Business Woman December 2009 : Page 1
BUSINESSWOMAN DECEMBER 2009 • VOL. 6 NO. 12 • $1.75 Ruth B. Dietz, owner and CEO of J.P. Donmoyer Inc. in Ono, continues to be very active in the company, attending weekly staff meetings and being an integral part of the decision-making process in major issues concerning the company. EDUCATING AND ENCOURAGING WOMEN IN BUSINESS FEATURE: Businesses Reveal Corporate Identity Through Community Involvement By KIM KLUGH Keep On Truckin’ By LYNDAHUDZICK I t has been nearly 40 years since Ruth B. Dietz, owner and CEO of J.P. Donmoyer Inc. in Ono, found herself facing a life-changing decision. She had just inherited a struggling company in an industry where she had no experience. She had never held a management position before. The easy thing to do would have been to sell the company and return to her nursing career, but through sheer will and determination, Dietz decided to learn the business as well as the industry and make the company a success. “I willingly accepted entry into a new and challenging world,” she said. “My early years were filled with numerous obstacles.” But one by one, she identified each obstacle and effectively planned to overcome them, converting those obstacles into opportunities. And she please see TRUCKIN’ page 3 INSIDE BUSINESSWOMAN The Benefits Of Accommodating The Disabled PAGE 4 How Your Company Can Profit From Social Media Mania PAGE 8 Five Trigger Tips To Turn Your “No” Client Into A “Yes” Client PAGE 16 business distinguishes itself by more than its title and logo. Its identity is forged through a combination of design, communication, and behavior. Beyond logos, prescribed uniforms, and identifiable colors; beyond advertising; and beyond PR strategies lies a company’s internal makeup— its heart—where its values and norms are revealed and subject to public perception. These truths can be fostered in a variety of ways. Cultivating relationships within the community by giving back or supporting causes and organizations in its surrounding area is one way to solidify corporate identity. The following three businesswomen have chosen a variety of creative outlets for their respective companies to give back. Their stories and motivations may vary, but they project a common spirit. Entrepreneur Toni Law, CEO of Metal A Works Designs, creates and markets a line of handbags and accessories that are very please see FEATURE page 2 PRSRT STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 280 LANC., PA 17604
Businesses Reveal Corporate Identity Through Community Involvement
Kim Klugh
Abusiness distinguishes itself by more than its title and logo. Its identity is forged through a combination of design, communication, and behavior. Beyond logos, prescribed uniforms, and identifiable colors; beyond advertising; and beyond PR strategies lies a company’s internal makeup— its heart—where its values and norms are revealed and subject to public perception.
These truths can be fostered in a variety of ways. Cultivating relationships within the community by giving back or supporting causes and organizations in its surrounding area is one way to solidify corporate identity.
The following three businesswomen have chosen a variety of creative outlets for their respective companies to give back. Their stories and motivations may vary, but they project a common spirit.
Entrepreneur Toni Law, CEO of Metal Works Designs, creates and markets a line of handbags and accessories that are very Unusual. Her signature design is the spoon purse.
Why the spoon? “Forks didn’t work,” says Law, and since spoons are a traditional token of love, all the more reason to utilize them as the handle in their purse designs.
The spoon’s tie to love and affection dates back to the age when it served as the main utensil used in eating; the man who gave his lady a spoon communicated that he would provide for her. By accepting the offered spoon, a woman communicated interest in her suitor.
Symbolism also carries over into the way Law has chosen to give back to the community; 10 percent of the proceeds on selected Metal Works’ Pink Line are donated to breast cancer patients, in honor of Law’s mother, who is an 18-year survivor of breast cancer.
“Mom had great insurance. Not everyone does,” she says. Law admits she is a full believer in giving back, and that’s why the proceeds go specifically to patients of breast cancer in the Chester County Hospital, the same hospital in which her mother received care. These donations help cover patient costs for a variety of services, including transportation to the hospital for treatment appointments and pills to counter nausea.
Law is also co-founder of another business called Take Home Tips, Inc., of which all the products are American-made.
The items are a collection of practical products designed to save time and include kitchen magnets that offer essential tips for working in the kitchen or home. Law says that a portion of the proceeds of this enterprise are donated to children’s charities in her surrounding area.
Deana Woods, president of MoneyLine Lending in Camp Hill, a residential and commercial banking business, says that, “We like contributing to the communities where we live and work, and we help out where we can.” And they’ve been doing just that since their 2006 debut. Woods says MoneyLine Lending got involved in the community right away by sponsoring area softball, basketball, and soccer teams. They’ve also supported the MS Society Walk-a-thons and the Big 33 Cheerleaders.
“We sponsored both teams in the Big 33 Cheerleaders—we support the event and the mission,” Woods says. In July they also sponsored the Second Annual Central PA Blood Drive and advertised on local radio stations in support of the drive during its lowest-donation/highest-need month of the year.
Woods was even willing to experience “incarceration” for the Muscular Dystrophy Executive Lock-Up fundraiser this year. “It was the first time I had asked for money from friends and family, and I was blown away by the generous donations they contributed toward my bail money,” Woods says. When it comes to MoneyLine Lending and community support, “I like to say yes as often as I can, especially to locally owned and operated organizations,” says Woods.
Anita Yoder is in her 20th year as president and a designer of Heritage Design Interiors, Inc., located in New Holland. Her company contributes assorted donations, such as gift certificates, floral designs, and art, to local charity events and auctions. She says that she particularly chooses events that benefit children.
Additionally, Heritage Design Interiors (HDI) has contributed to cancer fundraisers, since Yoder lost a close friend, as well as two grandparents, to the disease.
