March 31, 2025 • 28 mins
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Abioduni Martin.
He is the founder and owner of DEW, a company specializing in solar photovoltaic and signage installation. With a strong project management and business development background, he has successfully led DEW in executing projects for clients such as the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed, Porsche Atlanta, and Emory Musculoskeletal Institute.
Under his leadership, DEW has distinguished itself by offering a holistic approach to both signage and solar solutions, covering design, production, installation, and maintenance. The company holds OSHA 10 and 30 certifications and is MBE-certified, further reinforcing its commitment to safety and diversity in the industry.
Beyond business, Abioduni is passionate about workforce development, particularly in training and mentoring youth in solar energy, signage, and construction-related skills. Through a collaboration with Cherry Street Energy, DEW integrates real-world industry insights into its training curriculum while providing trainees employment opportunities.
His dedication to advancing renewable energy and sustainable business practices aligns with the growing need for a clean energy economy, making him a key player in the industry’s future.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald, our host this weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides off for everyone. It's time to start reading other
people's success stories and start living your own. If you
want to be a guest on my show, please visit
our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click the be a
Guest button to submit your information. Now let's get started.
(00:24):
My guest is the founder and owner of DW. We'll
find out in a minute what DW stand for, a
company specializing in promotional signage installation. With a strong background
in project management and business development, he has successfully led
DW and executing projects for clients covering design, production, installation,
(00:45):
and maintenance. Please welcome to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Abaduni Martin.
How you doing, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hey, how you doing? Thank you for welcoming on your show. Great?
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Great, I'm happy to be here. So just want to
you know, or extend my appreciation.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Well, I appreciate you taking the time. I always ask
my guess when they come on the show, what are
you trying to tell my audience? What message are you
trying to deliver? As an entrepreneur? And you in the signage.
I've never had a guess on my show to dealt
with signed installation promotional signage. What are you trying to
accomplish it with this interview today?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Opportunity well, for me is to get across to people
that are in undeserved communities that look like you and I,
that may not know about the industries that I'm currently in.
So I'm in signage and solar installation, so both of
those industries we are marginalized. There's not enough representation. I
(01:48):
consider myself a unicorn in regards to those perspectives. So
my ideals are to you know, get the message across
that hey, you can also become a part of these industries.
I am considered myself a beacon and I train and
(02:10):
certify those individuals that want to come in and learn
these particular industries that I'm in, especially the youth.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, I would do. When I talk about we say
the word solar, you know, my tentacle goals up. You know,
because you you know, everybody's in electrical vehicles and solar
that so been around for a long time, you know,
talk to us about that and why is important that
you as an African American be preaching solar to our community. Well.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
One being green energy is to talk of the town.
That's something that's talked about not just locally here in
the United States, but all globally. This is a global phenomenon.
We're looking for ways to gain energy and what's the
best way get it from the sun is free, free access.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's all day.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
And if you want to uh, conserve your energy, there's
battery that you can implement with your solar so you
can use solar at night as well. Especially for the
African American community. African American community, you know, we don't
know much about these tools and these resources. And for me,
(03:30):
I like to be able to, you know, speak to
those individuals that just hey, I'm maybe looking for solar
on my home. I specialize in the commercial fields, utility
scale on commercial, so that's my specialty. I haven't got
into the residential yet. There's something I've been considering, uh,
(03:50):
but yeah, just getting the messages across. There's so many
different avenues that you can take with this. With this industry,
especially if you look into work and all the business
within these industries, there's there's avenues and it's a hard
it's a hard avenue to get into, but there's opportunities
out there if you know where to look.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Absolutely, talking to Duty Martin, his company is d e W. Now,
how did you come over that name? D e W.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well, d W.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I pride myself on excellence and do everything wonderfully is
what it stands for. And I just didn't want it
to be known as a as an energy company or
a signage company. I wanted to broaden my horizons on
what I'm capable of, and that just seems like a
fitting name and what I do. I pride myself on
(04:41):
doing things in a particular fashion where you know my
work stands the test of time, and anybody that comes
work for me, they know that we focus on doing
things excellently.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Cool. Now we met at the Georgia Minority Supply Development Council, Yes, sir,
and it means that you signified as a minority company.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You hear the incoming administration screaming about d I. How
does that make you feel? Oftentime? I'm so insulted by
it because it feels like that people who are doing
work under DEI format are underqualified or being given something.
(05:25):
And I always tell people you don't understand how this works.
It's so much paperwork you have to fill out that
you have to be qualified to get the opportunity. So
when you hear people talking about DEI and you're part
of an organization called the Judge of Minorities, apply to
development Counsel, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
So I want to.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I don't think I'm qualified to speak on d I.
I don't know much about it and how it benefited
benefits young black men in that regard, to the statistics
on that benefited at all. In that regard, even with
affirmative action, you can go back in time with all
the different name changes. With that, what I can say
(06:10):
is is that if you have the willwithal to go
about what you want to do in any field that
you want to do it in, there's nothing that can
keep you away or keep you out. No DEI, no
affirmative action, none of that. If you know what it
(06:31):
is and you have the direction to go there, the
possibilities are endless. I think on a basis of merit,
on a basis of being able to facilitate and go
after the things that you want, you can get it.
