Mermaids and ADP

Hello fish-fans! You may have seen from our various social media pages that we’re currently running in the ADP Small Business Grant contest. ADP selects a winner every month based on votes and judging. That company then gets to use ADP Payroll services free for a year, and wins $10,000 toward their company! We’ve been asking people to vote for us and trying to explain how the money will help us. If we get to the top 5 companies with the most votes for the end of March; we are then into the second round where judges will determine who wins.

The main way that YOU can help us is by voting once daily, and inviting all your friends and family to do the same. You must register on the ADP contest website. It’s a very easy registration and they won’t spam you. Registration is just to make sure no one cheats. At the time of writing this blog we’re in second. We need your help to keep our position in the top 5. You can vote for us by going here: http://www.adpgrant.ca/contest-preview/?entryid=1207

I wanted to talk a little bit about the second round- judging. According to the official rules (as quoted here)

“A panel of judges (the “Contest Judges”) appointed by the Sponsor will judge each declared Finalist’s Contest Entry on the basis of: (i) the stated impact the Prize will have on the Small Business, (ii) the alignment of the Small Business with ADP’s corporate values, (iii) the overall creativity and quality of the Submission. The three factors are equally weighted.”

I wanted to speak specifically to these guidelines and why I feel they mesh so well with our mermaid company! Let’s take a look.

Part 1: The Impact of Prize Money

Well, it is likely no surprise to anyone that our company has used the good old fashioned method of bootstrapping to get this far. We have invested our own money, scrimped and saved, and worked very hard to build our following so we can become self-sustaining. A mermaid company takes a lot of initial investment. New costumes cost upwards of 3500$ when it’s all said and done. We opt for the type we have because they are medical grade materials (meaning they’re super safe and won’t harm people, water, or animals), and very realistic, and function in a safe manner. We’ve opted for cheaper ones in the past but they just don’t stand up to the work we put them through. Prize money would allow us to replace fading costumes with slightly newer ones within a budget. We’ve learned new methods to help cut down on depreciation.  We’d likely spend ¼ of the prize money on new to us tails. Having additional tails would also allow us to have additional staff.

You may have noticed recently that mermaid swim schools have become very popular. While we don’t have a physical swim school we often do mermaid workshops and makeovers for kids. Believe it or not we have a huge demand for adults and teens! With two of our members being photographers we would like to invest in 10 fabric mermaid tail costumes for the purpose of creating makeover or “learn to be a mermaid” packages for teens and adults. We’ve had requests for these since day one of our company and it’s an expansion we’ve not been able to fill yet. We love how amazing our mermaid tails make us feel. They are empowering! They make us strong; agile, and beautiful. We want other people to feel the same way. We know the market is there and we have the ability. We’d likely spend about $1000 to obtain 10 fabric tails in different colors and sizes.

The final thing we’d spend our prize money on is a travelling mermaid tank. While mermaids are still trying to gain notoriety in Canada; they are already becoming a staple of entertainment in the States and abroad. It’s become quite standard for companies to own or have access to a mermaid tank. The tank is used to make the mermaids more portable, add a new viewing level for the audience, book a bigger variety of performances, and allow for more travelling. Tanks are heated and filtered and mobile. We would no longer be restricted by pools, or access to a body of water. Tanks are a huge hit with clients, and we would also rent our tank out to local filming and photography groups. It would also allow us to add another dimension to our mermaid makeovers in which participants can be filmed/photographed “underwater”. We have the tank and everything needed for it including insurance and storage lined up. We’d use the remainder of our ADP money for this purpose.

Check out this video we took of our friends Merbellas Studios Inc in Florida in their tank!

Post by Raina the Halifax Mermaid.

Finally, having a year free of ADP payroll services would just make things a million times easier for this business fish. With the type of work we can do the exchange of funds can get tricky. We are lucky to have a phenomenal accountant on our team; and these services would help us so much in keeping everything organized and documented. We’re a growing business! Growing faster than we’ve realized. We’ve more than doubled in a year. And we expect to keep on with that pattern!

Part 2: The Alignment of ADP's Corporate Values and our Small Business...

Let’s take a look at ADP’s corporate values as listed on their main website:

“Our Mission, Vision and Values Our Mission

Power organizations with insightful solutions that drive business success 

Our Vision

Be the world’s authority on helping organizations focus on what matters 

Our Values

Integrity is everything: We conduct our business with the highest level of integrity. We are straight forward and honor our commitments. We do the right thing. 

