MMDC sat down with Alandas Dobbins, owner of Oteka Technologies.
Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and your business? How long have you been in business?
My name is Alandas Dobbins. I’m a second-generation entrepreneur doing this work. I started a company with my father 25 years ago, and we were an Avaya business partner, but we also started doing cabling with that business because with Avaya, our lead-in was telephone systems, so it was Southern Communications Systems. We soon found out that some clients needed cabling as well, so instead of contracting that out, we decided to develop our own cabling division. That started growing, and we ended up doing a lot of the e-rate for Memphis City Schools some 20 years ago My father passed about 14 years ago this year, and I left the industry for some time. I got back into it with Oteka Technolgoies. Oteka Technologies is officially four years old the month of March, so we focus primarily on cabling. The telecommunications industry has changed so much. A lot of the phone are in the cloud, the margins are low, and I didn’t really want to deal with the break-fix and all that comes with that, so we are focusing strictly on cabling and anything that has to do with cabling— security cameras, access control, the cabling to get to those types of devices— is what our primary sweet spot is.
How long has your business been in Memphis?
We moved to our current space about two years ago, we have warehouses in the back and offices up front. We have space for our project managers in the back as well. It’s very centrally located. I grew up in Whitehaven and wanted to be back a part of what’s going on in Whitehaven. Memphis is my home. We are extremely excited to be growing in our home. We have so much happening now with construction. Being a part of the Memphis landscape is exciting. Also, as an owner, I’m able to make decisions. For instance, I can hire second chance citizens. I am looking to start a program that serves veterans. Even though I am not a veteran, I’d like offer opportunities to help hire veterans. That is exciting for me because I’ve heard stories about how when veterans get back home, they can’t find jobs. They’ve done a lot to protect the rest of us and make sure we’re okay. When they come back, we need to make sure they’re okay, too. I’m excited to be able to start researching, and I’m sure over time, we’ll be able to integrate that program.
Why Memphis?
Why not Memphis? Memphis is a city that is on the move right now. It’s long overdue. Staying here is our way of keeping talented people here, keeping them employed— that’s important to me. I’ve got both of my children working at the company right now. They’re twenty-seven and twenty-four, so that’s exciting to me. They’re excited about what’s to come in Memphis. We’re getting more restaurants and spaces for people to hang out and be able to bond and network and meet other people, so it’s good to be a part of something sometimes and make sure you’re on that ground floor to help it grow. Then, you can say, “I’ve done something substantive in my life.”
Do you have a training program those interested in joining the business?
I’ve just gotten exposed to a program that allows training, so we’re researching that. We’re working closely with WIN. We’ve been able to take our technicians through training via the programs that WIN offers. We’re big on training. We’ll eventually put together a formalized training program here.
How did you get into the cabling industry?
When I was in the industry before, cabling usually came under the electricians and then, somehow, it changed and it’s with owners. Now, people are realizing that low-voltage cabling is critical. For instance, if you go to the grocery store, you’ve seen where if you close the refrigerated section, the light goes out. That’s the cable that has to come to make that happen. Well, these are the new things that are happening in the industry right now, so cabling is becoming more and more important. That’s part of the reason that I’m focusing on the cabling industry and utilizing the knowledge that I gained from working in the industry through my last business.
What does it mean to you to be a part of the BUY Local Marketplace? In what ways has this helped your business?
I’m a little biased. I think you guys are doing such a great job! The sentiment behind BUY Local is something unfortunate that we have to put organizations together to support and increase local minority and women-owned spend. That’s not part of our mindset in Memphis. We haven’t been historically pro local business, making sure that we take care of home. To now have our organization really focusing on that, it’s really critical. Memphis has not usually been that type of city where we make sure we take care of our homegrown— make sure they have jobs, contracts, and can sustain their businesses. It is critically important to our community to make sure we have organizations to really key in on that.
You’ve recently given a presentation for our anchors at a BUY Local Council meeting. What was that experience like and what advice would you give other business owners who have the opportunity to do the same?
The anchors will listen to you intently. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get an immediate response. Since then, I have gotten some callbacks for future opportunities. Don’t overthink your presentation and make sure to follow-up just like you’d do with any other call. Be diligent about following up with those particular clients because everybody is busy.
What was your experience like at our recent BUY Local Connect event?
I was glad to present at the event. After presenting, I got comments from people who expressed that they were glad that I presented and that it gave them some thoughts on strategies that they can implement within their companies. The anchor institutions also gave positive feedback. It was a really great turnout with informative content. It was so nice to see so many diverse business-owners present, and I hope to share this opportunity with more business owners in the future. Y’all are doing a great job! We appreciate the support!
OTEKA TECHNOLOGIES, LLC is located at 3332 Winbrook Drive. They can be contacted at (901) 334-7304 or alandas@otekatech.com.