Business leader takes advantage of Schoolcraft College’s many opportunities

Pamela T. Smith, CEO of PTS Compliance Consulting LLC, created a successful business by building relationships and trust. She delivers on what she promises to serve her clients easily and effectively.

In many ways, those attributes were key for her when selecting Schoolcraft College as her “go to” for furthering her education. The courses she took helped improve her skills and also see where she might need some help.

“The Online QuickBooks class was wonderful because I had to transition from desktop to online for my business accounting and it was worth every moment,” Pamela said. “Because of the webpage design classes, I realize that I prefer to hire someone to design and host my webpages because it’s not as easy as it looks!”

In addition to more than 130 credit programs, Schoolcraft College also offers non-credit continuing education classes through Personal and Professional Learning (PPL), the Business Development Center (BDC) and the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). Pamela took advantage of all three.

The specialists at the BDC can help launch, grow and improve a business while the staff at PTAC provides free government contracting assistance to business firms in marketing products and services to the federal, state, and local governments.

“The business classes that I mentioned helped me to grow my business, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pamela said. “I had time to put into practice all that I learned and it helped me to know when to ‘farm’ something out to someone more experienced because I’m working on growing my business. 

“The knowledge I gained in the PTAC class has been very helpful with my clients seeking government contracts.”

Pamela enjoyed her PPL classes as well.   

“I took fundamental Spanish and swimming classes,” she said. “I take cruises and although I am not fluent in Spanish I have a better understanding of the culture when traveling outside the U.S. The swimming was simply for my leisure and I love the water.”

Schoolcraft College’s location at I-275 and Seven Mile Road means it’s convenient for just about everyone in Metro Detroit. Taking advantage of all the College’s resources can help other entrepreneurs as well – just as Pamela has carved out her niche.

“As the CEO I work with corporations that have supplier diversity, equity, and inclusion goals who seek qualified minority vendors to supply their organizations with products and services,” she said. “The corporations want to work with minority vendors that have gone through the rigorous certification process that determines they are truly a minority-owned business.”

Pamela helps make those vital connections.

“I saw the need to help certification applicants prior to the application coming into the office for review,” she said.  “They were being denied certification due to compliance issue with their files. They had the opportunity to make an appointment with the office, but most applicants did not take advantage of the opportunity.    

“Once the file was received, it was a done deal and they could not be told that the paperwork was in error. In most cases they would have received certification if someone had been able to work with them.”

Pamela is definitely a success story – one that has grown just like Schoolcraft College.

“I grew up in Inkster, which is a short distance from Schoolcraft College,” she said. “I have known about them for over 40 years and I’ve watch the campus grow. Schoolcraft College offers a myriad of online classes that fit my schedule along with the on-campus classes. The instructors are very knowledgeable and teach in a way that is easy for me to understand because I learn better visually.”

And just as a business needs to keep growing, people need to keep learning.

“I will forever be interested in learning and Schoolcraft College has made it so easy for me,” Pamela said.