in this industry? You have to be very smart about it and you really have to be able to deliver something that people need, right? So any entrepreneur, you got to make sure that you have a, there is a market at the fine market for what it is that you're trying to do. You have to make sure that that marketplace understands what you're offering and they can recognize it as something that they need. And then you have to be able to deliver on that need. And I think that what happens is many people, they'll either leave the government and the first thing they do is, well, I was doing, kind of doing this with the government, but they were supported, they had the money, they had other resource support. And so, but now you have to go out and convince people that you can help them do something. You have to ask yourself first, can I really help them or am I really just saying all these things are available through the government? And as a consultant, this is Beverly speaking because I was, I was a consultant for, uh, Trimco as well. You had, and I take very great pride in being able to deliver something of value. And that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and tell you how to do it. What I, what FCCI did, we would walk with you hand in hand and we would go with you on the sales calls that we would set up for you. We would have conversations with you and with the agency over either face to face or over the telephone. We would have those conversations and allow the small business to hear and understand what we were saying so they could learn, they could grow, and now they can start doing it between and among themselves. It's not about just sharing contacts. It's really about the granularity of demonstrating to somebody how it can be done. And I believe that many consultants, particularly if you're in the small business arena, they miss that connection and that opportunity to fill that gap because they say, okay, here's what you do. Okay. Now go out and do it. And that's great if that's what people need, what people agree that they need. But I felt, and we were very successful at it, that they really needed me, which is also the downside of it because you either have to train other people to do what I did, or you have to have them provide a resource to you that they invest in that is sitting side-by-side with you. So we did a FCC, I did a lot of really critical important work where our constituents or our customers would really see value. And then I decided, Eric, small businesses don't really have the money or the resources. And that's another thing, another mistake that consultants make, particularly those that come out of the federal government. I'm going to work with small businesses. They have no money. They're trying to figure it out. But you can find a way where a large company understanding that they really want that piece of the market, they really want to get involved in the small business marketplace as a partner. And either they want to do it by subcontracting, or they want to do it by doing venturing or other form of teaming, they really understand that value. They will pay you to help them build a program. And that's what Trimco and a number of other companies did with FCCI. But you have to be able to sell them on the idea. That's, wow. You know, I never, and we had this discussion briefly from, you know, because I tell people all the time, it's small businesses, they don't have the resources, even if they're doing two, three million dollars a year after their expenses and costs. I mean, there's enough money to go around. Correct. And I'll tell you something else too. So people will say, well, large companies can afford a supply diversity person. And not the same thing. Very, very different. There are, and I appreciate that field of experts. But from my perspective, if those companies can't really help you understand, and I have a couple of examples that recently have come up, those companies, if those supply diversity professionals don't really understand how their company works, and if they don't really have a place at the table, and they're just trying to shove you in and they don't really believe in you. So they're kind of feeling a little insecure about, well, I'm a supply diversity, and they start having conversations with you like, well, you know, these small companies and those small companies. And I, if you have contempt for your constituency, you can't really provide any value. You can't serve them. You can't serve them. So you really have to have, it takes a very special kind of person to be a supply diversity specialist or professional who can truly move the needle, both for their large company who is paying them and also for the small business. Otherwise, what happens is they collect companies, right? They may have a roster of, you know, 50 or 60 or 80 or 1,000 small companies that they're working with. How many are actually getting contracts? And if they say, well, then they want to start doing training. And I think there's a place for that training. I think that procurement technical assistance centers help. I think SBA helps. I think the small business development centers help. They, I think minority business development agency helps. They all help. So I don't think that the training that can be offered by supply diversity specialists, it has some value if they're really teaching you how to do business with their large company. So there's some gaps there that I think need to be filled. And I'm not saying that to offend anybody, but if we're still in the same place where we were 10 years ago, and if there's still all these small businesses and minority owned companies that are trying to do businesses with the large, why aren't we moving the needle? There's a gap somewhere. And I think that there needs to be an honest conversation about that. And the result of that conversation can be, well, the small businesses aren't ready. There are small businesses. They've been saying that since I got involved. Exactly. AMD is a small business. We're ready. We've been ready. