August 28, 2024
The month of August is National Black Business Month – a month honoring the resilience and determination of Black-owned businesses! The Port of Seattle is the proud partner of diverse firms, and we’d like to take the opportunity to highlight one of the numerous Black businesses owners that have worked on a project at the Port. The Diversity in Contracting team had the pleasure of hearing from Samuel Obunike, owner of O’Bunco Engineering Inc., about his journey as a Black business owner.
About the Business
Tell us a little about your professional background and what inspired you to begin O’Bunco Engineering Inc.
After immigrating from Nigeria in 1980, I moved to Portland to further my education and begin my career. When I graduated from Portland State University, I started my career with the Oregon Department of Transportation working in their construction and surveying department for. From there I worked for Dames & More, which was then bought out by URS, as a geotechnical engineer. While working for URS I visited Seattle and became fascinated by its expansive opportunity, so I left my job to work as a street systems project engineer for the City of Kirkland. After seven years working for the City of Kirkland, I felt I could run my own firm and could get more out of my career if I began my own business. So, in 1997 I began O’Bunco engineering.
What does your company do?
O’Bunco Engineering is an engineering, surveying, construction, technical, and management services firm. When we first began, my experience working in transit connected me to one of my first clients in Vancouver, WA. We were doing a lot of work with buses, park & rides, etc. That experience helped us win a project with Sound Transit that began in 2007. As you know, in the early 2000s many businesses went under, and the Sound Transit project is what saved my business. Now we are in Federal Way, we acquired a company in Pasco, WA in 2019, and four months ago we opened an office in Tualatin, Oregon to expand our services.
Words of Advice for Other Businesses
What projects have you worked on with the Port? What did it take to secure those projects?
We’ve had great experiences working with the Port and it was networking and relationships that has helped us get each of our contracts. Our first contract with the Port was the SeaTac Cooling Tower in 1999 where we were subcontractors to HNTB. Our second contract was the Earthquake Repair project in 2001 where we were subcontractors to Amec. In 2005 we did the Quality Review project and then we did the International Arrivals Facility at SeaTac from 2015-2020 which was our largest project as a subcontractor to Clark Construction. Currently, we’re working on the SeaTac Terminal 91 Berth 6 and 8 Redevelopment project as a subcontractor to Pacific Pile. Once again, it took networking and relationships to get each of these contracts.
What contributed to landing our early contracts was attending pre-proposal meetings and meeting stakeholders on projects. It was important for us to know exactly what was needed to execute the project and we had to honestly assess our capacities. Even if we didn’t win the contract, it was always worthwhile to build relationships with the primes. Nevertheless, we also wanted to make a name for ourselves, so it was important for us to be visible. As we became more visible, I continued building relationships because I knew it would take support working on these sizeable projects. Through that process I met a project manager in the Aviation division at the Port. He really encouraged me to pursue the Quality Review project and was an advocate of the Port expanding bidding opportunities to smaller businesses.
I also know people in Diversity in Contracting like Mian, Lawrence, and Lisa and although they can’t help me win a contract, they can put me in positions to be competitive by making me aware of opportunities the Port has. To ensure we’re aware of the work at the Port, we’re on the Port’s distribution list, have project managers that track down Port solicitations, and we try to always attend networking events because connecting with others is what has allowed my business to grow. Throughout my career and to this day, people like Bob Armstead, president of NAMC, and Regina Glenn from Pacific Communications Consultants are people that I connect with and encourage me in my pursuits. I had to show up in many different spaces to be where I’m at today.
What do you wish you would have known before you began government work?
Government contracts can come in many sizes and magnitudes but all of them take tremendous effort and resources to be successful. It has taken all the determination I learned from my parents, especially my mother, to continually land government contracts but it’s important to understand your capacities. If you have a family, be sure to be honest about the time that will be needed to get the job done. What you get is what you put in and this line of work will require a lot of you.
What advice do you have for other WMBEs and small businesses when it comes to getting their first contract with the Port?
Firstly, I would tell anyone who is running a small business in general to start small. If I could do it over again, I would’ve started O’Bunco from my living room or garage instead of leasing an expensive office in Bellevue. I had to fund that office through my retirement, and I thought that being next to the bigger construction companies like HNTB and CH2M Hill would be necessary to succeed. Although I did build relationship by being in the heart of Bellevue, I could’ve connected with them in a less costly fashion, and I could’ve put more resources into my business.
I would also say that it’s very important to establish a good reputation and good relationships. For example, I have a colleague that began his own firm and one thing I told him was that as a new business with less staff and resources, don’t be afraid to partner with someone on a contract. The last thing you want to do is over promise and miss your deliverables because souring a relationship with a prime can make it hard to get another contract. Also, whichever business you partner with, treat them with respect like you would a prime. Be honest with your prime about your capacities and don’t be afraid to partner with another company because until you’re a household name, you will have a microscope on you. Remember that everyone started somewhere.
Being a Black Business Owner and Black Business Month
What are some unique hurdles you’ve faced and feel other Black business owners face in running their businesses?
Other than Black businesses just being smaller and having less capacity, it takes a lot of advocating to get what you deserve sometimes. There was a time I was on a two-part project with a prime but when the first job came around, I didn’t hear from the prime after sending emails and making numerous phone calls. Then when the second part of the project came around and I didn’t hear from the prime, I called the public agency that owned the project about what was going on. It wasn’t until then that I received my contract from the prime for the project. I’ve also seen Black professionals who are seen as experts when they’re working for a prime but then treated as beginners once they begin their own firms. I’m not the only one who’s felt overlooked and have had to advocate for himself but what I respect about the Port of Seattle is that they prioritize diversity. They hold primes to their diversity goals which keeps Black businesses going.
Why is it important to celebrate Black Business Month and what impact does it make on the community when Black businesses thrive?
Black Business Month is important to celebrate because the road getting to where we are is not an easy one. Some of our journeys consist of coming from places where we may have been overlooked or have faced obstacles and that’s something we don’t want to subject our employees to. Those past experiences inspire us to do what we can to provide an environment that supports our employees. I’ve hired people that have worked for various companies, and nothing feels better than when some of them tell me O’Bunco is the best place they’ve worked. It’s so rewarding to know I’m providing enjoyable jobs for people that will feed their families and allow them to support those they love. Actually, it was a light rail project that allowed me to honor my late mother and give her a worthy funeral procession. If I never land another project or if circumstances turn for the worst for my business, the fact I was able to honor my late mother has made the journey worthwhile. Starting my own firm has done more for me than I can ask, and I hope my business has done just as much for others.
The Port is better because of businesses like O’Bunco Engineering. We are so thankful we had the opportunity to interview Samuel and hear about his journey. If you are a Black business owner or a WMBE/small business owner and want to be up to date on all our PortGen events and Port solicitations, please sign up for our distribution list. We would like to connect with you and support your business. Also, check out local organizations that support small business owners:
- Tabor 100
- National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC)
- Washington State Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises (OMWBE)
- Northwest Minority Builders Alliance (NWMBA)
- Association of Women and Minority Businesses (AWMB)
We encourage you to support our local black businesses by checking out Urban League’s Black Business Directory and the Seattle Greenbook.
