Meet Dr. Danon Carter of Center for Business Solutions & Southwestern Assemblies of God University

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Danon Carter.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my career in a call center as a collector with Sears Credit. As I saw others moving up, I positioned myself for similar opportunities through both strong performance and making my aspirations known. I worked my way to a Team Lead and then entered the management training program as a single parent of a newborn in a new state.

I was blessed to move quickly up the ranks – from the manager trainee position to Manager of Managers within two years and with moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta to New Orleans. Over the course of eight years, I moved several times and did very well performance wise. I left Sears to work for Center for Business Solutions and would work with this consulting company on and off for several years.

I moved to Texas in 2002 and took a position with HSBC in the Auto Finance division as a Department Manager here in Lewisville. It was hard moving to a new city with a young child and no family or friends around. My workload in Lewisville was not as much as before as I went from managing 200 to 50. So, I went back to school to finish my undergraduate degree as well as completed my Master’s in Management and eventually my Doctorate.

What began with me doing my school work after I put my son to bed transitioned to my son staying up at night while I worked on my dissertation. From 2010, I was laid off from HSBC when they closed their Auto Finance division within the US. Later that year, I went back to working with CBS and began traveling internationally. CBS, Center for Business Solutions, is a consultant company.

We work with mostly call centers, training managers on how to effectively develop and coach their employees, whom we also train on how to have effective calls. I was laid off temporarily from CBS in Sept 2011 and went back to work for CBS in 2013. In between that time, I completed my dissertation and worked for Mercedes Benz Financial for about a year. I began working for Southwestern Assemblies of God University in 2015.

In December of 2016, I was promoted to Senior Vice President of CBS and went to full-time online for the university. Currently, I work two full-time jobs – that really don’t feel like jobs, as I love what I do. I will add that between 2007 and 2017, I led a small women’s group in my home. I also authored a book, Wounds of the Heart: A Heart Exposed.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Some struggles were being a caregiver for my mom of two years who died of cancer in 2007 while working full-time and caring for my 10-year-old son. At the same time, I took my mother in; I also took my sister with MS, my niece, and my brother. This was very challenging for many reasons. Then in 2010, I was laid off from my job when HSBC closed their auto finance division.

During this time, I finished my dissertation and received my doctorate in 2012. I was laid off again in November of 2011. Back to work June 2012 and then out of work again in July 2013. Back to work in 2013. In 2015, my son suffered a breakdown and began this battle with depression. There have been many ups and downs through this journey – both professional and personal.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Center for Business Solutions (CBS) is a small company that has been in business since 1994. Our headquarters is currently out of Salt Lake City, though we have employees in various states. We specialize in improving performance for call center operations in collections, customer service, and sales. Our reach is global.

I am currently the Sr. Vice President responsible for client relations and building mine on the ground staff. Our company has been successful with helping companies improve not just financially but also improve the moral and performance of frontline employees and management. My passion for this company and its processes began as a new manager. I was taught, what we call the Management Operations System, and it helped me be successful and competitive amongst my peers, of which I had much less experience.

I also work for Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) as an Assistant Professor in the Business Department. SAGU is a small university in the small town of Waxahachie. Although small, we have a big impact on teaching students spiritual values as we send them out into the world, in my case, the business world.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I am the oldest of four and as my mom stated, was often a second mom to my siblings. My mom was a single parent I was also the babysitter for many of my cousins. I was always focused on school – mainly because I could not wait to get out of the house. I was molested at age five by my siblings’ father.

This went on for five years before my mother found out and moved us out of this situation. Thus, much of my young years were spent trying to forget, yet trying to learn from the effects of what happened to me. I believe much of what I experienced in my childhood gave me the drive and passion to get to where I am now.

As I don’t look at my jobs as just teaching and consulting, but also those need encouraging. I used to collect stamps. I am an avid reader. Used to love to write – need to get back to that more. I didn’t have many friends though those I did have, I hung close to. I am still friends with my 7th-grade classmate. I was bossy – as the big sister, of course.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cbswebsite.com
• Phone: 801-448-7148
• Email: dcarter@cbswebsite.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdanonrenee/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blkrose22
• Other: www.linkedin.com/in/danón-carter-d-m-6648016

Image Credit:
University of Phoenix

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