The Power of Partnering (POP) is a half-day event where women entrepreneurs, business leaders, corporations and procurement professionals come together to train, network and create matchmaker opportunities to help create and reach procurement and business goals.
Each agenda includes educational resources from thought leadership and subject matter experts and the opportunity to showcase your capabilities statements in a meet the buyer setting or matchmaker sessions.
Suzanna Martinez has made a distinguished mark in the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry, boasting over 20 years of experience working for multiple PEO companies. As the dynamic force behind PEO For The CEO based in Atlanta, Suzanna has been a guiding beacon for businesses, leading them towards streamlined HR operations, and cost savings in health insurance and workers compensation.
Suzanna’s unique combination of personalized care, extensive industry knowledge, and customized solutions ensures her clients are well-equipped and empowered. Businesses that work with Suzanna benefit not only from her extensive expertise but also from her negotiation skills, ongoing support, and long-term partnership.
Through the years, the importance of community support and involvement has driven Suzanna to share her expertise, skills, and collaboration with organizations striving to make a difference.
Follow PEO for The CEO on LinkedIn.
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the GWBC Power of Partnering Event at Georgia Power headquarters. So excited to be talking to my guest, Susanna Martinez, who is the owner and CEO broker of PEO For The CEO. Welcome.
Suzanna Martinez: Thank you.
Lee Kantor: For folks who aren’t familiar, can you explain what a PEO is?
Suzanna Martinez: Absolutely. So a PEO stands for Professional Employer Organization. And essentially what it does is it pulls several thousands of small businesses into a large group to create buying power and economies of scale on areas of health insurance, worker’s comp insurance, HR services, and payroll.
Lee Kantor: And what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?
Suzanna Martinez: Gosh, I’ve been doing it for over 18 plus years. And about three years ago just totally became an independent PEO broker. And I have my own consulting agency as of three years.
Lee Kantor: And who is kind of the ideal client or avatar for you in your business?
Suzanna Martinez: Typically, I’m working with companies that have ten to about 200 employees and anywhere in between. So a lot of small to medium-sized companies that are really looking to get buying power and economies of scale, and they’re really – their goal is to scale their businesses. Oftentimes, they have employees in multiple states, so they have to deal with different compliance. They really see the value of outsourcing to the experts to help them grow and scale their businesses.
Lee Kantor: And then what types of – when you’re talking about kind of these kind of services, is it insurance? Is it payroll? Like what are –
Suzanna Martinez: It’s all included. So it’s a whole bundled package. Health insurance is the biggest driver. It’s the second line item in a company’s P&L statement. So health insurance is very expensive. So business owners are constantly looking for ways to save money and still offer rich benefits to their employees. And companies typically that I work with are wanting to offer rich Fortune 500 benefits to their employees, and they’re just trying to do so affordably.
Suzanna Martinez: For worker’s comp, if you’re a blue-collar company, gray-collar company, your worker’s comp premiums could also be heavy duty there as well so the power of joining a PEO is that you do get the power of the economies of scale.
Lee Kantor: Now, is there an industry that you kind of lean into, or is it kind of industry agnostic?
Suzanna Martinez: It’s industry agnostic, really. It’s all just typically the employee counts and where the company’s headquarters and the fact that they typically have employees in multiple states. They’re looking at growing and scaling. They’re worried about compliance issues. They’re worried about offering rich benefits to their employees and saving money on the premiums. And this is actually fourth quarter. So I really wanted to give a plug. 85% of businesses are actually renewing their current PEO company right now or getting ready to renew. And they’re also getting ready to renew for their health insurance benefits come January. So this is the time of year that companies are really looking at their insurances on their health insurance and their PEO services.
Lee Kantor: So what’s the pain they’re having right now where they should call you or somebody on the team?
Suzanna Martinez: Well, believe it or not, unfortunately they’re seeing renewals anywhere between 20 to 60% increases in their premiums. And that is very high. If you’re getting anything below 10% and you’re happy with your benefits, it’s probably better to just stay where you’re at. But any time you’re getting anything above 15 to 20%, that is the time. Actually, you should always be shopping even prior to your renewal. But unfortunately, if you get your renewal and it’s above 20%, give me a call, Suzanna Martinez, your PEO For The CEO.
Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to connect with you, what is the website?
Suzanna Martinez: peofortheceo.com. I’m very active also on LinkedIn, so feel free to connect with me and DM me that way as well.
Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you to become part of the GWBC community?
Suzanna Martinez: Well, because I just am going through my certification to get women minority – women certified. And I’m really – I’m not the type of business that’s going to be doing business with any of the government agencies, the state agencies, or even the federal agencies. But I see the value of networking with all these other business women here. They all need health insurance, they all need worker’s comp. They all need help growing and scaling their businesses. So the network to be able to connect with all these ladies and the wonderful ladies in this room is powerful for me.
Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.
Suzanna Martinez: Thank you. I also wanted to give a plug. I’m also on the board of the Latina Rise Foundation Board, and we have a couple of upcoming events that I would really like to announce. October 2nd is going to be at Kendra Scott, a jewelry shop in Peachtree Corners. 20% of proceeds go towards the Latina Rise. So that’s a nonprofit fundraising event that we’re having.
Suzanna Martinez: Also, October 15th, we are partnered with the Gwinnett County, and we’re going to be having an event to help businesses understand how to do business with the Gwinnett County. And hopefully, we’ll have other events with other agencies like that as well to help educate Latino businesses.
Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much again for sharing your story.
Suzanna Martinez: Thank you.
Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at GWBC Power of Partnering event.