No d or I, de I is going to keep
(06:51):
you away from that. I'm a strong believer in that.
I'm the walking poster boy for it.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I just think you make your own way in this world,
and you you you stick with people who see your
vision in align whatever it is that you choose to do.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
And you understand the power of relationships. Relationships.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
That's that's important.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And I apologize in the way I phrased that question
to you of the duty because of the fact that
I guess I was it should have been like, because
you getting these opportunities, you can be insulted by the
fact that people assume that this has been given to
you because of the color of your skin and not
the work and the relationship you built. Yes, that's the
(07:41):
part that disappoints me. And that's not true. And you
just said, Rashan, I can't speak on this, but I
can speak on me, yes, sir, And this is based
on your work, ethic, quality, relationships I built over the
years and I deliver. Now, that is how that's my DNA.
They may be talking about d let me tell you
(08:02):
about my d N A okay, and we're gonna go
from there. Now, let's talk about you know, d w's
involvement and workforce development and training programs. Let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Man. That's excellent. So my pride and enjoy and it
goes back to me. I was adopted as a youth,
and my way of giving back to the community and
undeserved communities is being able to train individuals who don't
have any experience in the fields that I'm in. So
I take them fresh off the street, no matter what
(08:32):
background you come from, especially the youth. And you know,
I'm working with the INSO program through Cherry Street, who
is my partner, Cherry Street Energy. I work with them
and I hire those individuals to come on board to
work within my organization and get the skills that they
need to move up within industry. That's the that's my
(08:55):
claim to fame.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Let me give you a bigger claim to fame. Let
me listen. Let's let's give you your flowers. Okay, because
this is a national show. You're based in Atlanta, but hey,
in New York. You want to call him, you call him.
He can deliver LA, you can call him Philly, you
can call him. Let's start talking about your top three
clients that you're currently working with or have been working with.
(09:18):
Over the years, let's start with number one.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
So over the years, Cherry Street Energies, my solar partners,
I've worked with Amazon, Sam's Club on the signate side
of things. I have branched out into numerous different services
that I provide on both spectrums of the industry and
currently just expanding more and more as I add more
(09:42):
services and add more skill sets to what we're trying
to do. I kind of liken myself to the Amazon
of the emerging trades.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Right right. And so you say green energy, green energy,
and can you explain to us, you know, here's a deal.
You're in the business of making money. You know, you're
trying to create a legacy for your family, but also
you're a person of color, and somewhere along line, you know,
it's about who you're doing business with. Yes, but you
(10:14):
are mentoring and mentoring is important to you. And why
is that so important? Because you did say, Rashan, Look,
I'm here trying to take the person who may not
think they can be in this field and educate them
and train them to be in this field. So why
is mentorship? You know, you mentioned that you come from
an adopted background. Is that the driving force behind who
you are.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
It's definitely is because I didn't I didn't have that.
I didn't have nobody to put me under their wings
and take me and show me a different direction. I
grew up in the rough neighborhood in the Fellmore district
of San Francisco, and you know that upbringing, you know,
led me to something where you know, it was a
lot of great history there and I was like, hey,
(10:57):
you know, I want to I want to be able
to give back in the way. I didn't know what
I wanted to do when I went off to college.
I went to HBCU. I went to Grammar State University.
I'm a Grammar Knight graduate myself, and that, yes, sir,
I am a Grammar Knight, and you know that that
showed me a different light. It was a culture shock
for me as well, because I grew up in the
(11:18):
melting pot and going to an all black university and
I saw the positivity and seeing people you know coming
up that look like me doing great things. You know,
they all had the same mind state to graduate and
do bigger things within their life. You know a lot
of them first time, you know, family, first time going
to college, and that was that was a big thing
(11:40):
for me, and I was like, hey, this is something
I want to do.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I want to be able to get back start my
own business.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
And when I decided to move to Atlanta, I seen
so many success stories, you know, young black individuals just
doing great things. And I was like, hey man, this
is my motivation, this is the claim to fame, this
is what I want to do, and I'm just giving
my part. I'm just doing my part, you know, to
uplift the communities and and give back.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Master Class, hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Now you have San Francisco Filmore District where you say
you grew up here, sir. Now Grambling University. Now you
got all you got Texas Southern. Then used to Howard,
you got Morgan, Stay, you got fam you you got
but through Cookman you got Clock Atlanta. Just to name
a fe How did you wind up in Grambling? Well,
(12:46):
you're the athlete.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
It's crazy. I was an athlete in the high school.
It's crazy that you say that because my niece, she
went to Grambling. She was there a year before I was.
I knew nothing to black black universities that they don't
most dam the West coast, all right, So yeah, I
knew nothing. I was getting recruited to, you know, different
colleges U C, L, a USC and stuff like that,
(13:10):
and uh, you know, she I didn't care what college
I went to. I just didn't want to go to
a big university where nobody knew my name, where I
you know, the professor newest as a as a number
instead of a name. And she told me to come
out there to Gramblin. I was like, okay, let me
talk about ever since then. It was it was it
was it was golden Man graduated back in five and
(13:32):
uh you know it was story she wrote right there.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
You know, great time.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Now let's let's talk about transitioning because because like I said,
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and I
went to New York and I went to l A.
