The Official BizUnite Blog

Dwyer Group to be Featured on Special Episode of Under Cover Boss on CBS

Our client, Dina Dwyer-Owens, Chairwoman and CEO of The Dwyer Group, will appear on a special episode of CBS’s hit reality show “Undercover Boss” titled “Undercover Boss: Epic Bosses” on Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT. In this special “Undercover Boss” episode, the Emmy award-winning series will catch up with many of the particularly memorable bosses from all four seasons to see how their experiences on the show impacted their lives and their companies.

In January 2012, Dwyer-Owens originally appeared on “Undercover Boss,” disguised as Faith Brown in company uniforms posing as a potential trainee in male-dominated trade industries. For Dwyer-Owens, her original experience on the show was a hallmark occasion to fulfill a long-held dream to ride in service vans in the field and see if the Code of Values™ has penetrated the front lines of The Dwyer Group’s seven franchise brands: Aire Serv®, Glass Doctor®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric®, Mr. Rooter®, Rainbow International® and The Grounds Guys®.

Now viewers will get to see what has happened since appearing on the show, including Dwyer-Owens’s heartfelt scholarship and recruiting program to attract more women to the trades services on a national level.

Dwyer-Owens has championed The Dwyer Group Code of Values and its themes of Respect, Integrity, Customer Focus and Having Fun in the Process as a foundation for the company’s success. Across the system’s 1,600 franchises is a world of plumbers, electricians, landscapers and more. The franchise family makes some 2 million residential and commercial service calls each year and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011. http://goo.gl/E8X48

What SBS clients are saying about ADP

The VERY Factor in action …  

• “Everyone is always very helpful and the service is very easy” 

• “ADP RUN is easy to use and customer service is very helpful.”

• “Customer service people are AWESOME!”

• “Extremely friendly, helpful customer service.”

• “The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly! I know my questions will be answered correctly the first time I call.”

• “Very helpful and knowledgeable staff.”

• “ADP is fantastic. Everyone has gone over and beyond to help with any questions I have.”

TOP 10 reasons why our clients say they are Promoters …

• “As a small business owner having ADP has enabled me to focus on other aspects of my company without worry. That's a huge helping hand for the little guy.”

• “Everything is great.  Best thing I have done for my business”

• “The customer service is fantastic- if I ever have a questions or need assistance all I have to do is place a call and immediately I have an answer which allows me to focus my time and energy on other aspects of my business.”

• “I am a very small business but you have always treated my account as if I have  a hundred employees”

• “We signed up for the HR411 and I am really glad we did, it has helped me tremendously.”

• “24-hour services, since I work crazy hours”

• “Love the hours!”

• “24/7 hours and excellent service.  The addition to 24/7 has made it even superior”

• “The website is fabulous. This is more user friendly and comprehensive than your competitor's sites.”

• “Not having to fuss over the IRS changes is priceless!!!”

Small Business Saturday is November 24th

Sponsored by American Express, Small Business Saturday is held each year on the Saturday that falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year that Saturday is November 24th. While it may seem like you have plenty of time left, it’s important to start preparing your website for the big day.

Each year, American Express seeks to help small businesses by encouraging patronage of small businesses. Customers who register their American Express cards to shop at small businesses on November 24 will be given a $25 credit for each registered cardholder. Customers need only register their cards ahead of time to qualify for the refund.

Today

• ‘Like’ the official Small Business Saturday Facebook page. This will not only sign you up for ongoing updates and reminders about Small Business Saturday, it will also provide information about participating in special contests hosted for small businesses.
• Sign up for ShopSmall to receive ongoing communications about Small Business Saturday, including advice on how your small business can participate.
• Evaluate your small business’s online presence, taking into account local customers who might be searching for you for the first time through sites like Yelp and Angie’s List. Make sure it’s easy for those customers to find  you.

October

• Utilize the many ad tools available in the Small Business Saturday Toolkit. These include signs and tutorials on small business marketing activities like creating a Facebook presence and uploading a YouTube video.
• Work with your web designer to make sure your website is ready for the influx of traffic. Decide which specials you’d like to offer and create banners and signage. The toolkit can help with this.
• Promote the $25 American Express credit and let customers know you are participating in Small Business Saturday. You’ll be amazed how many customers hold American Express cards and will be willing to shop if they know they’re getting a $25 credit.
• Create a way to capture customer information to a database. As you receive a larger-than-usual influx of customers on Small Business Saturday, take advantage of the opportunity to get information on those customers that you can use for future mailings.

November

• Finalize website testing and optimization.
• Hang Small Business Saturday signage prominently in your store’s window and/or near the cash register.
• Promote your Small Business Saturday special offers on your company’s social media sites.
• Don’t forget your current customers. Contact them to let them know about the special offers you’ll have for Small Business Saturday.

When it comes to promotion, it’s never too early to start preparing. Thanksgiving weekend will be here before we know it and with so much competition for attention, small businesses are more challenged than ever to make an impact on Small Business Saturday.

http://www.smallbiztechnology.com/archive/2012/09/countdown-to-small-business-saturday-time-to-start-preparing.html/

Franchise Operational Performance Summit

The President of BizUnite, Barth Getto, will be speaking this year at the Franchise Operational Performance Summit. The Franchise Operational Performance Summit is "The only franchise executive conference dedicated to performance operations execellence--will be held on July 18 and 19 in Denver, Colorado. Franchise OPS focuses exclusively on how C-level franchise executives can improve their respective franchise operations."

 

To read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/prweb9524537.htm

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is fast approaching –April 22^nd- and with it comes the awareness of how we can run our business efficiently while helping the environment. There are many ways to reduce our carbon footprint and be more ‘green’ minded. One way of reducing energy and lowing energy costs is simply turning off our computer at night, unplugging powercords, and switching electronics to energy-saving settings. Replacing cleaning supplies is another way to do your part by making environmentally proffered choices like Clorox GreenWorks, CLR, and Seventh Generation. Not only do these products help get your workspace clean but they are also composed of earth friendly options and less packaging than competition. Lastly, make sure you are taking all steps to recycle. Setting up recycling containers in all departments of your office allow encouragement for employees to recycle as well. Ink cartridges, printer paper, water bottles, etc. are all easy to recycle and really help Mother Nature. Not only does BizUnite follow these procesures but we urge you to do the same. We even made it simple for you to do with our cost saving Office Max program!

 

Happy Earth Day!

2012: The International Year of Co-ops!

The Cooperative Business Journal’s Nancy Jorgensen wrote an interesting article in the Jan/Feb newsletter about the October 31^st celebration of Cooperatives. The article states that 150 co-op and community leaders attended with the same theme in mind, “Building a Cooperative City”. With more than 100 co-op leaders from around the world, the UN General Assembly declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives. The theme of unity and delivering a better tomorrow was a common theme of the celebration.

            ICA President Dame Pauline Green stated, “Co-ops are everywhere,” She goes on to explain, “Until you stop and look at their scope and addictiveness, you don’t realize this values based business model is what people have been yearning for and what governments need in order to support and solve many of these international crises that we face today”. Overall, it seams like The Year of Cooperatives comes at a perfect time for all hands to be on deck to make positive business changes. There are a lot of expectations of this International Year of Cooperatives but all in all, the key is improvement of what wheels are already set in motion.