The Tribune

By SPENCE FINLAYSON

Inspiration is the engine that gets people going. Without it, we are practically dormant and in the doldrums. And so in my search of inspiration I have come across many persons from all walks of life - sports, entertainment, religion, government, entrepreneurship, music, business and the arts. Today, my search takes me to St Louis, Missouri, and the person of billionaire Michael V Roberts .

I first met Mr Roberts on a flight from St Louis, where my daughter Le'annka had competed in the Little Miss America beauty pageant. We struck up a beautiful conversation and he give me his business card and said that we should keep in touch. I invited him to be a guest on my Bahamas-based international motivational business television show "Dare To Be Great", which is broadcast in 22 Caribbean countries, in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, in Ontario, Canada, and in the United Kingdom on CaribVision. We taped the show at his Roberts Castle in Nassau, and it has received raved reviews.

Michael V Roberts was born on October 24, 1948, in St Louis, Missouri, son of Victor, a US postal worker, and Delores, a homemaker and teacher. I met his parents in Nassau and they are simply delightful people.

Mr Roberts has been turning the business world on its head since he began making deals in the 1970s. With his brother Steve, he started Roberts-Roberts & Associates, a consulting firm. This led to opportunities in politics, real estate, broadcasting, wireless communications and construction, just to name a few. Mr Roberts' perseverance and vision have also made him a popular speaker at colleges and conventions.

Roberts-Roberts & Associates' main focus was to help companies figure out ways to increase minority business participation in government contracts. Though he had little experience as a consultant, Mr Roberts used his natural skills as a businessman to help the venture thrive. He told Forbes magazine: "We grab at a chance and then figure out how we're going to do it and how we're going to pay for it." His tactics worked and the business grew.

Mr Roberts had his sights set on more than just business success. He also wanted to make a difference in his community through politics. In the late '70s, he accomplished his dream of becoming involved in politics. He was chosen as Jimmy Carter's St Louis campaign manager in his presidential bid. When Carter became president, Mr Roberts was a frequent guest at the White House.

Mr Roberts was elected as an alderman on the St Louis City Council. He was the youngest person ever elected at the age of 28. His brother continued the tradition by being elected at age 26 a year later after the elder entered office. He, his brother and three other council members would work together to help revitalise the city's downtown area. The city took on several ambitious construction projects that, in turn, bolstered the city's economy.

When Mr Roberts noticed that his childhood neighbourhood was suffering from decline, he determined that he would stop the decay. Together with his brother, he began Roberts Brothers Properties (RBP) and purchased a 200,000-square foot building from the retailer Sears. They also renovated the building and began to lease out portions to various businesses to help the neighbourhood stay afloat.

Mr Roberts told the St Louis Riverfront Times: "We've put our money, our experience, our life into this neighbourhood. We have to be a part of this renaissance of inner-city hard-core areas. If we don't, then who will?"

In addition to leasing out to 50 businesses, RBP and Robert-Roberts & Associates moved into the top floor. Mr Roberts also rechristened the building, naming it after his father, who had retired from the US Post Office after 39 years. RBP would continue to purchase old buildings and land, then would either renovate or construct new buildings. Their tenants ranged from Blockbuster Video to State Farm Insurance and the leading grocery store chain in St Louis, Schnucks, as well as various governmental agencies.

After eight years as an alderman, Mr Roberts left his position to run for city council president. He lost. Mr Roberts was then introduced to someone who was looking for minority businessmen interested in broadcasting. He and his brother formed the Roberts Broadcasting Company and joined the fray of minority businesses vying for broadcasting licences. After six years, Mr Roberts Broadcasting won a licence. They searched for programming and entered talks with the Home Shopping Network (HSN). Mr Roberts persuaded HSN to pay his company $3.8 million to build a television station to receive their satellite signal and another $1.6 million to air their programming. HSN agreed and WRBU-TV Channel 46 debuted. The television station was the first built-in channel in St Louis in more than 20 years. It was also one of the few in the country that was fully automated, needing only a technician to come and change the tapes. Roberts Broadcasting would later add 11 more stations to its list in locations throughout the country, including Denver, Nashville, Salt Lake City and Columbia in South Carolina.

In the late 1990s, wireless communications was an emerging business and Mr Roberts wanted in on the action. Meetings between the brothers and Sprint led to the formation of Roberts Wireless Communications. Roberts was able to persuade Sprint to allow them to build a wireless network in Missouri and parts of Kansas and Illinois. This new venture would cost $78 million. Mr Roberts and his company began building towers throughout the state and also opened the first Sprint store in St Louis.

Building towers in three states brought about the formation of the Roberts Towers Company in 2001. They built towers for cellular phones and also broadcasting towers. Though a large amount of attention was given to his growing broadcasting and wireless communication companies, Mr Roberts continued to expand his empire by making several major building purchases. He approached Wyndham Hotels to purchase the Mayfair Hotel, located in the middle of the downtown area. He also bought the old Orpheum Vaudeville Theatre that was adjacent to the Mayfair Hotel and renovated it.

I was honoured to create a motivational seminar that featured myself and Mr Roberts as speakers called "An Evening With Billionaire Michael V Roberts" and which was held at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau. Mr Roberts' presentation to the packed room was very well received. Just last year, we teamed up again for our Customer Experience Summit, which was again held in Nassau at the Hilton.

• Spence M Finlayson is the founder and CEO of the Phoenix Institute for Positive Development & Empowerment and founder of his newly created Speakers Academy. He can be reached at 601-6162 or by e-mail at phoenixinstitute@gmail.com.