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Bio:
Donna Fujimoto Cole was born in Denver, Colorado and brought up in the Rio Grande Valley. She considers herself a Texan. Living in Houston since 1971, she worked a short time for JK Lasser as a computer operator and Jr. programmer. She also worked for four years with Lone Star Gas company in their Gas Purchases and Sales Department in Houston, Texas, as Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to the Director.
Donna began working in the chemical industry trading chemicals in 1976, with Goldking Chemicals Ltd. In 1978, she was a founder and served as Vice President of Sales and part owner of Del Rey Chemical International. She founded and is the owner of Cole Chemical & Distributing, Inc., which she started in 1980.
Cole Chemical & Distributing markets and distribute chemicals, lubricants, laboratory chemicals, and resins, nationally and internationally. Their 1998 sales were in excess of $25 million. Cole Chemical and Distributing, Inc. is listed among the Nation's Top 100 Chemical Distributors in CPI Magazine.
Donna's entrepreneurial spirit hasn't slowed with her success. She continues to found and grow new companies, branching out from her original firm to build a suite of firms which now include the following:
-Founder & Owner: Cole Chemical & Distributing, founded in 1980, a distributor of chemicals, lubricants, fuels, resins and specialty chemicals with annual revenues of $62 million.
- Founder and Owner of Cole Distribution, Inc. in 1984. A service company providing packaging, warehousing, and shipping of chemicals and lubricants.
- Cole Distribution, Inc., founded in 1984 a public chemical warehouse and packaging facility with revenues of $300,000 per year.
-Princess Properties Founded 1999 -Real Estate
- Cole Specialty Systems, purchased in 2001 now owned by Cole, Specialty Systems is a chemical manufacturing and packaging facility in Michigan with $4 million in revenues annually.
- Princess Millennium Properties, founded 2000, Real Estate.
- CelCole, Inc. Founded in 2002, OEM fluids Company, $1 million in revenues per year.
Community involvement:
Donna is a member of several organizations that advocate economic development in the Houston community through education for women, minorities, children, small businesses, exporting, and the chemical industry.
Her company sponsors many events in the community - among the most notable are: "Inspire Women" helping women see God's potential in everyone; and "Pipeline for the Sciences - providing hands-on chemical experiments for 4th ,5th and 6th grade students in economically disadvantaged school districts, providing scholarships for women, minorities in business, and for children.
Donna?s Current Board Positions include the following:
- Association of Chemical Industry of Texas
- Asia Society
- Asian Pacific Women's Leadership Institute
- Chemical Distribution Network
- DaimlerChrysler Supplier Diversity Board
Person most admired:
The person whom I admire the most is Norma Wong. Norma looks very fragile, but she is strong. She has endured cancer for many years and shows no signs of pain. She has a calmness about her. She teaches martial arts and meditation. She has great words of wisdom and is a fine negotiator and political advisor.
Favorite book:
The Giving Tree is one of my favorite books. The book reminds me that we take so much and give so little in return. And yet, we must help ourselves first before we can help others.
What I enjoy most about my work:
I like the people aspect of work, and getting to know the managers, employees, customers, and suppliers. I enjoy learning how we can all work together, having shared values, and yet be so diverse.
Greatest accomplishment:
Starting a business and the continuance of that businesses to see the business assets and our employees grow, and to be able to give back to my community, and to be a role model for others.
Greatest challenge:
Undoing what I learned as a child "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"...and learning rather to "treat others the way they want to be treated." It is important to learn each person's style, and to be able to communicate clearly to each person.
Advances I envision in my field over the next 10 years:
We will continue to backward and forward integrate, to develop relationships with strategic partners to provide logistics and services to get the right product where it needs to be and to deliver it on time. As the world is getting smaller, we find that we will be distributing a broader product line.
Strategies to maintain balance in my life:
I try to use up as many hours in the day as possible to get as much done as possible to include work, family, friends, community and time to do what I want to do.
Advice for emerging entrepreneurs:
You will need to have a passion for what you do so that while you are working you are experiencing timelessness. Work smart, be honest, be open to change, have a positive attitude, learn from others, share information with others, and learn what others want/need so you can fulfill those needs to be an effective problem solver. Be confident, be nice, be responsible, responsive, and willing to work hard to exceed expectations and learn to be a great employer.
The basic foundation to grow your business includes having a commitment to grow your business, to put assets in the ground, to hire minorities and women, to give back to community, to do business with other minority and women-owned businesses, and to be a mentor and a role model for others.
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