GROW YOUR BUSINESS

One Relationship at a Time

Start Growing Now

The BEA is...

a group of business leaders dedicated to improving their businesses through networking and sharing management philosophies and ideas.

How it Happens

1. Events

The BEA is a social group. We love to get together. Our organization meets twice a month as a group and one on one any time we can. Obviously, in-person meetings are not happening now, but we are still meeting twice a month via Zoom. When possible again we will meet once a month at the East Bank Club in Chicago. Our second meeting of the month is always somewhere new.

2. Learning

The BEA is filled with a wealth of knowledge. There are literally hundreds of years of experience between our members. Our members are eager to offer advice and share their knowledge when they can. We also strive to continue to learn by inviting guest speakers and experts to present new and innovative ideas.

3. Relationships

Relationships drive the BEA. Our members form lasting connections. That is evident in the years our members stay involved. 60% of our membership has been in the BEA for over 10 years! We even have three-member companies that are second-generation members. This speaks to the deep connections that are fostered in the BEA.

[wp_bannerize_pro desktop=”1″ id=”1389″]

Our organization has a dual purpose: To facilitate the exchange of business and leads among our members and to learn and share business insight with each other.

Upcoming Events

september

14sep7:15 am9:00 amThe Buying & Selling of Business

Event Details

The Buying & Selling of Business

A panel discussion featuring members Bill Factor, Bob Warner, Bruce Leon, & Mike Mazursky about the ins and outs of buying and selling business.

Moderated by David Seidman

Bill Factor, Chicago Messenger Service

Bill started at Chicago Messenger full time in 1977 (44 years ago). He lives in Long Grove, IL for the past 23 years with his wife Cathy . He has been married for 36 years and has 2 adult children that help run the business (Brad, 35 years old & Amanda, 32 years old). His favorite hobby is boating in Chicago and Florida. Bill has been a member of the BEA for 20 years!

Bob Werner, Werner Printing & Engraving

Bob is the third-generation owner and CEO of Werner Printing & Engraving Co. Bob started as a sales executive in 1984, shortly after graduating from the University of Illinois. He has been the backbone of the sales efforts over the past 30 years and has been instrumental in the growth and expansion of the company. Bob enjoys the face-to-face time he gets with clients. Furthermore, Bob takes great pride in the fact that most employees have been with the company for over 20 years. Due to this, it is a true family environment.

Bruce Leon, Tandem HR

Bruce Leon, an avid entrepreneur, is the owner/founder of four sister companies in the Chicagoland area: Benefits Solutions Group (an insurance brokerage firm), Tandem HR (a professional employer organization – PEO), Alliance Workplace Solutions (a voluntary benefits firm), and Workplace Solutions (an Employee Assistance Program).

Bruce started his entrepreneurial endeavors with Benefits Solutions Group in 1997, offering full-service healthcare insurance benefit solutions. It wasn’t long before he recognized a unique need in the Chicago-area market for a high-touch, consultative professional employer organization (PEO). Small and mid-sized businesses outsource all employee-related functions to a PEO, including human resource services, employee benefits, payroll administration and risk management. Through a co-employment agreement, the PEO becomes the “administrative employer” while the client remains in charge of running the business as the “worksite employer”. It was 1998 when he incorporated Tandem Professional Employer Services (which changed its name to Tandem HR in 2008).

Alliance Workplace Solutions emerged in 2006 as a customer-centric voluntary benefits company offering employers enhanced benefits packages to their employee packages (100% employee paid and owned).

In 2011, Bruce purchased Workplace Solutions, which delivers comprehensive EAP, Work-Life, Wellness and Organizational Effectiveness services to a variety of organizations in a wide range of industries to further compliment the high-touch talent management services he provides to his clients.
Benefits Solutions Group, Alliance Workplace Solutions and Workplace Solutions EAP service both the Tandem HR client portfolio as well as and their own proprietary client base.

The Tandem Family of Companies has been recognized as:
• The Crain’s 2010 & 2012 Best Places to Work
• Chicago’s Largest Privately Held Companies 2006, 2007, 2009 & 2016
• Chicago’s Fast Fifty 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015
• Inc. 5000 in 2007 & 2016
• Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year award finalist 2008, 2009
• Chicago area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inductee 2009

When not expanding his businesses (or starting new ones!), Bruce enjoys spending time with his family, especially his four young grandsons who he is grooming to be lifelong Cubs fans! Bruce is a board member of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Chair of the HR division of the Jewish United Fund. Bruce is former Board Member of the Knapp Entrepreneur Center. Bruce serves on several philanthropic boards such as Arie Crown Hebrew Day School, Hanna Sachs, and the ATT Foundation. Bruce is active in BEA and YPO and their mentor program, in addition to lecturing and mentoring young business professionals in Project 613.

Mike Mazurksy, North Star Benefits

Mike has over 25 years of insurance and financial planning experience. He started his career in financial services while an undergrad at the University of Illinois. Mike has earned CLU and ChFC designations from the American College, and maintains insurance and investments licenses in over twenty states.

For the past 12 years, Mike has served as president of North Star Benefits. North Star is an insurance advisory that specializes in working with small to mid-size businesses, their owners and key executives. They assist clients in the areas of employee benefits, business continuation, executive compensation and personal planning.

Mike is a past president of the BEA and has been a member of the BEA for 20 years.

David Seidman, Seidman Law Group

David uniquely blends his legal skills with knowledge of how business is transacted. In addition to continuing to practice law as his primary focus, he enjoys the entrepreneurial life.