“I also like to promote skills and education. People make mistakes; I like to give back in ways that help teach people how to improve their lives,” Yoder says. In light of that, Bridge of Hope is another organization that HDI has supported.
In smaller yet ongoing ways, Yoder says that HDI donates to the Mennonite Central Committee and local churches by passing on gently used draperies and scrap material pieces and strips that are cut into patches and sewn together for blankets for the homeless.
In the same manner, books of sample material are dismantled and the larger pieces sewn into drawstring bags that are then filled with personal toiletry items and distributed in third-world countries.
“Sample wallpaper books are also cut up and donated to schools or retirement homes for crafts, rather than being tossed in a Dumpster,” says Yoder. Similarly, HDI donates dented and bent odds and ends to thrift shops and reuse-it shops.
Companies in general strive to paint appealing self-portraits; that’s just good business sense. The manner in which they treat their employees, their customers, and their neighbors or immediate community at large contributes to this portrait. By volunteering time, pledging financial support, making creative donations, and walking the walk, companies make their mark.
Ongoing participation in community support is full of rewards: it’s fun; it builds community; it establishes trust; it sets an example and inspires others; and it demonstrates leadership and promotes an attitude of caring. What company wouldn’t want to be identified with those characteristics?
Keep On Truckin
Lynda Hudzick
It has been nearly 40 years since Ruth
B. Dietz, owner and CEO of J.P. Donmoyer Inc. in Ono, found herself facing a life-changing decision.
She had just inherited a struggling company in an industry where she had no experience. She had never held a management position before. The easy thing to do would have been to sell the company and return to her nursing career, but through sheer will and determination, Dietz decided to learn the business as well as the industry and make the company a success.
“I willingly accepted entry into a new and challenging world,” she said. “My early years were filled with numerous obstacles.” But one by one, she identified each obstacle and effectively planned to overcome them, converting those obstacles into opportunities. And she Used those opportunities to her advantage, becoming a confident, self-assured business and community leader, never hesitating to accept virtually any challenge placed before her.
Always willing to pursue new opportunities, the business grew, and as Dietz said, “By 1991, we had acquired a multitude of transportation-related businesses that included convenience stores, a truck stop, a large restaurant, as well as an international truck dealership and a Jeep Eagle dealership.” It was then that Dietz and her son, Jeffrey L. Bohn, who had been named president of the company in 1983, realized that the business had grown too large and diverse.
“So we hired a well-qualified general management team whose first decision was to downsize and concentrate on transportation,” she said.
While retaining the truck stop in Ono,
J. P. Donmoyer became the main focus of the company. In 1992, a second terminal was opened in York. And then in 1993, Dietz acquired state-of-the-art equipment enhanced with electronic engines that enabled the company to increase productivity.
“This made it possible to take advantage of productivity improvements and gain real-time management strategies,” she said. “This business decision positioned the company with the ability to attract customers utilizing time-sensitive deliveries.” In 2001, the company was recognized by the Pennsylvania State Chamber as the No. 1 transportation company and the 26th overall company to work for in the state of Pennsylvania. It continues to expand, and thanks to recent opportunities to build relationships with other carriers in the But for all the facts and figures presented concerning the success of J.P. Donmoyer Inc., it has been the unique philosophy of Dietz that has truly led to that success.
“My philosophy is to concentrate on the development of each individual to achieve his or her potential in the organization,” Dietz said. “I assure myself that failures are observed as learning opportunities and that subsequently, developmental plans are initiated to strengthen our employees.” In the mid-1990s Dietz determined that although employees were being challenged, there was not enough training made available to meet those challenges, and so she was instrumental in initiating a professional development program to assist her employees.
“My goal is for my employees to maintain a developmental program so they can contribute to society as well as their work,” she said. While other company owners may concentrate on the bottom line and use people as a means to achieve that goal, “I have a genuine concern for the development of my employees and believe that people come first, and if that is done correctly, they will achieve the bottom line,” Dietz explained.
Dietz continues to be very active in the company, attending weekly staff meetings and being an integral part of the decisionmaking process in major issues concerning the company. She is involved in the legislative process and works with legislators on grants and low interest rates that will poise the company for state-ofthe- art projects. Dietz also focuses on researching alternative fuels and is working on a new corporate company headquarters on an ongoing basis.
“Over the years, I have had to delegate some of my day-to-day duties to my staff,” she said. “It has been very hard, but it has established a professional staff and has developed a productive environment where workflow and communication flow are continually defined to exceed the customer as well as the employee expectations.” Supporting her community is another important aspect to Dietz’s recipe for success. She enjoys setting an example of leadership in the volunteer ranks and encourages her staff to follow. She has volunteered as a school board member for 16 years and has been a volunteer of the local fire company commission for 20 years.
She has also found time to be an active volunteer with the Lebanon County Chamber of Commerce for the last 25 years and serves on the executive board of Penn State University in Middletown, forging a partnership with the university and her company.
“I enjoy volunteering with the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association and the Pennsylvania Motor Carrier Safety Alliance as well,” Dietz said. “Both of these organizations promote the trucking industry in the state and the safe transportation of freight.” As she continues to provide the quality leadership and the entrepreneurial spirit that has led her company from one success to the next over the past four decades, Dietz is pleased with the great sense of accomplishment that she knows her employees enjoy.
“All of our employees are empowered to make most decisions without the need to obtain approval when it comes to supporting each other in doing his or her job,” Dietz said. “This gives the employees a great sense of accomplishment and the understanding that helping each other makes for a successful story.”
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