The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said, “Change is the only constant in life.” Business leaders have said, “If you’re not changing, you’re probably dying.”
Things are definitely changing at Beyond Vision. The story of change and growth begins with our name itself. The Beyond Vision brand was launched a little over a year ago. It is the banner under which the legal entities Wiscraft and AIB (Associated Industries for the Blind) now operate, together. From all accounts the new Beyond Vision moniker continues to get rave reviews. Everyone likes the new name and recognizes it better portrays our services, our mission, and our why.
Not only has the signage on the front of the building changed, the front yard received a facelift too. Home Depot very generously donated the material and their employee volunteer manpower to give our facade a complete makeover a few months ago. We now have the best looking building in the State Street Miller Valley. We’ve always been proud to work here. Now we are even prouder to work here and bring guests to visit.
Our BSC (Base Supply Center) retail stores market blind-made office and building supplies on nine military bases in six states. The “Sequester,” (federal budget cuts) implemented last March included a disproportionately large cut to the military budget. One of the unintended consequences of this was a 25% reduction in sales throughout our BSC network. This, along with challenges to our commercial markets such as lawn care and mining, required us to restructure. To help lean the organization, we merged the management team and back office support services for both Wiscraft and AIB such as HR, IT, Finance and Procurement. The restructure was also intended to provide laser focus on business development with the top priority of commercial diversification. We’ve moved offices, changed titles and shifted responsibilities. We all know change is inevitable, that change is good, but, it can also be stressful. I’ve been very proud of our entire staff for accepting these significant and rapid changes. Adaptability, flexibility and rapid response will give Beyond Vision the competitive edge necessary to function in the global marketplace.
In addition to these significant adjustments, we are delighted to report growth in our mission by adding professional job opportunities for people who are blind in our full-service Call Center. We’ve outgrown our original six seat Center and just completed an expansion which features 16 work stations. This exciting growth has come as a result of increased business from several new customers. Our Call Center fields all inbound Unclaimed Property calls for the State of Wisconsin Department of Treasury. We’ve launched a “secret shopper,” customer care quality program for a company called Fresh Revenues that specializes in quality control services for the hospitality markets. We’ve started making annual renewal calls for an American Family insurance agency. This program could grow rapidly as we hope to get exposure and referral at the corporate level. Recently, we began a call program for Harley-Davidson to promote accessories warranty and sales for new Harley owners.
“In the blink of an eye,” is an axiom referring to near instantaneous change. The changes at Beyond Vision are not instantaneous. However, we are always seeking to continuously improve our ability to extend gainful employment opportunities to people who are blind. We do this because it’s the right thing. We do it because it’s the smart thing to do…they’re very capable and wonderful employees given the tools and the chance! Consider that “in the blink of an eye,” Beyond Vision can change lives by providing the dignity of a job and the pride of being self-sufficient and contributing to society.