In the 13 years since Greg Modica founded Government Supply Services, the business has expanded beyond its "supply" and "services" components.
Modica, a disabled U.S. Army veteran, launched GSS from his home in 2009 while serving as the primary caregiver for his mother, who was a cancer patient at the time.
Out of those trying times emerged the concept for GSS, an online facilities' supply vendor that serves state, federal and private clients nationwide.
GSS offers more than one million products in categories that include industrial-grade maintenance, repair and operating supplies (MRO), safety products, janitorial & sanitation supplies, breakroom supplies, technology supplies, office supplies, first aid & health supplies and more.
"I noticed there were no opportunities for people with disabilities and people in situations like mine, taking care of sick relatives, to work from home," Gregory explained.
Having navigated the rigors of starting, growing and maintaining a successful commercial business, Modica wants to take lessons he has learned to help others in similar circumstances do the same.
He has incorporated mentorship into his business practices, making it a priority to share information, tools and resources with other startups, particularly those that are owned by women, minorities and military veterans.
For his efforts, Modica has received statewide recognition as the winner of the 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The award will be presented during the third annual Black Founders Business Summit, which will be held Thursday at the Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock.
Modica said he was notified about the honor Sept. 14, noting that the news was unexpected.
Unexpected maybe, but not surprising.
After all, Benito Lubazibwa, founder and chief executive officer of ReMix Ideas and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship, Inc., is a direct beneficiary of Modica's efforts to assist entrepreneurs.
ReMix and ABEI are both Little Rock-based initiatives that are committed to "building a supportive ecosystem for black-owned businesses."
The pair of organizations gave birth to the Black Founders Business Summit, who is issuing the Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Modica said he met Lubazibwa in Modica's role as a board member of FORGE, a community loan fund that assists small businesses.
"We're there to help small businesses and underserved communities that have problems with getting access to capital. Basically, they don't meet the criteria that banks have to get a loan," Modica explained.
"From that, we were able to support Benito with ReMix a few years ago when he was getting it started and when he got that initial funding," he continued.
The two businessmen have "forged" a cooperative business network in which they team up to help each other and other entrepreneurs around the state.
"It's a transactional relationship and a business relationship. Everything went so well, he became a resources partner for FORGE," said Modica. "What Benito was able to bring with ReMix was more of those pieces of business development. It's a business incubator."
The Black Ownership Movement is a new branch on the ReMix and ABEI tree.
The goal of the BOM is to disrupt "cycles of intergenerational poverty and creating pathways for economic mobility through business ownership."
El Dorado is the first stop on a three-city BOM tour that begins at noon today at the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce.
The group will also visit Pine Bluff and Helena-West Helena this week before rounding back to Little Rock in time for the Black Founders Business Summit on Thursday.
During the BOM bus tour, ReMix and its partners will engage, exchange ideas and build relationships with local entrepreneurs and offer a $5,000 business grant to the winner of a pitch competition in each city.
The group will also shop at minority-owned businesses during their stops.
"What Benito is doing with this summit is working with organizations that have true diversity, not just in name, but also in practicality," said Modica, who serves on the chamber's board of directors and is past president of the board.
"Leveraging Procurement for Economic Equity" is the focus of the 2022 Black Founders Business Summit -- a topic in which Modica, a graduate of the Veteran Institute of Procurement and other such programs, is well-versed.
"Leveraging procurement opportunities by increasing the share of dollars going to (black-owned businesses) could be one of the most powerful tools for improving racial equity in Arkansas," Lubazibwa said.
Working with Lubazibwa has helped direct business development resources, education and programs, particularly for underserved communities, to South Arkansas, said Modica.
"The chamber has dedicated themselves to focus on the underserved, underrepresented minority community," he said. "A lot of times, those programs are doing great in Little Rock and Central Arkansas and you've got a lot of things going in Northwest Arkansas but no one is focusing on South Arkansas," Modica continued.
He said SouthArk has also bought into the concept and is offering resources to promote diversity and help grow minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses in El Dorado, Union County and South Arkansas.
For more information, visit www.governmentsupplyservices.com or stop by the local GSS office at 315 E. Oak, Ste. 202. Also, go to www.blackfounderssummit.com or remixideas.com.