William M. Owen Owner-BP Payroll LLC, division of BP Companies Owner-Synergy VII, Inc

I was born in 1957, raised in Jefferson County and attended Auburn University completing my degree in Business Administration in 1979. My Father gave me four years to complete my degree or the funds he provided would be cut off! I walked on the football team and worked in the athletic dorm as a “Chow Boy” so that I could eat. I learned early of the difference between a privilege and a gift. Hard work has always been the cornerstone of what I believe makes one better than average.

I have worked with a large promotional company that warehoused merchandise all over the world in various capacities. I learned from working on a loading dock, in a print shop, packing room, advertising and ultimately in operations. As a young man I worked with talented business men and women across the country. I was fortunate to be asked to head a division that dealt with banks and credit unions across the United States and specific promotions. From this experience I learned that people needed someone to be responsive, not always having the answer that minute, but they wanted to be kept in the information loop.

I moved into sales traveling the country calling on large corporations as a young man. Naïve might be the kindest way to describe me; but for that reason I was not really afraid of rejection. As I began maturing and my business relationships broadened, I was encouraged to get into the insurance business where riches were at my finger tips! If there ever was a place for a young business man to learn humility…it was in this line of business! I learned persistence while understanding that the products or services must be the right fit at the right time.

Professional Employer Organizations sprang up in the early 90’s in Alabama and my background seemed to lend itself to providing such a wide array of services under one roof to clients. My learning curve accelerated as I was for nine years servicing and selling professional human resources, retirement plans, health insurance, group and individual insurance, property, casualty insurance, and payroll service.

I had a non-compete and it forced me into being creative for the two year waiting period as I built my own marketing shared software company where professionals from all areas of service shared prospective client information and worked with a local accounting firm assisting them with marketing and sales. I learned valuable insights into the accounting and auditing world!

In building my own businesses, I have realized that hard work, responsiveness and persistence along with a heavy dose of humility are all important to the success of each business. Payroll is a service with very distinct guidelines but every client is different and must be handled with responsiveness, humility, and of course hard work. (It takes persistency to get them as a client) I have a passion to help people so I have begun this consulting service by taking all of my combined experiences and knowledge base and applying it to the needs of my clients. I will never profess to be the end all for my clients; but I will be responsive, work hard, be resourceful, and appreciate you as my client! Respectfully,

William M. Owen
Synergy VII Inc.