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!!!”

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!

Video Series

Castle Wealth Advisors. Gary Pittsford is an expert on business valuation and succession planning. He has produced a video series that is detailed below.

Introduction:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_2zGB39KjA

1. “Two Year Window”

This video is intended to give you a few ideas to think about pertaining to selling your business in the next one or two years while we are sure what the tax rates will be. In this short video we will briefly touch upon long term capital gains, ordinary income, tax ideas that would be good for the seller, and tax ideas that would be good for the buyer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ1QEOdsOMs

 

2. “Transferring within the Family”

This video discusses a few ideas about possibly selling your company to children or perhaps key employees. If you are an owner who is thinking about retiring and selling your business in the next three to five years then perhaps you may find the ideas in this video helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSj1QoU_6DA

 

3.  “Valuing Your Business”

This video briefly reviews a couple of different valuation techniques for closely held family businesses. Valuations are very important if you are planning on selling the business to family members, key employees, or another coop member.  This video may be helpful if you are planning on retiring and selling the business in the next three to five years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71OhORQkPCo 

 

4.  “Protecting Stock and Stockholders”

This short video will cover briefly ideas that are very important to business owners when children, in-laws, or key employees become stockholders. In this video we will cover the idea of proper Wills and Revocable Living Trust for business owners, and also buy-sell agreements which are very important. These documents help protect the company and keep the stock within the family. The provisions within these documents are very important to maintain control of a privately held family business.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3EV1kfU1Q4

 

 5.  “Retirement Income Ideas”

When current business owners think about selling the company their future retirement income becomes very important. There are many ways that owners can design the sale of a company in order to retain future income. This video will touch upon selling stock, selling goodwill, deferred compensation, consulting fees, board of director’s fees, and several other ideas for you to consider.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td3zS6fwlPg

 

 6.  “Reducing Taxes”

When it comes time to sell your company saving income taxes becomes very important. There are many different ways to sell a company, but the best plan must combine good ideas for the seller and the buyer. There is only so much useable cash flow that the owner of a business has to work with and the plan that you choose must successfully reduce taxes and have enough cash flow so that the buyer can make all of the necessary payments to the retiring owner and still have plenty of cash flow for the buyer to live on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKer1gsohjk

 

7. “Types of Businesses”

There are several different types of businesses that you can use. For example, C Corporations, S Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Family Limited Partnerships, and others. If you are planning on selling the company in a few years you want to make sure that the entity that you are using currently for your business will give you the least amount of tax obligation when it is time to sell. During the years that you have owned the company has your basis in the stock increased? When you sell your company will you and the company both pay taxes on the sale? This video will cover briefly a few ideas about corporations and give you ideas to think about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0wmexkGWY

 

 

Small Business Saturday: November 26th, 2011

Pledge your support for Small Business Saturday®

The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday® is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

On November 26, we’re asking millions of Americans to Shop Smallsm at their favorite local stores and help fuel the economy. When we all shop small, it will be huge.

Watch this video to learn about Small Business Saturday! http://youtu.be/rIYHjs1vEAo

 

Small Businesses, make the most of the day

From Twitter posts to posters, we have all sorts of tools to help your business get new customers and have a great Small Business Saturday

 

Constant Contact is helping small businesses get ready for the big day

Holiday Planning Webinar

• Learn how to make your email and social media efforts stand out from the holiday clutter

Promotional Worksheet

• Follow these simple steps for developing a special offer that will drive customers to your door.

To-Do Calendar

• An at-a-glance look at how to plan your promotional schedule across social media and email.

BONUS

• Small Business Saturday-themed email templates make it easy to tie in your business with this special day. And they're yours FREE when you use Constant Contact

 

Learn More: visit http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/

YRC Freight Shipping Solutions for your Business

DISPLAY YOUR BEST, SHIP TRADE SHOW BOOTHS WITH YRC

Each exhibit shipment you move, no matter what size, no matter what show, is critically important. You need your trade show shipments delivered on time and intact, so you can have a successful show. YRC has you covered by providing fast, reliable, on-time movement of tradeshow booths from origin to advance warehouse or tradeshow site.

Need more convincing? YRC is still the only carrier in the industry that offers a guarantee on all inbound shipments and the patented protection of Sealed Exhibit™.

For added peace of mind, our national exhibit services team provides on-site assistance at most of the big shows. We're there, working with the general service contractors, to make sure exhibit shipments move in and out on time. Over the years, we've seen what a difference that makes for our customers.

For additional information on YRC trade show freight services, go to http://www.yrc.com/services/exhibit.html

 

FREEZABLE PROTECTION                                                  

For a lot of shipments, the temperature really doesn't matter. Then, there are those other shipments--freezable goods, chemicals and hazardous materials.

You have a significant investment in those shipments, and you don't want them to freeze. Fortunately, you're covered with YRC. We have a significant investment in the equipment needed to safely ship your freezable goods. We also have decades of proven, successful experience.

To protect freezable shipments, our Freezable Protection service utilizes:

• Weather monitoring
• Special handling procedures
• Tracking Indicators
• Insulated covers available to ensure products won't freeze at or below 32° F/1.5° C

In addition to protecting your freezable shipments while in transit, YRC has warm rooms for weekend usage when needed. Don't be left out in the cold. Make sure we have the equipment you need in your area, when you need it.

 

ECONOMICAL SHIPPING SOLUTION DELIVERS PEACE OF MIND

There are times when you need a shipment to be guaranteed but not expedited. You would also like the choice of when it will be delivered on the standard-service delivery day. Our Guaranteed Standard service provides just that. This economical service ensures that your product will arrive by your choice of noon or 5 p.m. on the standard-service delivery day. Leveraging our comprehensive North American LTL network, cross-border expertise, and a 100% money-back guarantee, we deliver peace of mind.

With Guaranteed Standard, you’ll enjoy extended online shipment visibility for real-time tracking and tracing, dedicated customer service representatives, 24/7, online Live Chat and apps for your mobile devices, and quote-free options for fast and simple scheduling of shipments.

As a BizUnite member, you can receive significant savings with YRC. Simply enroll online at www.enrollhere.net. For questions, contact your YRC Representative at 800.647.3061 or associations@yrcw.com.