Insightful Expertise: We thrive on turning knowledge into insight. Staying on top of our field and ahead of the curve is how we drive value for our clients. 

Service Excellence:  We are obsessed with all aspects of the client experience. The strength of our client relationships is the key to our growth and success. 

Inspiring Innovation: We strive for constant improvement, always searching for new and better ways to serve our clients and grow the business. We created an entire industry - innovation is in our DNA. 

Each person counts: We believe that each person counts. Each client and associate counts.  Each deed counts and each contact between every client and associate counts. We respect and embrace the diversity of our associates, clients and business partners. 

Results-driven: We are driven by a strong work ethic that is results-oriented. We encourage prudent risk taking without the fear of occasional failure. By being accountable, we deliver measurable results. 

Social responsibility: We believe in giving back to the communities where we work and live. We encourage and support our associates' commitment to giving back and helping improve their communities.

- See more at: http://www.adp.com/who-we-are/philosophy.aspx#sthash.8fOnldw2.dpuf

Ok, so let’s break that down and see how it applies to MERMAIDS!

“Power organizations with insightful solutions that drive business success”
“Be the world’s authority on helping organizations focus on what matters“

Believe it or not but one of the main things I do as owner of the company is trying to educate and empower other mermaid companies. I do that through the two books I’ve published, online and in person workshops, free online videos, and free online tutorials. I’ve taught other companies how to build their mermaid company from the sea floor up; and I’ve empowered them to work better with children using my background as both an educator and in child development. My business partner Sean has a background in entrepreneurship and HR. We combine powers… and help mermaids!

As a company, we are always trying to empower and educate others.  Sometimes it’s formally through educational workshops like the ones we have coming up this March Break. Sometimes it’s more informally in those brief moments we get to spend with a person. We are always advocating for a healthy environment and a healthy child developmental experience.

Our clients can attest to our integrity. We honour every contract and have never had an issue. We strive to remain professional and an example to others.

 With our collective multidisciplinary experiences and skills we’re able to offer new insights into education. With a focus on constructivist approach and emergent curriculum: we create unique learning experiences that are fun for all ages. We are also always trying to advocate for the importance of nurturing imagination as a lifelong tool. See more about our educational experience here.

Our client feedback, the comments we get online from happy clients and participants, and the smiles on children’s faces all demonstrate how we strive to provide the best service we can. I participate in a lot of professional development and mentoring to be sure our business is always at its best. Plus, we accept feedback from clients on a regular base and always take their suggestions to heart. We want our clients to walk away (or swim away) with a memory that will last a lifetime. We know we leave an impression. We see clients years down the road and they still remember their experience with us in happy vivid detail. I’ve documented many of those examples in my two published books.

Our company’s mission revolves around inspiring others to follow their dreams, informing them through education, and encouraging their imagination.  Everything we do as a company, we reflect on our “Three I’s” to help make our client experience that much better and meaningful. Please take a look at our mission.

Mermaids make every effort to make every participant feel like they’re getting individual attention and an individual experience. We are quick to respond to the needs of our client, we keep open communication, and do our best to be as transparent as possible. We meet individual needs and always go the extra mile to make sure events are memorable. Because we know; every person counts.

We know that our company is creating results. We see happy, healthier, and fitter kids. But the feedback we get also solidifies this. We are constantly being told about how our experience changed someone. Sometimes it made them think more about the environment and how they use resources, clean up, or care for animals. Sometimes it’s a parent who now things a little differently about their child playing pretend, their boy doing something regarded as ‘feminine’, or nurturing their child’s imagination. We hear stories all the times of kids who chase their parents to be sure they turn lights off, recycle, and don’t idle their cars. It’s great!

Finally… just like ADP we believe in a greater social responsibility. Which is why we have (since our humble beginnings) always given back.  Our company volunteers and supports many programs. Hope for Wildlife, Children’s Wish Foundation, fundraisers for sick kids, IWK Children’s Hospital, World Ocean’s Day and so many more. Take a look at our mermaids in the community page to see more.

Part 3: Creativity

Do you really need convincing that we're creative? If so.. check out some of these video clips!

So please... vote every day in MARCH :)

We hope we’ve convinced you of why we’re deserving of this prize. Please don’t forget to vote for us by going to the following link: http://www.adpgrant.ca/contest-preview/?entryid=1207

Thank you and best fishes from the team!