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been awarded a $1.3 billion contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs. We wouldn't have a $400 million contract with DOD. We're ready, but when you have that conversation on the commercial side, no matter what you say, no matter what you show them, they still view you through the lens of whatever their preconceived notion is about a small business. So it's difficult to get real good buy-in and traction. Speaking of those contracts, has that changed their perception of you in America? It has not. When you say they're small, but no. And let me tell you about, I don't think it has. And I will tell you that when you talk to them, and again, you can't paint everyone with the same brush. So it's not all of them. From their perspective, it is so hard, Eric, for them to look at me or for them to look at the owners of the company and see anything but a small business that needs resources. It's a very difficult thing to the point that we, I encourage, we hire a lot of people that we hire a diverse slate of representatives for our company so that they can walk through doors that we may not necessarily be able to walk through. Even though I will go and I will do the talking, having someone there that looks different than me seems to move the needle. And the other point I'd like to make is that small businesses are all going, not all, minority companies are going through the supply diversity door. I sometimes, we don't go through that door because it is just too much of a barrier to go through. I walk through the same door as a Cardinal or Owens and Miner or any of the large companies. And I don't, it's not as difficult as going through the supply diversity door. So what happens is the supply diversity person, once I'm in, they'll say, well, you know, you didn't call us. Well, I did. Maybe I didn't get a call back. Maybe it's, I don't know what that is. I can't put my finger on it, but it's a very, it's something that I would love to see discussed and resolved without this answer of, well, small businesses aren't ready. Okay. The interesting fact is I have a friend of my personal friend. I went to college with and he was a supplier diversity rep for several large, like, you know, General Electric. And then he went on to work at SpaceX and now he's at Amazon. But he said that, and again, from his lens, right, he's never been on our side of the fence. He said, well, Eric, there's not a lot of small businesses out there that can do this type of work. Yeah, they buy into it. And I was in the case of a SpaceX, they're surrounded in El Segundo by so many small business manufacturers. There are hundreds of Oh, I mean, I've had to show I've had two awards winners on this show. Yes, absolutely. Like I said, they're the 2017 NASA work winner prime of the I mean, you can't tell me they're small and they can't satisfy portion of work that you have available. Right. And the issue truly is once they get to that level, the companies that you're describing, the small businesses, they don't want to be insulted. I talked to and I won't say what the company is, but I talked to a diversity person recently. And they lectured me and talked down to me. And it was just amazing. Of course, I was gracious and professional. And I'm thinking they don't not already look that person up. I've been linked and I want to know who they were. I knew who their company was. I knew what they were looking for everything. But the small diversity person did not take the time to do that with us. And it was so insulting that I would not take the president of my company to a meeting because I didn't want him to be insulted. I mean, the person literally sat there basically and point at their finger and said, well, you you need to do this and you need to do this and it's it's it's amazing. Just the basic respect would be wonderful. Wow. Wow. Well, let's talk about your present company, American Medical Depot. How did you go from, like I said, getting into the program in the 93 to now, you know, having the 1.2 billion dollar war, because it seems like I did my homework. You're all over the press and everywhere discussing that latest award. You're an ONIX magazine, National Association of Women Business Owners, Women Construction Owners and Executives. It seems like you're all over the place now having conversations with people. How did that come about the award? You know, I know that you start the company only a few years back. How did you take them to that place? And I would I would defer and say, I don't know if I took them because Akhil Agrawal and Sukrit Agrawal deserve all the credit and the accolades. You know, that hard work that entrepreneurs do and the entrepreneurial spirit and they had the vision of what they wanted to become. And they're both Asian Indian. And I always say that diversity is so important because as we talk to each other and the barriers come down for what you might see in front of your face and you just get to know people, it opens up a tremendous treasure trove of opportunity because now you're getting down to what people can offer one another. And so for AMD was a client of mine. First we were friends. When I talked about in 92 and 93, that's when I met them. When the public law was being put in place, Akhil Agrawal and I started an organization along with others called the National Minority Medical Supplies Association, because we needed an organization that would go to Capitol Hill and talk about the public law and what was happening and what the possibilities that exist for small companies in the federal arena. And at that time, small companies and small disadvantaged businesses. So I met Akhil many, many years ago. And then he became a client. When my husband and I had the distribution company, my husband encouraged me to do what I was doing because I loved it so much. I love federal contracting so much. I would read the federal acquisition regulation and I would look between the lines and I would look at the possibilities and I would build programs and I would build and go after procurement methodologies so the government could easily buy from smaller minority companies. And that's got transitioned over to large companies. American Medical Depot was an integral part of that. They became a client. So FCCI had an agreement, had an agreement, a contract with American Medical Depot and I represented them to the federal government as well. But the difference between American