Research

Spirit of Enterprise Awards: Companies that change lives

The most enduring companies change the experiences — even the lives — of the people they serve. That is certainly true of the six winners of the 2013 Spirit of Enterprise Awards from the W.P. Carey School of Business. Among these six companies, three practices stand out: they focus relentlessly on the client; they do what they say they will; and they treat clients and employees with compassion.

2013-11-22

The most enduring companies change the experiences — even the lives — of the people they serve. That is certainly true of the six winners of the 2013 Spirit of Enterprise Awards from the W. P. Carey School of Business. Among these six companies, three practices stand out: they focus relentlessly on the client; they do what they say they will; and they treat clients and employees with compassion. As a result, they have achieved tremendous business success – they are doing well while doing good. Focus relentlessly on the client At bluemedia, a signage and large format graphics printing company and recipient of the 2013 U.S. Bank Emerging Entrepreneur Award, the pursuit of perfection is a clear competitive differentiator. “We’re really set apart by our ‘Make it perfect’ culture,” explains President Jared Smith. After every major project, the team sits down together with the results of the customer survey. “If we get a 96 percent we say, ‘That’s great, but we need to figure out how to get the other 4 percent.’” At Vantage Self-Directed Retirement Plans, winner of the 2013 Gary L. Trujillo Minority Enterprise Award, a focus on what is good for the client is not only a competitive differentiator but the origin of the company. After a client asked CEO J.P. Dahdah, who was then a financial advisor, about alternative IRA investments, and he didn’t have an answer, he realized that people were being restricted by traditional financial institutions into their tax-favored investment choices. “In most cases, people were being given the wrong information.” Dahdah founded Vantage to change that. “We are changing lives, empowering people and freeing them from the chains of traditional retirement plans.” Like bluemedia and Vantage, GPS Insight, winner of the 2013 Spirit of Enterprise Innovation in Entrepreneurship Award, understands how important customers are. At the GPS fleet tracking software company, not only are customers the ones who fuel the bottom line; they’re also partners in innovation. “Technology is our number one competency,” says founder and CEO Robert Donat. “But we don’t innovate in a silo. We are continuously working with customers and prospects to hear about what they require and innovating based on that.” In some cases, a company can change not just the experience, but even the life of its clients. That’s what clients say about Valley Sleep Center, recipient of the 2013 Spirit of Enterprise Overcoming Adversity Award. Valley Sleep Center provides diagnosis and treatment for a variety of sleep disorders in home-like environments; for over more than two decades, they have helped thousands of patients. One, local radio personality Ron Wolfley, credits Valley Sleep Center for literally changing his life. Do what you say you will Doing for clients what they say they will – being dependable – is one of the core services that ComTrans provides. True, the winner of the 2013 Hahnco Companies Special Achievement in Entrepreneurship Award actually provides special needs transportation for children and adults. But in the case of the high-risk kids they transport for Child Protective Services, for example, ComTrans may be the one dependable element in the children’s lives. “These kids might have one day a month they get to see their parents and if they’re late, they miss the appointment. So we’re there to make sure that doesn’t happen,” says founder Neal Thomas. Similarly, Real Property Management East Valley has succeeded in a crowded market by being one of the very few property management companies that truly focuses on its clients – both property owners and tenants – and following through on promises made. Real Property Management East Valley (RPMEV) is the recipient of the 2013 Spirit of Enterprise Leadership Award. The company’s dedication to service was put to the test last year when a duplex under its management burned down. “Within an hour and a half of the fire, we were on-site with the Red Cross and a moving van,” recounts owner Clint Rowley. “We relocated the tenants, stocked them with food, clothing and other necessities and started working with the insurance company to rebuild the property. Just a few months ago, we moved those tenants back into their newly rebuilt duplex. As a company, that was one of our proudest moments.” Bluemedia learned early on the value of doing what you say you will. When President Jared Smith was just 16 years old, he got a job printing and delivering flyers for Domino’s Pizza. He boosted the client’s return on investment from 1.8 to 6 percent – he says, by simply doing what he said he was going to (in that case, actually putting the flyers on the doors). To this day, bluemedia follows through on its promises no matter what – even if it means a late night printing run and red eye flight to deliver signage in time for a big event. As is the case for ComTrans, Real Property Management and bluemedia, following through is not only the right thing to do but a powerful differentiator for Vantage Self-Directed Retirement Plans. In an area where misinformation runs rampant, Vantage CEO Dahdah has built his company on the principle of being a reliable source of information. “I want to enable my clients to make informed financial decisions based on their own unique investment appetite, comfort level, knowledge and, more importantly, the reality of the IRA rules and regulations governing retirement plans – not a brokerage firm’s own policies.” Treat clients and employees with compassion For ComTrans, treating clients with compassion is not only the right thing to do, but it has been a clear source of the company’s leadership in the market. With clients who are often treated with disregard or even disdain, ComTrans treats everyone with compassion and respect. And that is a philosophy reflected in how the company hires and trains its employees. “We’re not looking for people who have transportation experience. We’re looking for people who care about helping others,” says founder Thomas. “You can train anyone how to do this job, but you can’t train someone to be compassionate.” Like ComTrans, Real Property Management East Valley operates in an industry where clients are often treated poorly. “In most cases, property managers are like lawyers – people only call them when there is a problem,” owner Rowley explains. “We’re different.” That difference comes down to a focus on relationships, with property owners and tenants. So while Rowley’s goal was on building foundational relationships, not on “making a ton of money really fast,” as it turns out, the two have gone hand in hand – over the last six years, RPMEV has grown on average 30 percent a year. In some cases, a company’s compassion comes from adversity. At GPS Insight, for example, CEO Donat credits the survival of the company through the recession to the employees who “stuck with it” during that difficult time. Now that GPS Insight is profitable, employees are rewarded with 401(k) match, profit sharing, bonuses, paid health benefits, free food and beverages in the office, several fun family-oriented outings per year and “baby bonuses” for employees who have or adopt children. Compassion from adversity is certainly part of the story for Valley Sleep Center’s owner Lauri Leadley. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 8, Leadley spent a lot of her childhood in doctor’s offices and hospitals, where she developed a passion for helping people, like the nurses and doctors had helped her. Then at age 26, Leadley was diagnosed with an aggressive lymphoma. She had a 4-year-old, a 2½-year-old and was five months pregnant. Her doctor gave her six weeks to live. Faced with an excruciatingly difficult decision, Leadley found a doctor who would administer chemotherapy during her pregnancy. Three months later, on her 27th birthday, she gave birth to a premature but healthy baby boy. Leadley says, “After several surgeries and more chemotherapy, all with three young children and while I was still working, I knew then that I could do anything.” From bluemedia’s pursuit of perfection, GPS Insight’s loyalty to its employees and Vantage Self-Directed Retirement Plans’ pride in educating clients; to Valley Sleep Center’s unique home-like environment, Real Property Management East Valley’s dedication to relationships and ComTrans’ focus on compassionate service – the six winners of the 2013 Spirit of Enterprise Awards are proof that improving the lives of clients and succeeding in business go hand-in-hand.

Entrepreneurship Management