And you know, it's these relationships, you know, because you
coming in and did you come to Atlanta with this
vision or how was your because you have a company
in a D e W partnership with ship SHARE's treat energy,
(14:01):
how did you get here, what enable what let's let's
let's talk about the building blocks to get to this
moment for this Geman oh Man.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
So, actually, after I graduated from college, I went back
to California. I was living in Berkeley. I was married
at the time, and I was in the real estate
market around that time. And you know, around two thousand
and eight, that's when the bubble burst, I lost a
lot of money.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
It's a lot of money. I was a young cat.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
I was what twenty four twenty five when I graduated,
had my first chat at twenty six, and you know,
I was making good money. And you know, when you
lose that money, you lose the woman too. So yeah,
I had to make the transition and I moved out
here to Atlanta back in twenty ten, and I was
(14:50):
selling cars at the time. When I first moved out
here and decided decided to get into business, I was
at the time selling these devices ca the Strawberry lasers
and medical devices, and I was the number one seller
at that time selling those devices. I brought the state
of Georgia because at that time, you comby states where
(15:13):
you can run and be a distributor within the state.
I did that for some time. Opened up my shop
back in twenty fifteen on the sign of shop where
I was wrapping cars. That's how I started in Douglasville, Georgia,
and just kind of matriculated and expanded.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Did you say you were wrapping cars advanced and things
like that cars?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Yes, yes, that's how it started.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
And then I started just growing bigger and bigger with
different services. People say, hey, can you do signage, can
you do billboards? Can you do your personality?
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yes, I.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Didn't know how to do it, but I figured it
out and they loved it absolutely. You know, I wasn't
turning anything down, and you know, my name just got
you know, expanded, and it grew from there. And now
I started working with corporations and started traveling the world.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Let's let's hold that thought right there, but do the
because I wanted to talk about that's the steps where
people kind of stumbled, you know, you know, because you
know that's when you start to get you know, you
have a great idea and then you have to start
putting principles in place so you can for longevity. And
we're talking about business plan. We talked about budgets. We're
talking a We're gonna talk about funding in a minute,
(16:29):
but let's talk about that part, you know, because that's
when the dowters start creeping in. Oh man, when you
start saying I'm gonna do this, they go, You've never
done that before. Let's talk about those steps before we
go in the further.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, so let's let's go back to how I actually started. So,
I had a business partner. I was working for another
company called it was a wire company out Carton. I
can't think of the name right now. It's not to
tip my tongue, but we're gonna for the sake of
the story. I met this guy who knew everything about
(17:02):
car wrapping. He was just show me these videos on YouTube.
He was just obsessed with showing me these videos of
car wraps and it looks like a paint job, but
it just looks more more shinier for whatever. He said, No,
just a rap, I said a rap. They got on
like a sticker or something, and I was like, hey,
you know, over time, I was like, let's just go
(17:22):
in the business together. I funded, you know, and everything
I said I funded. Let's take a year and we
just do it in my garage at my house at
the time, and we were just practiced. We didn't know
no better was We sucked at it. But it took
a year for us to get it right. And we
finally opened up the shop, and you know, like I said,
we had a rough patch. It wasn't it wasn't easy going.
(17:46):
I told him to focus on the physical part of it.
I focused on the business part, and yeah, things was
going some much good.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
After a year or so, you know, I lost my
business partner. He ended up dropping out and I had
to learn the business. I had to learn the business
and the skill sets it took to actually do the work.
And I was solo, you know for a good three
four five years, just learning everything and doing it.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
And it was hard. Man.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
I went through another divorce, you know, because I put
everything into this business. I was like, hey, I can't
give it up. I put my last set in this thing,
you know, and you know, taking that chance on myself
and going with it and having that faith in the
most high because.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Nothing was telling me to quit.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I have, I have my thoughts one, but it wasn't
nothing that was telling me to give it all up.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
And I kept going.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Man.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And the network I always tell people your network is
your net worth. Your network is your net worth.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
You know my mom put that in me. You know,
people from every walk of life have something to offer.
You know, you just got to introduce yourself. And that
stick with me to this day. God wish your soul.
And I always pride myself on meeting people. You know,
I'm outgoing and I let myself be known that hey,
I'm here and I have something to offer.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Well, you know, having a smile like lou God said, JR.
Don't hurt.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
I don't hurt.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
You know, you use that a lot with the ladies.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
You know what I'm saying, I show these parly wise.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
And that right, bro. Let's talk about some of the
key factors the d double considers with selecting projects or clients.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Yes, sir, so what I consider is, you know, for me,
is can I can I be of service to you?
Speaker 1 (19:42):
What?
Speaker 3 (19:42):
What?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
What? What?
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Things that you aren't able to do that I can
do for you? And that's how I bridge that gap
with any partnerships that I make, any any clients that
I do business with, is how can I help you
do what you do better or take some of the
weight off of you? So you know, when people think,
what are you? Who are your competitors? I do business
(20:04):
with my competitors. I feel like I don't have any
competitors because I figured out what my competitors don't do
well and I offer that service. Okay, so yes, a
collaboration it is. It's a strategic capital collaboration.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
That's interesting because usually people don't want to collaborate with
their competitors. The competitors gonna take their secrets. So how
are you working that out? Now? Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Man?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Say I have a special set of skills, you know,
I have a special set of skills where like I said,
I take the I take the brunt of whatever they
got going on that they want to do. Because sometimes
we would like to believe as owners we can do
it all. Right, we can't do it all. I like
to collaborate. I like to collaborate with my competitors, you know,
(20:45):
because like I said, I can't do it all. I
may have a big project that personally I just can't
do it all. But I've been on this project that's
one hundred or six hundred thousand dollars and hey, I
outsourced this, Hey can you do this?
