From Card Tables to AI - A WMBE's Journey

I'm sitting in my Inman Park home office, reflecting on 26 years in the RPO business and getting really excited about where we're headed next. Grab a coffee - this is gonna be a good one.

The Journey Here

When I started Axis back in '98, a few years out of Georgia State and ready to shake things up, the landscape for minority business owners was real different. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey, back then less than 18% of businesses were minority-owned, and even fewer were in professional services. That number's grown to 21.4% as of 2021, but we're still fighting many of the same battles.

Picture this: me, a single mom with two little girls, working out of my apartment off Peachtree Street, using my personal savings of $12,000 to start this business. My "office" was a card table, my "tech stack" was a refurbished Dell laptop and a Nokia phone. My daughters, Jasmine and Kenya, would help me stuff envelopes for marketing campaigns after they finished their homework. We started with exactly three clients - all small businesses who took a chance on us.

The Real Challenges

Let's talk real numbers and real experiences. According to the 2023 Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, minority-owned businesses are 2.5 times more likely to be rejected for loans than white-owned businesses, even with solid credit scores. In 2019, when we were trying to secure funding for our first major tech upgrade, seven different banks turned us down - despite 20 years of profitable operations.

The National Minority Supplier Development Council reports that while 99% of Fortune 500 companies have supplier diversity programs, only 2.2% of their total spend goes to minority-owned businesses. Let me make that real for you - just last year, we lost out on a major contract despite better performance metrics because we weren't part of the "preferred vendor network" that had been in place for decades.

And then there's what McKinsey calls "perception barriers." Their 2023 "Race in the Workplace" report showed 47% of minority business owners have had their expertise questioned due to their race or gender. Just last month, a potential client straight up asked if we "had the sophistication" to handle their technical roles. This was right after we'd placed 15 senior developers at a major fintech company with a 95% retention rate.

How We've Grown

Despite these challenges, we've built something special through old-fashioned hard work and personal relationships:

• 95% retention rate at 12 months (industry average: 82%)

• 88% hiring manager satisfaction

• Strong relationships with clients across tech, healthcare, and manufacturing

• Growing from 1 to 10 full-time employees

The Next Big Step: AI Revolution

Now, here's what's got me really excited. We're about to make our biggest move yet - implementing cutting-edge AI recruitment technology that's going to change everything for Axis. According to Staffing Industry Analysts' 2024 RPO Technology Benchmark Report, the firms using these new AI tools are seeing incredible improvements in their operations.

Here's what we're planning to roll out in Q1 2025:

Advanced Candidate Screening System

• Natural language processing to analyze resumes and job descriptions

• Behavioral pattern recognition

• Understanding based, not word based, filtering

Market Intelligence Platform

• Real-time salary data tracking

• Emerging skill trend identification

• Competitive hiring pattern analysis

• Talent pool mapping

Why This Matters

Let me tell you why this is such a game-changer for a firm like Axis. According to industry data, traditional screening methods take about 23.5 hours per candidate. These new AI systems can cut that down to just 4.2 hours - that's an 82% improvement! This means we can:

• Screen more candidates thoroughly

• Identify best fits faster

• Reduce costs for our clients

• Compete with bigger firms on speed and quality

The projected improvements we're expecting:

• 42% reduction in screening costs

• 89% accuracy in candidate matching (up from current industry average of 76%)

• 41% faster time-to-fill positions

• 17% improvement in quality of hire scores

But Here's the Real Talk

You know what excites me most about this? It's not just the numbers. For 26 years, we've been fighting an uphill battle, proving ourselves over and over. Now, with this technology, we can show these big firms that a woman and minority-owned RPO from Atlanta can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the industry.

This investment represents the biggest leap we've taken since I moved out of that apartment office. But just like back then, I know in my gut it's the right move at the right time.

What's Next

By this time next year, we're aiming to:

• Handle 85% of initial screenings through AI assistance

• Cut our time-to-fill to under 31 days (current industry average is 47)

• Improve our quality of hire metrics by 15%

• Reduce cost-per-hire by 35%

But don't think for a minute we're losing the personal touch that got us here. If anything, this technology is going to give our recruiters more time to do what they do best - connect with people, understand their dreams, and help make those dreams happen.

The Personal Side

You know, sitting here in my office (yes, we've upgraded from that card table - though Peaches still thinks my desk is her personal kingdom), I can't help but feel proud. Those early days of juggling single motherhood, a startup business, and all the extra barriers that come with being a minority business owner taught me lessons I couldn't have learned any other way.

My daughter Jasmine, who used to help stuff those envelopes? She's our CFO now, helping us plan this tech transformation. Kenya, my youngest? She's running her own tech startup. And our team? We've grown from just me to a family of 10 amazing professionals who share the same vision.

Final Thoughts

The future of RPO isn't about being the biggest - it's about being the smartest. For women and minority-owned firms like Axis, this tech revolution is our opportunity to level the playing field. We might be starting our AI journey a little later than some, but we're about to show everyone that it isn't about when you start - it's about how well you execute.

So to all my fellow women and minority business owners out there - don't let anyone tell you the technology revolution ain't for you. We might not have been first, but we're sure gonna make our mark.

And speaking of marks, Barron's about to leave one on my carpet if I don't take him for his walk soon, and Peaches is giving me that "dinner was due five minutes ago" look!

Keep pushing forward,
Latisha

Latisha Davis is the founder and CEO of Axis Resources, a leading woman and minority-owned RPO based in Atlanta, Georgia. Starting with just $12,000 in 1998, she has grown Axis into a respected firm handling over 280 placements annually. A Georgia State University graduate and single mother of two successful daughters, Latisha has broken barriers in the recruitment industry for over 26 years. When not leading Axis's technological transformation, she can be found with her dog Barron and cat Peaches, or mentoring other minority business owners in the Atlanta area.