Mary Parker: Chief Exec of Multimillion-Dollar Firm Talks Candidly at Biz Conference
Mary Parker is a formidable character. Born to a family of sharecroppers in rural Mississippi, her steadfast determination has propelled her to overcome tough life lessons to achieve extraordinary success.
After more than 30 years of navigating male-dominated industries – auto manufacturing and security services – Parker lives by a powerful and effective mantra: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Today, her multi-million dollar global security firm employs a staff of nearly 300 individuals.
“When I was 7-years-old in the fields of Mississippi God gave me a competitive spirit,” says Parker. “Being equal was never an option for me. I had to be better.”
In recent times, the self-made business mogul has become a sought-after public speaker. Last month Parker was one of a handful of select keynote speakers at the fourth annual Small Business Matters Conference in metropolitan Atlanta.
Parker, the president and CEO of ALL(n)1 Security Services, wasn’t shy to share her story – hardships, failures, and victories. “The woman you see now is not the woman I always was but is the woman I always have been,” she told the audience of over 200 elite small business executives who attended to learn, network, and meet like-minded entrepreneurs.
A teenaged mother, a victim of domestic violence, a college dropout, a demoted General Motors employee, and a failed business owner are only a snippet of Parker’s tribulations. Still, her years of struggle have turned into triumphs. Faith, family, courage and perseverance has shaped Parker into who she is today: a trailblazer and in other words, the chick in charge.
Who is a chick in charge? A woman who gets things done no matter the circumstances.
Parker’s recently published ‘tell all’ book chronicles her journey from being a small-town Mississippi girl to an award-winning entrepreneur. Is is a candid story of hardship, poverty, and humble beginnings. “It’s not where you start it’s rather where you are going.”
Parker penned “The Chick In Charge: Life Lessons, Business Principles, & Inspirational Tools for Optimum Success” to act as a winning blueprint for women and small business owners to reach their full potential. With encouragement, inspiration, and transparency Parker believes every reader will be able to take charge in their life.
Aside from Parker’s phenomenal success as a savvy businesswoman and newly published author she is committed to paying-it-forward for aspiring or novice entrepreneurs.
Her entrepreneurial four-module training course, [FACS] Focus, Analyze, Commit, and Strategy teaches entrepreneurs how to become successful and evaluate their businesses. “I want to be able to pass this as my legacy and give back to those aspiring entrepreneurs to be successful earlier because of what I am giving them that I didn’t have when I started.”
Parker has three key tips for any business: Know – What is it that you are planning to do, Strategy – How do you plan on doing it, Understand Capital – Know that the traditional methods of capitalizing and borrowing money are not the same.
“I will probably write four more books, market myself as an international motivational speaker, and I even see myself in television,” Parker said in a sit-down interview with UrbanGeekz. “I am working with some producers and writers now, if they want to tell my story they will.”
“I probably will always be looking at innovation and how to create opportunities for other people when I am long gone,” she added. “The LED lighting phase of my life is now coming to fruition. I have been studying LED lighting and the impact it has on energy, as well as our environment for years now.”
With Parker’s big ambitions, strong perseverance, and unwavering faith, she will continue to accomplish any and everything she sets her mind to.
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