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Give me a whole sale price?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
That you can do it at and I retell it
to my clients and so on and so forth, and
where we we just work together.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
So it's really interesting you saying that because I've never
you know, in a since. I do collaborate in a
sense because I'm a vendor. People bring me on board
as partners to they can't do like you said, they
can't do graphics. I do graphics. You know, they can
do website. I do websites and so but to say
(21:26):
the word collaboration with competitors, that's even more of a
profound statement to say to you. But also you have
to be very very confident in your brand.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yeah, because I separate myself
from from from everybody else. Like I said my claim
to fame. I'm an installation company, right, so I don't
do what my competitors do, and then I do multiple
services that my competitors don't do. I am a solar
and signage installation company right now, right, That's what I do.
(21:59):
But I focus on emerging trades. My competitors don't do that,
and how I do things, they don't do it the
way I do it.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Yeah, I'll speak with the confidence that you do now
in doing business and organization that collaboration. Again, let's talk
about Street strategic partners and also the possibility of dealing
with upcoming investors because you're about expanding your business because
you started, like you said, Rishon, look, I came out
of my pocket in my garage. I had a vision.
(22:31):
My partner dumped me. Then I had to learn what
he was doing as well as the administrative's side. So
now how do you protect yourself and how do you
move forward with creating strategic partnerships.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Man, that's an excellent question.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
So for me is I'm a great networker and what
I have been able to do is I walk into
companies that I have done business with where they called
me to do signage work for them, and I figure out, Hey,
what do they do that I can do more of
(23:07):
for them? Or you know, figure out how we can
have some type of senergy where we can work together.
That's how I met Cherry Street Cherry Street Energy. I
met the owner. He called me on on a weekend
to do some signage work for him. And the owner
we had a great conversation. His name is Michael Shannon.
(23:27):
We had a great conversation about what he does. I said, okay,
you're going to be like the premier's solar energy company
for Georgia. I was like, how can I be a
part of that? And he was like, well, I'm starting
a program called the shine On program. I say, look,
I want to be a part of that. It took
me about almost a year for him to actually put
(23:48):
me on put me on the shine On program. But
every since it's been a great, great partnership. And you
know I do I'll do extensive amount of work for
him and my crew and we're currently expanding the business
on the solar side of things, and the relationship is great.
Like I said, I'm helping him in the scenario where hey,
(24:11):
the workforce is what isn't demand, you know, where they
can just focus on that administrative of getting the contracts
and you know, all the red tape stuff out the way.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
But let's let's talk about you. Let's give you more flowers.
I've heard mentorship, I've heard giving people opportunities. I've heard
about are you not afraid to collaborate with your competition? Yes,
a lot of people have never heard that. They don't
understand that. And again as understanding the plan, but Also,
(24:43):
there's a certain honesty about you that you go, can
I be a part of it? This is my strength.
See a lot of people don't want to say that
because a lot of people, like you said, want to
be three sixty. Yeah, they want to do it all
instead of going there. You know, hey, bro, I drive
the best jump truck in the city. That's all I do.
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna shit back there and
lay the concrete, but I drive it. And that's basically
(25:06):
what you're saying in the Solar and promotional signage. You
do the development, you installation, and the maintenance. Talk about
the maintenance side there before we wrap up.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Okay, Well, the maintenance on both sides is basically, Hey,
once I do installation and everything, I warrantee everything. So hey,
if there's a scratch or a crack or anything like that,
well then we come in and we basically we fix
the situation for you. You know, there's there's nothing that
you have to do as a client. You don't have
(25:38):
to repurchase anything, you don't have to do anything. We
come in and make sure that you're good.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Let me let me just ask you about solar because
I because the curiosity of solar energy. The Sun is
there endlessly. You know what you know, And I'm not
saying this is a bad thing to know, but I'm
trying to get my fan base. Not so much my
fan base, but my relstnership excited about looking into solar
What are the advantages of solar energy and some of
(26:08):
the things that a person like you can help them
out if they contact you.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Well, the advantages of solar energy if you on the
business side of things, utility scale or just commercial where
I have a great partnership where hey, we come in
if it's a big enough scale of what we do.
You don't pay for the solar panels, you don't pay
for the installation. All we do is try to figure
(26:35):
out ways to save you money on your electric bill.
And when that bill comes out, you pay a portion
of whatever that bill is to the solar company that
install that service for you for free.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So there's no.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Overhead for you other than you paying a monthly bill
like you is to pay PGN or Georgia Power, whatever
the case may be.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Right, Well, my brother, how can they get in judge
with you?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Contact me at seven seven zero seven two six zero
one seven one, or you can go to my website
www dot d W dot com dot co. My email
is info at d W dot com dot co.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
My brother, it was enjoyment. I'm telling you something.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
I interview a lot of people and you're definitely a
personality driven company and you understand that and you value that.
