Color Magazine Online

Beth Williams became a CEO by default, taking over the company her father founded, Roxbury Technology Corp. (RTC), a distributor and manufacturer of recycled toner cartridges, when Archie Williams died unexpectedly in 2002. She had to learn the business, grieve, and take care of her young son, all at the same time. In 2005, she suffered another blow when she briefly lost her sight due to medical problems. But showing amazing personal strength and a savvy business acumen, Williams has never lost the vision her father instilled in her: to see opportunities in places and items that others overlook. The company is celebrating its 15th year in business; the manufacturing division, which Beth Williams launched in 2004, will mark its fifth year in August. The plant in Jamaica Plain is being fitted with a new manufacturing layout that will let it directly produce more of the recycled toner cartridges it sells. When the expansion is complete, Williams believes RTC will be able to bring more jobs to the local community.

CM: Roxbury Technology is doing something a lot of companies won't do - run a business in the inner city.

BW: My father always believed that business was important to the social development of a community. People needed jobs and the opportunity to learn a skill, but there were no jobs in the city. His solution was to create them through establishing businesses here and that's the legacy I grew up with. There are a lot of young people here; most of my workforce is under 30, young men of color. Some have mistakes in their past. They say to me ‘Thanks Ms. Williams for giving me this chance.' Sometimes all people need is a chance.

CM: We see so many jobs going overseas. Is manufacturing a sustainable business in the United States?

BW: What we are able to do is focus on an American-made product, providing jobs with benefits and offer a "green" product when a lot of manufacturing is going to China and Viet Nam. It's a real challenge, but we are able to keep a competitive price point and folks are interested in products that are made in America and are environmentally friendly. We pay above minimum wage, have benefits, offer a 401K - when you compare that to China where manufacturers house a lot of people in a dorm, pay them 40 cents an hour, it's tough. But we are still able to create jobs and make a profit. Maybe not at the same level as some of the other companies, but we are making an impact in other ways - creating economic opportunities and helping the environment.

CM: Roxbury Technology has been a family business. Do you hope your 14-year-old son comes on board in the future?

BW: He has been working with me the last couple of weeks since school got out, building toner cartridges. I'm a firm believer in learning all aspects of something from the bottom up. Ideally, it would be nice to be able to build some kind of legacy and have him here in the future as the company diversifies and we look at growing recycling and sustainability initiatives. He would probably run the business better than me. He tells me all the time, 'Mom, you're too nice.'

CM: Is it harder to be a single parent or a CEO? And are there parenting skills you bring to the job or CEO skills you use at home?

BW: Single parent, definitely. Thank goodness I have support. My mom is around and he goes to her after school. If he were waiting around for me, he'd have frozen dinners seven days a week. Well, (laughing) maybe not Saturdays! It's tough. The job is so demanding and there's a lot of travel. When I finish here, I put on my mom hat and we do the homework and take part in extracurricular activities and the sports. I pray about balance. And I'm making a lot of lists. You have to be organized. I still don't feel I have it most of the time, but we'll make it somehow.

CM: Is there a particular lesson you learned from your father that you are trying to pass on to your son?

BW: Be a man of integrity. Being a man of his word and being responsible are very important. My father always used to say ‘all you have is your word.' So I tell (my son) be your own person, but be a man of your word and take the consequences. That's a big thing for me. Everybody makes mistakes. Deal with it.

CM: You mention mistakes, but business-wise, judging from the company's growth and all the accolades both you and the company have received, it doesn't seem like there have been a lot of mistakes.

BW: Oh, we make mistakes (laugh). We've been very fortunate to have good advisers, business partners and key corrective action plans. Recently we were the victim of embezzlement, a mistake that often happens when you put too much trust in a person or a few people ... This really damaged my trust. I'm trying to come through that and luckily we survived. A big lesson I learned and what I tell all entrepreneurs, anyone who is in business, is make sure you're looking at your money too. Don't just rely on your accounting team and accountants. Look at the monthly statements, invoices, PO's (product orders) -- anything that involves some form of significant pay out. Review copies of everything and have bank statements mailed to your home.

CM: What can other businesses learn from Roxbury Technology?

BW: Really, what my father believed in from the beginning: that you can make a difference while making a profit. We are helping the environment, producing and reusing products that would otherwise end up in a landfill. We are making a difference in people's lives by creating economic opportunity, and not just here but also at the little bakery, the bodega. Our people regularly go to many of the businesses in the neighborhood and it creates a ripple effect. I call it the 3 E's - the impact we make is economic, environmental and through employment. We can do that and still make a profit. I think more companies need to look at the social impact they can make. In my opinion, that's what's really missing from the economy. It all became about dollars and cents and not about the people doing the jobs and trying to make a living. And it spiraled out of control into what may be the worst economic times in our history.

Honors include:

2004: Hall of Fame winner for a start-up business by the Boston Women's Business Journal.

2005 - 2008: Named one of the top 20 fastest growing inner city business in America by INC. magazine.

2007: Emerging Small Business of the year award for Black Enterprise magazine

2008: Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) urban business award of excellence by INC., magazine, and an ICIC Top Minority and top woman-owned business

2009 -- The Network Journal 25th annual Influential Black Women in Business