Meet Ingrid Watkins of IW Consulting Group in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ingrid Watkins.

Ingrid, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?

I started my career as a news reporter in the late 80s.  As a small child, I dreamt of being on television and telling stories.  I would stand in front of the mirror and practice delivering news stories, using my mother’s hairbrush as a microphone.  I developed good writing and storytelling skills in elementary school, and throughout school, I sought opportunities to write, tell stories and be heard.  I joined the newspaper and yearbook staffs and delivered the morning announcements on the PA system. I think I enjoyed the attention that I received from the teachers and staff, who always complimented me on being well spoken.

It was no surprise to anyone when I majored in Journalism at the University of South Carolina.  College was not an easy endeavor for me. I worked two jobs at times to fund my education. I worked as a radio DJ at night and as a part-time Macy’s associate during the day and attended classes in between the two.  I eventually started freelancing as a newspaper reporter, and when I was a senior about to graduate, I got a job as a part-time tv reporter. Regretfully, the reality of the life of a small town reporter didn’t live up to my imaginings.   It wasn’t glamorous, or exciting and wasn’t much fun either. After only a couple of years of working long hours for low pay with no time for a social life, I moved to Washington, DC. I was inspired by an African-American woman who I had heard speak at a trade conference for Journalists.  She was the host of her own talk show and I thought if she can do it, I can too. The stars did not align for me and my professional broadcasting career stalled, but I continued to be inspired by that eloquent speaker who I later learned was none other than the Oprah Winfrey. I wanted to follow in her footsteps and applied for numerous jobs at Harpo Studios only to receive form letters of rejection.   After exhausting all leads and the majority of my funds, I landed a job in public broadcasting. The transition was difficult at first because I missed the spotlight and the storytelling. I was independent and had bills to pay so I nestled into my program administrator role. I loved living in DC, the city was very different from the small southern town I’d grown up in. I quickly developed a network of like-minded young professional friends and nestled into that culture of working by day and partying by night.  It was exhilarating. It was there I learned about designer labels, and we’d take the train to NYC and walk the streets exploring…street performances, the different cultures of music, food, and shopping.

After vacationing in Atlanta in the early 1990s, I fell in love with the city.  I returned to DC and prepared to make the move to Atlanta. Shortly after the move with my then-new husband, I learned I was expecting twins.  When they were born, I became a stay-at-home-mom. To earn money, I started a small word processing and resume service. I marketed the business to new start-ups and college students and professors.  The income from the business enabled me to stay home until my twins were talking and potty-trained, which were my goals.

I returned to work and held a few uninteresting positions before accepting a temporary position with The Coca-Cola Company during the 1996 Olympics.  I stayed for the next 20 years. For 15 of those years, I held various management roles in Supplier Diversity. I had the privilege of learning from then Director, Ms. Johnnie Booker, who is an award-winning thought leader in supplier diversity.  She is passionate about the work and that passion rubbed off on me. I took my role seriously and worked very hard to develop minority businesses and prepare them for corporate contracts because I understood very well how supplier diversity contributes to the economic development of multicultural communities.  When a minority company receives a corporate contract, they may need to hire new workers, those employed workers become consumers, and the local economies are strengthened. Having spent so much time doing this work, it’s difficult for me to understand why anyone would not want to see people working, spending and being independent?  We all benefit when supplier diversity works the way it should.

In 2016, I left the global brand and took my act on the road and started my consulting firm, IW Consulting Group.  I lead a lean and nimble team of top experts in diversity and inclusion. We provide diversity and inclusive procurement program strategy, program management and training to corporate clients throughout the U.S.  We are headquartered in Atlanta, and have a network of consultants located in NY/NJ, Chicago, and Dallas. We can create a diversity strategic plan and train internal resources to manage it or we can outsource and manage the program for our clients.

Making the transition from corporate manager to small business owner has not been without its challenges.  Sometimes I actually miss only working fifty hours a week and only having one job to do. As an entrepreneur, the hours can be much longer and you can do the job of 5 employees.  You’re business development, human resources, accounts receivable and payable, customer service and marketing manager. It can be quite exhausting at times.

We’ve been in business almost two years and we’re very grateful to those corporate clients that took a chance on a start-up and entrusted their programs to us.  We are now positioning to grow the business by bringing in more consulting partners and expanding our offerings into project management, diversity knowledge and insights through our D&I engagement surveying portal.  Employers can find out what their employees are thinking and feeling by asking the right questions. We are also investing in diversity media platforms as it is our plan to be the one stop shop for all things diversity; news, information, and resources.

I found my way back to my first career love and started freelance writing for Diversity Professional magazine.  The national publication spotlights diversity and small business issues, both are subjects that I happen to be passionate about so it’s been a great reunion.  I am also currently finishing my first book, The Multicultural Trifecta: A Guide to Achieving A Diverse And Inclusive Corporate Culture, to help companies to understand the business case for diversity and how it impacts their bottom line…and how to do it the right way.

I am the mother a two amazing and near perfect young adults, Kirstin and Christian, and the doting auntie to my very beautiful and smart nieces, Aarissa and Ashley.  I enjoy entertaining family and friends in my north Atlanta home and traveling. I just returned from a two-week vacation in Europe. I believe in community service and I am a black t-shirt wearing volunteer for the Westside Community Fund.  My passion is children and I am a former foster parent and child advocate who believes that every child deserves a pain-free, safe and loving home life. My hobby is miniature crafting and Barbie doll collecting, and I author a doll drama on IG.  I am a law of attraction practitioner who doesn’t sweat the small stuff because I trust that the positivity that I put out into the universe will return. So far, everything is falling into place quite well. Proves that you really can reinvent yourself and new self may actually be…better.  I hope that my story inspires others.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Running a business is very time intensive. I work long hours and I’m finding that I have less time for the things I enjoy. Balancing it all can be quite challenging, but I believe it will balance out as we continue to grow and build our team. I have a great network of mentors and supporters who provide me with guidance and sometimes that guidance is to “unplug for the weekend”.

Because I am not a salesperson, I’m not always comfortable with all the follow-up that it takes to close the deal. It can feel like you’re being a pest. I can sometimes engage a potential client five times or more before I even get to the next level, which is a capability meeting. Then even more follow-up before I’m invited to submit a proposal. Fortunately, it eventually works out but this process is new to me.

IW Consulting Group – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
IW Consulting Group offer diversity program solutions. Our targeted clients are those large and mid-sized companies that understand supplier diversity is a competitive advantage, but may not have the internal resources or knowledge base to manage an in-house program. We can create a program and train internal resources to manage it or outsource the management of the program with my team.

I also provide consulting to improve existing programs that may have become lackluster. We help companies to create diverse and inclusive cultures through inclusive procurement strategies, workforce diversity consulting and training.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I believe success is self-defining, it is whatever you envision it to be. It’s setting goals and reaching those goals whether it’s losing ten pounds before the Summer, or writing two articles by the publisher’s deadline or signing contracts with three new clients by the end of third quarter. How we measure success is one of the few things that we can completely own.

Contact Info:

• Address: 400 West Peachtree Street, NW
  Suite 4-1007 Atlanta, GA 30308
• Website: www.iwconsultinggroup.com
• Phone: 6784142007
• Email: ingrid@iwconsultinggroup.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iwcgllc/
• Other: IW Consulting Group

Image Credit:
Prime Phocas Photography

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