But the one point you value relationships, but but hard
work you're not afraid of. Brother, Listen, listen.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
I tell people you could either be an.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Action hero or action figure, a superhero. I'm to be
an action figure.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Brother.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations. Thank you fantastic.
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
posted by me Rashawn McDonald. Thank you to our guess
on show today and thank you for listening to the
audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
I want to be a guest on the show, visit
Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
(28:14):
your gifts. Keep winning.
Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald, our host this weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides off for everyone. It's time to start reading other
people's success stories and start living your own. If you
want to be a guest on my show, please visit
our website, Moneymakingconversations dot com and click the be a
Guest button to submit your information. Now let's get started.
(00:24):
My guest is the founder and owner of DW. We'll
find out in a minute what DW stand for, a
company specializing in promotional signage installation. With a strong background
in project management and business development, he has successfully led
DW and executing projects for clients covering design, production, installation,
(00:45):
and maintenance. Please welcome to Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Abaduni Martin.
How you doing, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hey, how you doing? Thank you for welcoming on your show. Great?
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Great, I'm happy to be here. So just want to
you know, or extend my appreciation.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Well, I appreciate you taking the time. I always ask
my guess when they come on the show, what are
you trying to tell my audience? What message are you
trying to deliver? As an entrepreneur? And you in the signage.
I've never had a guess on my show to dealt
with signed installation promotional signage. What are you trying to
accomplish it with this interview today?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Opportunity well, for me is to get across to people
that are in undeserved communities that look like you and I,
that may not know about the industries that I'm currently in.
So I'm in signage and solar installation, so both of
those industries we are marginalized. There's not enough representation. I
(01:48):
consider myself a unicorn in regards to those perspectives. So
my ideals are to you know, get the message across
that hey, you can also become a part of these industries.
I am considered myself a beacon and I train and
(02:10):
certify those individuals that want to come in and learn
these particular industries that I'm in, especially the youth.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, I would do. When I talk about we say
the word solar, you know, my tentacle goals up. You know,
because you you know, everybody's in electrical vehicles and solar
that so been around for a long time, you know,
talk to us about that and why is important that
you as an African American be preaching solar to our community. Well.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
One being green energy is to talk of the town.
That's something that's talked about not just locally here in
the United States, but all globally. This is a global phenomenon.
We're looking for ways to gain energy and what's the
best way get it from the sun is free, free access.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's all day.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
And if you want to uh, conserve your energy, there's
battery that you can implement with your solar so you
can use solar at night as well. Especially for the
African American community. African American community, you know, we don't
know much about these tools and these resources. And for me,
(03:30):
I like to be able to, you know, speak to
those individuals that just hey, I'm maybe looking for solar
on my home. I specialize in the commercial fields, utility
scale on commercial, so that's my specialty. I haven't got
into the residential yet. There's something I've been considering, uh,
(03:50):
but yeah, just getting the messages across. There's so many
different avenues that you can take with this. With this industry,
especially if you look into work and all the business
within these industries, there's there's avenues and it's a hard
it's a hard avenue to get into, but there's opportunities
out there if you know where to look.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Absolutely, talking to Duty Martin, his company is d e W. Now,
how did you come over that name? D e W.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well, d W.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
I pride myself on excellence and do everything wonderfully is
what it stands for. And I just didn't want it
to be known as a as an energy company or
a signage company. I wanted to broaden my horizons on
what I'm capable of, and that just seems like a
fitting name and what I do. I pride myself on
(04:41):
doing things in a particular fashion where you know my
work stands the test of time, and anybody that comes
work for me, they know that we focus on doing
things excellently.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Cool. Now we met at the Georgia Minority Supply Development Council, Yes, sir,
and it means that you signified as a minority company.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You hear the incoming administration screaming about d I. How
does that make you feel? Oftentime? I'm so insulted by
it because it feels like that people who are doing
work under DEI format are underqualified or being given something.
(05:25):
And I always tell people you don't understand how this works.
It's so much paperwork you have to fill out that
you have to be qualified to get the opportunity. So
when you hear people talking about DEI and you're part
of an organization called the Judge of Minorities, apply to
development Counsel, what are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
So I want to.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I don't think I'm qualified to speak on d I.
I don't know much about it and how it benefited
benefits young black men in that regard, to the statistics
on that benefited at all. In that regard, even with
affirmative action, you can go back in time with all
the different name changes. With that, what I can say
(06:10):
is is that if you have the willwithal to go
about what you want to do in any field that
you want to do it in, there's nothing that can
keep you away or keep you out. No DEI, no
affirmative action, none of that. If you know what it
(06:31):
is and you have the direction to go there, the
possibilities are endless. I think on a basis of merit,
on a basis of being able to facilitate and go
after the things that you want, you can get it.
No d or I, de I is going to keep
(06:51):
you away from that. I'm a strong believer in that.
I'm the walking poster boy for it.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I just think you make your own way in this world,
and you you you stick with people who see your
vision in align whatever it is that you choose to do.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
And you understand the power of relationships. Relationships.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
That's that's important.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And I apologize in the way I phrased that question
to you of the duty because of the fact that
I guess I was it should have been like, because
you getting these opportunities, you can be insulted by the
fact that people assume that this has been given to
you because of the color of your skin and not
the work and the relationship you built. Yes, that's the
(07:41):
part that disappoints me. And that's not true. And you
just said, Rashan, I can't speak on this, but I
can speak on me, yes, sir, And this is based
on your work, ethic, quality, relationships I built over the
years and I deliver. Now, that is how that's my DNA.
