Today we’d like to introduce you to Wesley Owens.
Wesley, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started Bison 7 years ago because I’ve always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Passion, Freedom, and the desire to create a legacy are the driving forces that motivated me to follow my dream and start a business. I believe that passion is the fuel that drives every entrepreneur. My passion for leading, supporting, and mentoring those with a love for connecting individuals with employment opportunities and helping businesses become more profitable is a primary reason I decided to start a Professional Employer Organization (PEO).
Freedom is another motivating element that ignited my fire to own a business. Particularly, financial freedom is a concept I “preach” daily. My testimony is proof of the impact financial freedom has made in my personal and business life. After all, it is my unrelenting and uncompromising quest for this freedom that has allowed me to grow and maintain a business, while ALSO nurturing a family. In fact, my daily example shows how financial freedom has proven to be my “secret” to truly enriching one’s family, business, and community.
Legacy is the final piece to my entrepreneurial pursuit. Quite simply, my thrust to create a legacy boils down to three desires:
Provide a sense of stability for my families future; Build a business I can pass down to my children and my employee’s children; Leave a business that impacts the world through giving.
Ultimately, my passion for people, my quest for freedom, and my desire to leave a “giving” legacy to the world are what caused me to follow my dream and start a business.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the beginning, I knew starting a new business from the ground up would be extremely challenging. I encountered a lot of obstacles any entrepreneur would face when starting the business. I had the vision, but I needed a great team whom I could trust and execute my vision for the company. Like many entrepreneurs, I was able to overcome a major obstacle by bringing on associates and close allies who were genuine and highly supportive. Once you are able to find a great team around you who believe in your vision, then half the battle is over. Since I was new in the HR industry, I knew I had to differentiate Bison from its’ competitors. I was able to overcome this obstacle in several different ways. I was able to provide a payroll platform that many in the industry didn’t offer. As I stated in the Black EOE Journal, “Bison Payroll platform can take on clients that are just looking for payroll or we can take on clients that are looking for payroll and staffing. We administer our own back-office functions, further distancing ourselves from our competition”. With that differentiation, we have over 25K active associates on our payroll for our clients. Secondly, we were able to provide a worker’s compensation solution for businesses. This solution helped reduce or eliminate the typical large down payment requirement. As a result of these efforts, we were able to differentiate Bison from its’ competitor through our Product Portfolio, Proprietary Payroll Platform, and Customer Service. We persevered, stayed the course, and maintained a positive attitude that has helped this company grow significantly over the past 4 years.
Please tell us about Bison HR Outsourcing.
Bison’s mission is to help businesses succeed by providing a higher standard of Human Resource Outsourcing. We strive to provide comprehensive HR solutions that help business owners simplify the business of employing and administering employees, all while providing the highest quality customer service. Our sole purpose is to help businesses control expenses, minimize risk exposure, maximize opportunities for revenue generation, and GROW THEIR BUSINESS!
Bison has conducted extensive market research on the PEO industry. Additionally, the experience of most of the leadership team is in adjacent industries which have helped, as we have a pulse on the industry. Because of this, our organization was able to differentiate Bison from our competitors. For example, in this industry, having your own payroll platform if any at all is not offered which offers limited access and flexibility. Having our own, robust platform allows us the flexibility to process payroll in a way that our clients were familiar with prior to signing on with Bison. For our staffing clients, this platform also houses an Applicant Tracking System, Worker’s Comp claim tracking, an accounting system, and tax compliance reporting. Our flexibility and various service offerings have allowed Bison to acquire 25k active associates. PEO services include the option of workers compensation solutions for businesses. Obtaining this coverage through Bison PEO provides a more cost-effective solution for business (reduce or eliminate down payments, etc.) without having to manage claims. Our solutions also provide options for those having difficulty with obtaining their own coverage. We’ve also implemented a personalized customer service option which has cleared the way for tremendous growth. With this option, clients will always speak to their dedicated representative for their back-office support and not a call center.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I am an Atlanta native, so my favorite childhood memory is attending the Atlanta Falcons games at the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5425 Peachtree Pkwy
Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 - Website: www.bisonhro.com
- Phone: 888-242-5737
- Email: wowens@bisonhro.com
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/BisonStaffing/
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