Medical Depot and my other clients is that they knew me well and they understood how to get what they needed from me. Right? So they understood, we want you to get us in front of these people. We want you to help us create a procurement vehicle. And so all of that, finally they came to me and said, you know, we love the work you're doing with us and we know you're doing that work with many others. We would like for you to just do that work for us. And I said, no, I love what I'm doing. By the way, you were in California still at the time. I was in California at the time. Just for the audience so everyone understand. Yes, thank you. I was in California at the time and please slow me down and redirect me whenever you need to because I can. And at the time, Achille Heger Wall, the president of this company, many, again, 20, 20, some odd years ago will call me every day, even before he was a client and we would just talk about the government arena. And when you talk to people and you're talking about your ideas and you and you're both on the same page. That's interesting that you mentioned that because a lot of people seem to, you know, say that they can't get supplier credit from their vendors. You have to be able to deliver something to them that they can't get without you. Okay. So in all of this, you're hearing me talk about a certain certification or a certain position or an understanding of the market, even without the A&A. AMD is no longer an A&A company. We're out there competing. But I believe that the tools that we bring to the table are unique. And we still, we have become over that period of time such experts in the federal arena that we offer something that our partners could not otherwise get. And sometimes they think they can. If they can, that's great. But AMD has four different divisions now. We have a government team made up of reps that just call on VA, DOD facilities. We have feet on the street. We have an alternate site team that calls on clinics and physician offices, alternate site. We have an inside sales team. And we, that calls on all the different facilities. We now also have a med surge prime vendor team that's that consists of 30 reps that are in the field. And about 15, those are called on site representatives. And we have about 15 field sales representatives in that arena. And we also have a project sales group team. So now we've developed different divisions within AMD to go after different parts of the market. And that's what that's how we have reinvested in our company. And in all those arenas, we're able to offer our government partners. And when I say that, I don't mean the customers, I mean the manufacturers offer something unique that they could not otherwise get on their own. Otherwise, why would they even work with you? Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Now that's it. You know, obviously, people are listening to this is going to say, wow, this, you know, this is a major organization. I'm this, you know, one or two man business just getting started. Maybe I'm a five person or 10 person business with a day just getting started. How does this relate or connect to me? I think the connection is still the things that I talked about in Broward, right, that you have to be able to, no matter who you are and what you are, you have to be able to deliver three key things to your marketplace. So one is that you have to be able to demonstrate to them, what is the return on their investment by working with you? What are they getting that they couldn't get otherwise if they invest because to bring on a new company or to hire a consultant, it takes resources because somebody needs to talk with that consultant and work with them on a consistent basis. Maybe you assign one person to them. Somebody needs to action what the what the consultant is doing with you or suggesting that you do. That's an investment. So that means that that customer, if you will, is invested. So they want to make sure they're going to get something for that money. So they invest in you by paying you as a consultant or paying you as a small one or two man company. No matter what you're doing, they want to return on that. The second thing is that you have to be able to show them what you can provide for them or what they can gain from their marketplace by working with you than if they didn't have you. If you're not making a difference. So I call that a strategic market advantage. Some people do want to be a Me Too company, but in order for you to stand out, and I call it being the prettiest girl in the room, in order for you to stand out, you have to be able to offer people something that they couldn't get without you. Otherwise, what's the point and you have to be able, Eric, you must be able to talk about what you can do from that perspective. Right. And the third thing is, so we got the first two, a return on investment, strategic market advantage. The third one is really important, incremental increase in market share. Are you going to allow them to grow their market based on what you're providing to them? If you're able to do those three things and they're not easy, it takes study of your market, take study of your constituency. You've got to be the expert at whatever it is that you're endeavoring to do, whatever it is that you're selling. You have to really understand the mindset of your customer. And I got to tell you, today with all the technology and with Google and with Bing and with all, there is no excuse not to understand because most of the information is available to you at your fingertips. You have to be willing to study it. You can't say I'm going to be an entrepreneur. I'm going to get rich quick. No such thing. Maybe you can, but it takes some blood, sweat and tears in order to do it. Yeah, definitely. At the Broward Conference, you mentioned spending your weeks in Washington that you fly back and forth. Tell me why you think that's important. I think visibility is important and that your company must have a footprint, if you will. For AMD, we're still a small business. I want to make that clear. We're a small business under our NAICS code, our North American Industrial Classification System, 423450. It's a manufacturing NAICS. We have under 500 people. There's a lot of runway