They may be talking about d let me tell you
(08:02):
about my d N A okay, and we're gonna go
from there. Now, let's talk about you know, d w's
involvement and workforce development and training programs. Let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Man. That's excellent. So my pride and enjoy and it
goes back to me. I was adopted as a youth,
and my way of giving back to the community and
undeserved communities is being able to train individuals who don't
have any experience in the fields that I'm in. So
I take them fresh off the street, no matter what
(08:32):
background you come from, especially the youth. And you know,
I'm working with the INSO program through Cherry Street, who
is my partner, Cherry Street Energy. I work with them
and I hire those individuals to come on board to
work within my organization and get the skills that they
need to move up within industry. That's the that's my
(08:55):
claim to fame.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Let me give you a bigger claim to fame. Let
me listen. Let's let's give you your flowers. Okay, because
this is a national show. You're based in Atlanta, but hey,
in New York. You want to call him, you call him.
He can deliver LA, you can call him Philly, you
can call him. Let's start talking about your top three
clients that you're currently working with or have been working with.
(09:18):
Over the years, let's start with number one.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
So over the years, Cherry Street Energies, my solar partners,
I've worked with Amazon, Sam's Club on the signate side
of things. I have branched out into numerous different services
that I provide on both spectrums of the industry and
currently just expanding more and more as I add more
(09:42):
services and add more skill sets to what we're trying
to do. I kind of liken myself to the Amazon
of the emerging trades.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Right right. And so you say green energy, green energy,
and can you explain to us, you know, here's a deal.
You're in the business of making money. You know, you're
trying to create a legacy for your family, but also
you're a person of color, and somewhere along line, you know,
it's about who you're doing business with. Yes, but you
(10:14):
are mentoring and mentoring is important to you. And why
is that so important? Because you did say, Rashan, Look,
I'm here trying to take the person who may not
think they can be in this field and educate them
and train them to be in this field. So why
is mentorship? You know, you mentioned that you come from
an adopted background. Is that the driving force behind who
you are.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
It's definitely is because I didn't I didn't have that.
I didn't have nobody to put me under their wings
and take me and show me a different direction. I
grew up in the rough neighborhood in the Fellmore district
of San Francisco, and you know that upbringing, you know,
led me to something where you know, it was a
lot of great history there and I was like, hey,
(10:57):
you know, I want to I want to be able
to give back in the way. I didn't know what
I wanted to do when I went off to college.
I went to HBCU. I went to Grammar State University.
I'm a Grammar Knight graduate myself, and that, yes, sir,
I am a Grammar Knight, and you know that that
showed me a different light. It was a culture shock
for me as well, because I grew up in the
(11:18):
melting pot and going to an all black university and
I saw the positivity and seeing people you know coming
up that look like me doing great things. You know,
they all had the same mind state to graduate and
do bigger things within their life. You know a lot
of them first time, you know, family, first time going
to college, and that was that was a big thing
(11:40):
for me, and I was like, hey, this is something
I want to do.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I want to be able to get back start my
own business.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
And when I decided to move to Atlanta, I seen
so many success stories, you know, young black individuals just
doing great things. And I was like, hey man, this
is my motivation, this is the claim to fame, this
is what I want to do, and I'm just giving
my part. I'm just doing my part, you know, to
uplift the communities and and give back.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Master Class, hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Now you have San Francisco Filmore District where you say
you grew up here, sir. Now Grambling University. Now you
got all you got Texas Southern. Then used to Howard,
you got Morgan, Stay, you got fam you you got
but through Cookman you got Clock Atlanta. Just to name
a fe How did you wind up in Grambling? Well,
(12:46):
you're the athlete.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
It's crazy. I was an athlete in the high school.
It's crazy that you say that because my niece, she
went to Grambling. She was there a year before I was.
I knew nothing to black black universities that they don't
most dam the West coast, all right, So yeah, I
knew nothing. I was getting recruited to, you know, different
colleges U C, L, a USC and stuff like that,
(13:10):
and uh, you know, she I didn't care what college
I went to. I just didn't want to go to
a big university where nobody knew my name, where I
you know, the professor newest as a as a number
instead of a name. And she told me to come
out there to Gramblin. I was like, okay, let me
talk about ever since then. It was it was it
was it was golden Man graduated back in five and
(13:32):
uh you know it was story she wrote right there.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
You know, great time.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Now let's let's talk about transitioning because because like I said,
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and I
went to New York and I went to l A.
And you know, it's these relationships, you know, because you
coming in and did you come to Atlanta with this
vision or how was your because you have a company
in a D e W partnership with ship SHARE's treat energy,
(14:01):
how did you get here, what enable what let's let's
let's talk about the building blocks to get to this
moment for this Geman oh Man.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
So, actually, after I graduated from college, I went back
to California. I was living in Berkeley. I was married
at the time, and I was in the real estate
market around that time. And you know, around two thousand
and eight, that's when the bubble burst, I lost a
lot of money.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
It's a lot of money. I was a young cat.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
I was what twenty four twenty five when I graduated,
had my first chat at twenty six, and you know,
I was making good money. And you know, when you
lose that money, you lose the woman too. So yeah,
I had to make the transition and I moved out
here to Atlanta back in twenty ten, and I was
(14:50):
selling cars at the time. When I first moved out
here and decided decided to get into business, I was
at the time selling these devices ca the Strawberry lasers
and medical devices, and I was the number one seller
at that time selling those devices. I brought the state
of Georgia because at that time, you comby states where
(15:13):
you can run and be a distributor within the state.
