owing to these professorial ambitions,
Berry is also a frequent speaker on topics
ranging from leadership to generational
diversity. “Knowledge is power, and once
you learn it, nobody can ever take it away
from you. I can hear my dad saying it.”
Meditation helps Berry relax, along
with trips with her husband, who works
in retail management, and family vacations. “Whenever school is out, my kids
travel with me as much as possible. We
all travel quite a bit and spend time
together.”
B e r r y ’s f u t u r e
goal for the firm is
international expansion, and she hopes
to partner with an
established international organization
to boost long-term
performance. “The
plan is to continue
to grow steadily,” she
says, and to “look at
the workforce needs
for 2020 and 2025 by
developing products
and providing services for them.”
The use of management consultants
is becoming more
prevalent as the need
for professional and specialist support
grows. One of the few certified womanand minority-owned consulting firms
that analyze strategies through an engineering lens, Berry’s brand identity and
management practices have ensured an
edge in a competitive arena.
The business has been rewarding,
but Berry remains humble and hungry.
“Looking back, I would have taken
more risks,” she says. But her approach
has slowly carved out a niche. “If I had
to offer any other MWBEs advice, I
would say ‘Be patient and walk your
own path.’”
◆
Linda Johnson
that sets us apart from the rest is our
addition to these acknowledgments, her
business model. We have the ability to
page on the business-oriented socialincorporate technology and engineering
networking site, LinkedIn, is rife with
concepts.”
endorsements and glowing reviews
Using her engineering background,
from those whom know her business
Berry can determine the most effecskills best—clients, colleagues, and cotive ways for an organization to use its
workers. She is preparing for the release
resources—people, machines, materiof her new book 101 Power Tips for the
als, and energy. “Industrial engineering
Workplace: Creative Ways to Manage and
is my background,” she says, “and my
Engage Yourself and Others at Work.
favorite project is when I can go in and
She has also co-authored the books
help an organization establish a human
Becoming the Professional Woman, Cusresources presence in their
organization—help them
build an HR strategy around
their organization.”
A shrewd entrepreneur,
Berry survived the economic
downturn easily; with rising
unemployment, she had
more people who needed job placement services.
“What really helped us survive through the downturn
was the fact that we didn’t
have a lot of overhead,” she
says. “We didn’t have offices
everywhere—physical locations and buildings to pay
for. I have always kept the
business at scale, trying to
build as much as possible
using the same virtual sup- Berry at a WBENC event.
port.”
Berry is married and the mother of
tomer Service and Professionalism, and
two children, ages 10 and 12. She is
the Young Woman’s Guide. Get POISED,
based in Georgia, just a few hours from
which will incorporate as a nonprofit,
her hometown in South Carolina. She
continues to mentor teenagers for
often leans on her close-knit family. “My
successful careers and lives. “We have
biggest help and support is my mother,
students who are interested in becomwho will come and stay with the kids
ing entrepreneurs, and we work together
when I have to travel for business meetwith them in helping them prepare
ings,” she says. “Georgia is only a few
and deliver their pitches to corporate
hours, and they are the only grandkids.
business owners,” Berry says. She also
My parents are very much involved in
serves as a board member of the Greater
our lives.”
Women’s Business Council, a regional
The 42-year-old has earned numerpartner of the WBENC that serves
ous accolades since starting her company
Georgia, North Carolina, and South
full-time eight years ago. She was recogCarolina.
nized with a Trailblazer Award in 2008,
Berry is currently working on a
named one of the 25 Most Powerful
doctorate in Educational Leadership.
Minority Women in Business in 2009,
“I have my fingers and toes crossed as I
listed as one of the “Forty Under 40” in
am working on getting my dissertation
South Carolina