Carlton Smith?s office is on the edge of downtown Jacksonville, under the shadow of the Matthews Bridge, adjacent to Gator Bowl Boulevard.
No, the former St. Augustine quarterback does not work at EverBank Field. But watching as his father?s firm provided landscaping for the home of the Jaguars, and elsewhere, was an inspiration for him to enter into the business world.
These days Smith is the vice president of Heavy Equipment Resources of Florida, a firm that exports machinery and other materials to mining industry in Africa.
His success in that field led to the company receiving the President?s ?E? Award in mid-May from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
For 52 years the award has recognized people and businesses that have contributed to increasing American exports. Heavy Equipment Resources of Florida (HERO) was one of 37 companies in the country to win a 2013 ?E? Award for Exports ? and just one of two based in Florida.
On May 20, HERO received a letter from Gov. Rick Scott congratulating the company for its professional excellence by winning the President?s ?E? Award.
?For us, the President?s ?E? Award for Exports, that?s the biggest honor that you can get for an export company,? Smith said. ?With a three-person show like we have here, that started in 2008, it?s huge for us. Then to get the recognition from the governor, it gives us a lot of pride. Dealing with the customers that we deal with, we?re able to show them the recognition that we got not only from our country and our state; it really gives us leverage when doing business with those guys. It shows we have the utmost professionalism.?
Even when Smith was the signal caller for coach Joey Wiles and helping the Yellow Jackets to an 11-1 season and a trip to the 2004 state semifinals he always wanted to get into business. To him, football was fun, but a means to an end.
The only starting quarterback who has ever beaten Tim Tebow three times does not bring a so-called football mentality to his current leadership role; however, the lessons he learned as the Yellow Jackets quarterback for two seasons are applicable.
?It?s hard work, it?s persistence, it?s being able to see, and act out, on a vision that a lot of people cannot necessarily see,? Smith said. ?It?s dealing with adversity. There are a lot of life lessons with football, and especially from coach Wiles.?
Smith said Wiles is one of the three most influential men in his life. He said Wiles? lessons were things ?you can?t put a finger on unless you are there and you have a record button.?
Another mentor is his father, Leslie, who was with him in Washington earlier in May to receive the award from Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank and Acting Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade at the?U.S. Department?of?Commerce Kenneth Hyatt.
It was a conversation with dad that led to HERO?s founding in 2008.
The family was brainstorming and the elder Smith said ?Let?s see if we need to do something different? Carlton recalls.
?We were reading in one of the local papers there was an Export 101 class. It was something interesting. They put together (officials) from Enterprise Florida, the Chamber of Commerce and JAXPORT to put on this event. It was a six-week course and we got involved in it.?
At the time, the Smiths had no clue what they would export. Eventually, it came to them. They would export heavy equipment.
Through networking, working with the Jacksonville office of the U.S. Commercial Service, and pounding the pavement, HERO steadily grew over the years. Their primary consumers are in Africa for a few reasons: many of the countries they export to have English as an official language, there is less competition from European interests and the continent, in many ways, is an untapped market.
Smith?s love for travel and people skills may be the perfect combination for an exporter.
?He believed that he could do this,? said Jorge Arce, Director of the Jacksonville office of the U.S. Commercial Service, who worked with the Smiths back in 2008.
?I mentioned to him the biggest difficulty with most Americans was understanding another country?s ways of doing business. ... The biggest issue, and he understood this clearly, was developing relationships. People are not going to trust you with a dollar if you come from another country, let alone another continent.?
Arce added companies that are exporting to countries, and regions that are not economically tied to the U.S. are doing well.
He specifically cited Latin America, Africa, India and Southeast Asia as areas where exporters have been successful because those lands were not as impacted by the Great Recession that ravaged American and European markets.
In the coming years HERO may delve into the South American market ? as well as housing their products in an onsite warehouse and expanding its employee pool ? but that is well off on the horizon.
For now, it?s all about the incremental growth that has been a staple of this five-year-old company.
?I knew that it could happen, but it took a long time to get the right customers,? Smith said. ?There was a lot of beating down doors, getting lucky and figuring out where we needed to be in the market. ?Once we got into the market, then we were able to get steady business. It wasn?t like that the first few years.?
In some ways, being an exporter is akin to being quarterback because others must be able to trust you and there is sweat equity involved in developing those relationships.
?These companies truly represent the spirit of American business and entrepreneurship ? bringing some of the best and most innovative products and services to the global marketplace with the sought after ?Made in the USA? label,? said Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank in a press release. ?Furthermore, the success of these exporters reflects historic progress in U.S. export growth. In 2012, U.S. exports hit an all-time high of $2.2 trillion, with record levels of sales to more than 70 trading partners, including major emerging markets and 11 free trade agreement (FTA) partners.??
The relationships Smith has fostered are apparent when one steps into his office on Duval Street. There is a large map of the world behind his desk. Pictures from his business travels line one wall, and there is a cricket bat as well as other memorabilia from South Africa.
?They don?t trust HERO,? Arce said. ?They trust Carlton. It?s very personal.?
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