there depending on what your NAICS code is because it varies by NAICS code. What AMD does as a small business is we spend time in Washington with our customers. For example, with the VA MedServs Prime Vendor, we are a VA MedServs Prime Vendor for all the VA hospitals along the Eastern Seaboard. It's funny because you started asking me about a PSG requirement, but I'll talk about that as well. Along the Eastern Seaboard, we're a Prime Vendor. We're now providing either just-in-time or conventional distribution services to about 60 hospitals for the VA. It took us a long time to get there. That's a big opportunity because we have an opportunity to serve our nation's veterans, but also we're not leaving anything to chance. You do have the VA committee that represents the VA. You have congressional and senatorial representatives and staff that oversee the VA committee. We want to make sure that we have a connection and that they are hearing from us as a Prime Vendor and as a small business. We make sure we keep those connections open. The VA National Acquisition Center is in Chicago, but the VA Strategic Acquisition Center is in Fredericksburg, Maryland. I fly into DCA and we meet with them. We make sure we have FaceTime and we talk about the status. We give an account review. I spend time, the VA has an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. We're a small business. Ruby Harvey leads that effort for the VA as Executive Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization for the Department of Veterans Affairs. You think I need to know her and let her know who we are? Absolutely. That FaceTime is very important. I want them to know me when they go to a conference. There are things that small companies can do. Maybe they can't be in Washington every week. When I was in California, I was in Washington at least four or five times a month. It's a lot easier now. Now it's a two-hour flight or an hour and a half flight versus a five or six-hour flight from LA. Even then, as a smaller company, as FTCI, it was important for me to have a footprint in Washington. You can't just go and say, oh, hey, how you doing? What's your strategy for the conversation? How do you want to engage with them? How do you want them to see you? How can they help you? You have to be able to answer those questions so that when you're talking to them, their eyes aren't rolling in the back of their head because they're just not another company. How do you make yourself stand and I think by being an expert and investing in your company so you really understand what it is you need from them and you really understand your customers. We know our customers. AMD has a protocol for conferences and how we approach customer meetings. We never go in cold and say, oh, what can you do for us? What do you want? It doesn't work. You have to have show them a little bit and I always tell our folks here and you have to already know the information. You have to know who they are. You have to know exactly how you can meet their needs or at least have a recommendation for them and you also have to be able to be quiet and ask them questions that you may already know the answer to and let them feed you with information and then you use that information to gain a foothold on doing business with them or at least the next meeting. So you think that this is a strategy for small business? Like if you have the ability to go to Washington to, even if let's say you had a small business person in your local region, say for like a Navy or NAFAC, you think we should go to the Washington office? Absolutely. I think first of all, local is very important. Make sure those local people know you. And I would do that first. It's always good to go close to home. You don't want to go too far away. Even AMD talks about that in our own backyard. We have hospitals that we're not doing business with. They're not government hospitals that we're not doing business with. And local is important. You know why? If you're a small company and you can talk, you can talk local, you can talk about having a direct and indirect impact on the local economy. That's what you really want to do. You're going to be able to have to create jobs and you want that local federal agency by awarding you a contract to help you with that because that's also their mission. If they're lending resources to the small business community, you want the small business community to grow and you want them to grow by being able to create jobs. And then you want those people who have those jobs to go to the local grocery store, bank of the local bank, go to the local cleaners, eat at the local restaurants. You want to build out the community. So it's all very important. Local is important. National influence is important as well. And you need to know exactly what you know exactly how. Everybody should know their local congressional representatives and their senatorial representatives. You should see them at home and you should also go on the hill and see them. And if you're working for a particular agency, every agency has a small business liaison office. You need to see them in Washington, see them locally, but you need to see them in Washington, too. Local first stuff. Listen, you're still teaching me stuff. It's important to, well, thank you for that, but it's important to, you know, the space that you occupy isn't just for the space that you occupy, right? You have to grow tentacles throughout. And when I look at the 200 or so families that we have here in AMD, that's very important to me that they have what they need and that we're taking public funds in order to support the federal government. And so we want to be able to hire people and educate people and bring them on board to train them. And they do. They go to local grocery stores, everything. So from a national perspective. And the other thing I say to our local hospitals that are not government hospitals is that we are a local distributor. We're national, but we're right here in your own backyard for our health. We're right here in your own backyard, University of Miami Medical Center. We're right here in your own backyard. And we are hiring from the local area, creating jobs and creating opportunities and making an impact on the local economy.