WBEs
May 2012 WBE of the Month - Marie Bak
Marie Bak, owner of Service, Dependability, Quality, Ltd., (SDQ Janitorial) believes in respecting all aspects of her business, no job is too menial. So when the investors she sought out to help fund her commercial cleaning services company in its beginning phases fell through, she took on her company’s daily cleaning duties, scrubbing floors in the homes of top executives. Her unfailing belief in her company caught the attention and earned the respect of several Fortune 500 executives who recognized that her vision and work ethic would be key to her success.
SDQ Janitorial went from a vision to dream come true as Marie built her business from the ground up, floor by floor. Now with nearly 30 years and more than 500 employees, SDQ Janitorial is not only Minnesota’s largest non-union commercial cleaning service, but it is among the top ten companies in its industry in the state. Her employee base is comprised of 99% New Americans who come from countries such as Korea, Ecuador and Guyana. Marie provides her employees with specialized training, housing and resettlement support and is known for her caring “godmother-like” personality. As one of her employees expressed, “We have been blessed, and our hearts belong to SDQ.”
Marie’s dream to build SDQ Janitorial began while she and her husband were living in Europe and had several workers to help with cleaning and other housekeeping tasks. Marie appreciated their work, and this experience helped to shape her plans for a family business of her own. “In Europe, every worker is respected, no matter what the job is. I treat my employees as professionals and special individuals: remembering birthdays, anniversaries – even favorite restaurants.”
The WBDC-Minnesota (WBDC-MN) has been a benefit to Marie. She has attended several workshops which have been important in her understanding of the advantages of being a certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE). “The WBDC-MN assisted us in relationships with multi-national corporations, not just getting us in the door, but also helping us to establish a relationship. The workshops provide tools to help grow your business; they give you ideas of how you can improve.”
Marie thinks it is important that every WBE know that to be successful, a business owner doesn’t have to do everything within her business. WBEs should identify their strengths and weaknesses, and then seek out talent to cover those weaknesses. She suggests WBEs should concentrate on doing what they do best. Marie advocates trusting one’s own instinct and never giving up on dreams. Finally, she says, “Make sure employees and associates know that you care about them, and then help to improve their lives. If you do this, you will always be successful.”
To learn more about Service, Dependability, Quality, Ltd., (SDQ Janitorial) please click here
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WOMEN’S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (WBE) CERTIFICATION helps women business owners create new marketing opportunities with corporate and government buyers. The WBDC provides women-owned businesses with nationally-recognized WBE certification through our partnership with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. After completing the process of certification, you'll gain advantages outlined on this page.
CORPORATE CONNECTIONS
The WBDC coordinates one-on-one “matchmaker” meetings between WBEs and corporate and government purchasing agents who've committed to buying products and services from WBEs. These matchmaking sessions occur at the WBDC’s Annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference and at corporate and government sites other times of the year
QUARTERLY NETWORKING AND PROCUREMENT MEETINGS
At our Quarterly Networking and Procurement meetings, as a WBE, you'll meet supplier diversity and procurement representatives, as well as other WBEs and make valuable connections for future contracts. Representatives of our corporate partners and government agencies explain best ways of doing business together. The WBDC uses both e-mail and our WBE newsletter to notify you of events and business opportunities.
CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM
By strengthening your sales, operations, and marketing capabilities, our Capacity Building Program helps your WBE-certified business compete for, win, and fulfill contracts. Key elements include: a four-part series, “Accelerating Your Sales Performance”, that eliminates the headaches of erratic sales and choppy profitability; and “Cycle of Success,” a one-year program that teaches ways to more effectively manage operations and increase profitability.
Done Deals Program
To showcase the accomplishments of WBEs, we've set in place the WBDC Done Deals Program which publicizes completed contacts between WBEs and a corporation, a government agency, or another WBE. We publish these deals in our WBE Quarterly Newsletter, which is distributed to more than 1,000 women business owners, to our corporate partners, and promoted here on our website.
THE PROCESS
Do you have a Done Deal to report? Click here to complete the required form. Once we review it, we'll contact you and prepare a brief report, ask the other party for their permission, and then give both parties a chance to review the piece before publication. Please call 312.853.3477 X 0 with any questions.
Corporate Partners
3M
Advocate Health Care
AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc.
Alliant Energy
Allstate
American Airlines
American Family Insurance
American Hotel Register Company
AT&T
Bank of America
Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Best Buy Corporation
BP America
BUNN
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.
Cardinal Health
Cargill, Inc.
CDW
Chicago Public Schools
Citi
City of Chicago
ComEd/Exelon Corporation
Continental Casualty Company (CNA)
Cook County
Cooper Industries
Cub Foods
Deluxe Corporation
Ecolab
Ernst & Young LLP
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Harris N.A.
Health Care Service Corporation/BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois
Kraft Foods
Leo Burnett USA, Inc.
Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP
M&I Bank
Macy’s
Major League Baseball
Manpower
Marathon Petroleum Company
MarketSphere Consulting
MasterCard Worldwide
Mayo Clinic
Medtronic, Inc.
Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority (MPEA)
Microsoft Corporation
Minneapolis Public School District
Motorola, Inc.
Nicor Gas
The Nielsen Company
Northern Trust
Northwestern University – Purchasing Resource Services
Office Depot
OfficeMax
Owens & Minor, Inc.
Pepper Construction Co.
PepsiCo, Inc.
RubinBrown LLP
Rush University Medical Center
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.
Southwest Airlines
Staples, Inc.
State of Illinois
SUPERVALU, Inc.
Target Corporation
Turner Construction Company
U.S. Bank
U.S. Cellular
United Airlines
United Parcel Service (UPS)
The University of Chicago
The University of Chicago Medical Center
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Walgreen Co.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
Xcel Energy
*Corporate & Government Partners listed as of 1-1-11
