Business is like gambling, you place bets and strive for the upper hand and in both it is better to be safe than sorry. Lee Chapman, President and CEO of the The PEO Link, Inc, reiterates this philosophy to his clients daily. He knows how to make sure businesses play it safe and gain the edge. “A lot of times I sit down with companies and they don’t realize how out of order things are because nothing has happened to them,” says Chapman. “But its like rolling craps in Vegas, you keep rolling and you are eventually going to get hit. You’re gambling, but with your business.”Gaining the house advantage
In today’s competitive business world, Chapman, 29, and his team at The PEO Link, work with small to mid-sized businesses to make sure that they thrive in strong and weak economies. “Many might have heard of the PEO industry, but often don’t know much about it. However, today many savvy business owners are utilizing a PEO or professional employer organization to streamline their costs and handle back office and human resources operations,” says Chapman. “At The PEO Link we are PEO brokers.” The company consults with small to mid-sized business owners. After analyzing their company, they do the work to direct the employer to the best suited PEO at the best price for their business, ensuring they are in compliance will all laws, regulations and running efficiently. Chapman says more and more business owners are turning to PEOs to direct their non-revenue producing, human resource operations so that they can focus on revenue producing activities, like sales and marketing. PEOs work off-site and take on the tasks of helping manage employee issues, running payroll, regulating workers’ compensation and discrimination claims among other HR functions. PEO’s manage retirement benefits and insurance policies thereby reducing liability and allowing the business owner and key employees to focus on revenue producing activities.
Scratching the competition
According to National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), there are about 700 PEOs currently operating throughout the nation. With each PEO vying for the employers business they can easily be overwhelmed when selecting the right one for them. The PEO Link takes the burden off the employers’ back and matches them with the highest quality PEO companies and services in the industry through careful analysis and market research benefiting the company and employees. “A lot of people don’t realize how out of compliance they are with OSHA regulations insurance, and other HR compliance issues. That is why we sit down with them and see what’s going on,” says Chapman. After meeting with the client, Chapman sends out quotes to the best-suited PEOs for that specific client, receiving competitive rates for that client and cutting out the competition. “Every business must accomplish several crucial non-revenue producing activities in an efficient manner, or risk squandering the valuable time of expensive office employees,” says Chapman. Chapman can observe a direct relationship between the efficiency time spent as a business owner and the health of your bottom line. “PEO gets companies in compliance with everything and if you get started with a PEO they will have you running like a large corporation within a week or so. You will be in compliance with everything from tax law to compliance issues associated with having employees,” says Chapman. “My organization provides consulting services to a large portion of business owners that start out with great intentions and a great game plan.” Rick Vasquez, President of River City Coatings says, “Since having The PEO Link outsource our back office operations to a PEO, we have drastically expanded our business. We have been able to grow and focus on our business without having to deal with workers comp and other hassles.”
Beginers luck
Chapman got in the entrepreneurial spirit at an early age. While most high school seniors spend their days partying with friends on the weekends and chasing around the opposite sex during the week, Chapman was learning the value of a hard-earned dollar and gearing himself to become a thriving entrepreneur. At 17, he began selling newspaper subscriptions for the Express News. As an independent contractor, Chapman recruited about 15 of his buddies to work under him circulating the paper. “We would sell and distribute subscriptions after school. We were doing pretty good for high school students, each making about $50,000 a year,” says Chapman. “That’s where I learned to sell.” After graduating from Taft High School in 1997 Chapman went to college for about one year when he decided to put his time and energy into hitting the pavement and pursuing his career in sales. “My mom was in outside sales for years and years. She inspired me in my sales career. She really had no college education but did extremely well for herself,“ says Chapman. “So it just kind of came naturally.” At 19, Chapman worked as an outside sales rep for Epix, a Professional Employer Organization. Not knowing much about the PEO industry Chapman was eager to do his best and learn to support his new wife and daughter. “I was a kid and I had just had a daughter myself. I said you teach me what this industry is all about and I will out produce everyone in this office.” In his first six months he became top producer in the office and one of the top producers in the state.
Playing his cards right
Taking what he learned, Chapman went on to work at Corpus Christi based PEO - Unique Staffing, where he made a very good living to support his now two daughters and wife. After learning the ins and outs of the industry, in 2005, Chapman took a gamble and decided to leave Unique to start The PEO Link. “I was making really good money when I resigned to start my company. It took a lot to do that, but I always wanted to own my own business. I am a decision maker and that was hard to walk away from, I was married with a family – it was a big risk, but it paid off.” According to Chapman he is now the largest PEO broker agency in Texas, with a little over 600 clients -- 80 to 90 percent of which are in Texas. “A lot of other guys who do what I do are a lead farm, they actually get a lead and fire it off to 20 PEOs and their sales reps go after that lead. So the employers are back in the same situation,” says Chapman. “What we do is work for the employer and eliminate the used car sales game for the employer of going back and forth with all the PEOs.” With sales being his true passion and forte, Chapman enjoys the freedom of getting out of the office and hitting the streets to help prospective clients run their business more smoothly. “I really enjoy our industry because we are genuinely helping people,” says Chapman. “I have had clients who were about to lose their business because of back insurance premiums among other issues and I helped them regain control of their company by finding the right PEO for them. It is very rewarding.” Chapman says, “I grew up really fast, things took off extremely quick. Looking back I am glad I got started early. I was getting my feet wet in the real world. Being in the industry for 10 years, now I am an expert at what I do.”
High Roler - Placing big bets.
NAPEO estimates the PEO industry grew a very robust $5 billion in 2008 to $68 billion in gross revenues. Chapman plans to keep placing big bets on his industry, “As a relatively young industry - only about 25 years old - PEOs have vast room to grow.” The PEO industry has barely scratched the surface of the potential market, but the current projected growth rate for PEOs, coupled with their high client retention rates, supply ample evidence of an industry on the move. And just in case you were wondering, Chapman himself does use a PEO, “It allows me to get out in the market and I still do what I love. If was trying to do everything in house I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
For more information please visit www.thepeolink.com or call 210-348-9120.