I did that for some time. Opened up my shop
back in twenty fifteen on the sign of shop where
I was wrapping cars. That's how I started in Douglasville, Georgia,
and just kind of matriculated and expanded.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Did you say you were wrapping cars advanced and things
like that cars?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Yes, yes, that's how it started.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
And then I started just growing bigger and bigger with
different services. People say, hey, can you do signage, can
you do billboards? Can you do your personality?
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Yes, I.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Didn't know how to do it, but I figured it
out and they loved it absolutely. You know, I wasn't
turning anything down, and you know, my name just got
you know, expanded, and it grew from there. And now
I started working with corporations and started traveling the world.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Let's let's hold that thought right there, but do the
because I wanted to talk about that's the steps where
people kind of stumbled, you know, you know, because you
know that's when you start to get you know, you
have a great idea and then you have to start
putting principles in place so you can for longevity. And
we're talking about business plan. We talked about budgets. We're
talking a We're gonna talk about funding in a minute,
(16:29):
but let's talk about that part, you know, because that's
when the dowters start creeping in. Oh man, when you
start saying I'm gonna do this, they go, You've never
done that before. Let's talk about those steps before we
go in the further.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, so let's let's go back to how I actually started. So,
I had a business partner. I was working for another
company called it was a wire company out Carton. I
can't think of the name right now. It's not to
tip my tongue, but we're gonna for the sake of
the story. I met this guy who knew everything about
(17:02):
car wrapping. He was just show me these videos on YouTube.
He was just obsessed with showing me these videos of
car wraps and it looks like a paint job, but
it just looks more more shinier for whatever. He said, No,
just a rap, I said a rap. They got on
like a sticker or something, and I was like, hey,
you know, over time, I was like, let's just go
(17:22):
in the business together. I funded, you know, and everything
I said I funded. Let's take a year and we
just do it in my garage at my house at
the time, and we were just practiced. We didn't know
no better was We sucked at it. But it took
a year for us to get it right. And we
finally opened up the shop, and you know, like I said,
we had a rough patch. It wasn't it wasn't easy going.
(17:46):
I told him to focus on the physical part of it.
I focused on the business part, and yeah, things was
going some much good.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
You know.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
After a year or so, you know, I lost my
business partner. He ended up dropping out and I had
to learn the business. I had to learn the business
and the skill sets it took to actually do the work.
And I was solo, you know for a good three
four five years, just learning everything and doing it.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
And it was hard. Man.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
I went through another divorce, you know, because I put
everything into this business. I was like, hey, I can't
give it up. I put my last set in this thing,
you know, and you know, taking that chance on myself
and going with it and having that faith in the
most high because.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Nothing was telling me to quit.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I have, I have my thoughts one, but it wasn't
nothing that was telling me to give it all up.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
And I kept going.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Man.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And the network I always tell people your network is
your net worth. Your network is your net worth.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
You know my mom put that in me. You know,
people from every walk of life have something to offer.
You know, you just got to introduce yourself. And that
stick with me to this day. God wish your soul.
And I always pride myself on meeting people. You know,
I'm outgoing and I let myself be known that hey,
I'm here and I have something to offer.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Well, you know, having a smile like lou God said, JR.
Don't hurt.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
I don't hurt.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
You know, you use that a lot with the ladies.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
You know what I'm saying, I show these parly wise.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
And that right, bro. Let's talk about some of the
key factors the d double considers with selecting projects or clients.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Yes, sir, so what I consider is, you know, for me,
is can I can I be of service to you?
Speaker 1 (19:42):
What?
Speaker 3 (19:42):
What?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
What? What?
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Things that you aren't able to do that I can
do for you? And that's how I bridge that gap
with any partnerships that I make, any any clients that
I do business with, is how can I help you
do what you do better or take some of the
weight off of you? So you know, when people think,
what are you? Who are your competitors? I do business
(20:04):
with my competitors. I feel like I don't have any
competitors because I figured out what my competitors don't do
well and I offer that service. Okay, so yes, a
collaboration it is. It's a strategic capital collaboration.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
That's interesting because usually people don't want to collaborate with
their competitors. The competitors gonna take their secrets. So how
are you working that out? Now? Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Man?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Say I have a special set of skills, you know,
I have a special set of skills where like I said,
I take the I take the brunt of whatever they
got going on that they want to do. Because sometimes
we would like to believe as owners we can do
it all. Right, we can't do it all. I like
to collaborate. I like to collaborate with my competitors, you know,
(20:45):
because like I said, I can't do it all. I
may have a big project that personally I just can't
do it all. But I've been on this project that's
one hundred or six hundred thousand dollars and hey, I
outsourced this, Hey can you do this?
