Roxbury Tech: A new vision for the inner-city

Serghino René

What began as a shot in the dark has turned into something phenomenal for one Roxbury woman.
Roxbury Technology Corporation President and CEO Beth Williams celebrated her 12th year of business by inviting Mayor Thomas Menino, Staples CEO Ron Sargent, representatives from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Sovereign Bank to tour the Jamaica Plain facility.

“It’s great to be here in Jamaica Plain to celebrate the successful partnership between Roxbury Technology Corporation and Staples,” said Menino.

Beth Williams never fathomed taking her father’s toner cartridge remanufacturing business to the next level of success.

Noting that inner cities are often associated with gang banging, shootings, drugs and “everything else negative,” Williams said she is proud to maintain her business in the inner city and has taken the initiative to bring hope and stability to an area where it is frequently lacking.

“The majority people who live here are hardworking people trying to better their lives, become employed and make a difference for their families and community,” said Williams. “We here at Roxbury Technology are committed to making the difference and will continue to strive and make a difference not just empty rhetoric.”

For the last two years, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a nonprofit that promotes economic prosperity in America’s inner cities, and INC Magazine have recognized Williams’ company as one the fastest growing inner city businesses in America for 2004 and 2005.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Her father was Archie Williams, a well-known civil rights attorney and local businessman. With 25 years of electronic manufacturing under his belt, he founded Roxbury Technology in 1994 with the vision of creating jobs and opportunities for people often overlooked.

His life was devoted to the economic and social development of Boston’s minority community and he encouraged minorities to develop relationships rather than seek handouts.

“My father had the foresight, dedication and drive to believe that his vision would one day be an economically viable business, creating jobs and opportunities for people within the inner city of Boston,” said Williams.

Her father died Thanksgiving Day in 2002, Williams discovered him lying in bed apparently dying in his sleep.

Scared, frustrated and in grief, Williams, then the director of Business Diversity for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, had to think hard and fast on what could or should be done with her father’s business. What would be her next career move? She had never been an entrepreneur and she questioned her abilities to continue her father’s vision.

“It was hard,” said Williams. “At times I felt it was a little too much.”

It was during a sermon at the Morning Star Baptist Church entitled “Courage When the Call Comes,” that enabled her to take a chance that would ultimately change her life and the future of Roxbury Technology Corp.

“The sermon changed my mind, challenged my will and made me realize that things happen for a purpose,” said Williams.

In January 2003 Williams assumed the role of President and CEO of Roxbury Technology Corporation with the intention of carrying out her father’s vision of reinvigorating and creating jobs for minority communities.

“Working for corporations, I went to this venture having seen who certain things should be done,” said Williams. “It was an advantage for me.”

Success didn’t come without its set of challenges. Williams said some of the major obstacles included securing capital, finding a location and moving the facility from it’s original location in Quincy to Jamaica Plain.

Statistics estimate that minorities own just shy of 15 percent of American businesses, most of them small firms, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Hispanics account for about 12.5 percent of the country’s population and own only 5.8 percent of U.S. companies; African-Americans make up 12.3 percent of the population and own only four percent of all U.S. businesses. According to Business Week, fifty percent of businesses don’t make it past five years.

“We have been in business for twelve years,” said Williams. “It makes me feel good knowing that I am capable of putting money back into the community.”

Fortunately before his death, Archie Williams had secured a business relationship with Staples founder and Chairman Tom Stemberg in 1999 over a game of golf at Franklin Park. When Staples became a Roxbury Technology Co. customer, sales went up 800 percent.

Since then, Staples has remained Roxbury Technology’s premier buyer of recycled cartridges, enabling Roxbury Technology to become nationally visible and increase distribution.

Roxbury Technology opened their manufacturing facility in 2004 with 12 employees and ended the year with $5 million in revenues. The turning point occurred when she met with Ron Sargent, the new CEO and chairman of Staples. The partnership has allowed RTC to grow at a momentous rate.

“Through [Sargent’s] support and reaffirmed commitment, we more than doubled our staff and our revenue in 2005 to over 20 employees and ended the y ear with over $11 million dollars in revenues,” said Williams.

The future looks bright for Roxbury Technology and Williams and plans to increase the company’s revenue by 18 percent this year. Roxbury Technology stands as a local and national model for entrepreneurs and encourages the idea that an inner city has the self-sustaining capacity to influence economic improvement.

Their partnership with Staples has opened the doors with direct business with institutions like Simmons College and Northeastern University. Roxbury Technology has sponsored organizations like Junior Achievement, Morning Star Baptist Church, Project Rise, the Urban League, the Freedom House and the Boys & Girls Club, among others.

“Entrepreneurship is not something our kids are encouraged to get into,” said Williams. “I hope I am able to be a role mode and funnel to others what it takes to make something happen.”