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Give me a whole sale price?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
That you can do it at and I retell it
to my clients and so on and so forth, and
where we we just work together.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
So it's really interesting you saying that because I've never
you know, in a since. I do collaborate in a
sense because I'm a vendor. People bring me on board
as partners to they can't do like you said, they
can't do graphics. I do graphics. You know, they can
do website. I do websites and so but to say
(21:26):
the word collaboration with competitors, that's even more of a
profound statement to say to you. But also you have
to be very very confident in your brand.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yeah, because I separate myself
from from from everybody else. Like I said my claim
to fame. I'm an installation company, right, so I don't
do what my competitors do, and then I do multiple
services that my competitors don't do. I am a solar
and signage installation company right now, right, That's what I do.
(21:59):
But I focus on emerging trades. My competitors don't do that,
and how I do things, they don't do it the
way I do it.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Yeah, I'll speak with the confidence that you do now
in doing business and organization that collaboration. Again, let's talk
about Street strategic partners and also the possibility of dealing
with upcoming investors because you're about expanding your business because
you started, like you said, Rishon, look, I came out
of my pocket in my garage. I had a vision.
(22:31):
My partner dumped me. Then I had to learn what
he was doing as well as the administrative's side. So
now how do you protect yourself and how do you
move forward with creating strategic partnerships.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Man, that's an excellent question.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
So for me is I'm a great networker and what
I have been able to do is I walk into
companies that I have done business with where they called
me to do signage work for them, and I figure out, Hey,
what do they do that I can do more of
(23:07):
for them? Or you know, figure out how we can
have some type of senergy where we can work together.
That's how I met Cherry Street Cherry Street Energy. I
met the owner. He called me on on a weekend
to do some signage work for him. And the owner
we had a great conversation. His name is Michael Shannon.
(23:27):
We had a great conversation about what he does. I said, okay,
you're going to be like the premier's solar energy company
for Georgia. I was like, how can I be a
part of that? And he was like, well, I'm starting
a program called the shine On program. I say, look,
I want to be a part of that. It took
me about almost a year for him to actually put
(23:48):
me on put me on the shine On program. But
every since it's been a great, great partnership. And you
know I do I'll do extensive amount of work for
him and my crew and we're currently expanding the business
on the solar side of things, and the relationship is great.
Like I said, I'm helping him in the scenario where hey,
(24:11):
the workforce is what isn't demand, you know, where they
can just focus on that administrative of getting the contracts
and you know, all the red tape stuff out the way.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
But let's let's talk about you. Let's give you more flowers.
I've heard mentorship, I've heard giving people opportunities. I've heard
about are you not afraid to collaborate with your competition? Yes,
a lot of people have never heard that. They don't
understand that. And again as understanding the plan, but Also,
(24:43):
there's a certain honesty about you that you go, can
I be a part of it? This is my strength.
See a lot of people don't want to say that
because a lot of people, like you said, want to
be three sixty. Yeah, they want to do it all
instead of going there. You know, hey, bro, I drive
the best jump truck in the city. That's all I do.
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna shit back there and
lay the concrete, but I drive it. And that's basically
(25:06):
what you're saying in the Solar and promotional signage. You
do the development, you installation, and the maintenance. Talk about
the maintenance side there before we wrap up.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Okay, Well, the maintenance on both sides is basically, Hey,
once I do installation and everything, I warrantee everything. So hey,
if there's a scratch or a crack or anything like that,
well then we come in and we basically we fix
the situation for you. You know, there's there's nothing that
you have to do as a client. You don't have
(25:38):
to repurchase anything, you don't have to do anything. We
come in and make sure that you're good.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Right.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Let me let me just ask you about solar because
I because the curiosity of solar energy. The Sun is
there endlessly. You know what you know, And I'm not
saying this is a bad thing to know, but I'm
trying to get my fan base. Not so much my
fan base, but my relstnership excited about looking into solar
What are the advantages of solar energy and some of
(26:08):
the things that a person like you can help them
out if they contact you.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Well, the advantages of solar energy if you on the
business side of things, utility scale or just commercial where
I have a great partnership where hey, we come in
if it's a big enough scale of what we do.
You don't pay for the solar panels, you don't pay
for the installation. All we do is try to figure
(26:35):
out ways to save you money on your electric bill.
And when that bill comes out, you pay a portion
of whatever that bill is to the solar company that
install that service for you for free.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
So there's no.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Overhead for you other than you paying a monthly bill
like you is to pay PGN or Georgia Power, whatever
the case may be.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Right, Well, my brother, how can they get in judge
with you?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Contact me at seven seven zero seven two six zero
one seven one, or you can go to my website
www dot d W dot com dot co. My email
is info at d W dot com dot co.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
My brother, it was enjoyment. I'm telling you something.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
I interview a lot of people and you're definitely a
personality driven company and you understand that and you value that.
But the one point you value relationships, but but hard
work you're not afraid of. Brother, Listen, listen.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
I tell people you could either be an.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Action hero or action figure, a superhero. I'm to be
an action figure.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Brother.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations. Thank you fantastic.
I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
posted by me Rashawn McDonald. Thank you to our guess
on show today and thank you for listening to the
audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
I want to be a guest on the show, visit
Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
Join us next week and remember to always leave with
(28:14):
your gifts. Keep winning.
Host
Rushion McDonald
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