Small Business Stories - Yvonne Graber Video

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Small Business Stories - Yvonne Graber

Ivy Hartman: Welcome to sbtv.com’s coverage of the 2008 NAWBO conference in Phoenix Arizona. I'm Ivy Hartman and with me is Yvonne Graber of Computer Community Hospital. And Yvonne came up to me earlier at the conference and said “you know I really like what you said”. We were talking about IT and a communication disjoint. Actually this is your second career and you started an IT business, talk about that. Yvonne Graber: Well what happen was several years ago when 2001 I wanted to change, I was in the garment center for 25 years and I wanted to change career and I needed to into something that wouldn’t be age discriminator. So my brother being an IT in Orlando Florida for 20 years said to me “why don’t you go into the computer business, you're good at computers” and I said “well okay it wouldn’t be age discriminator”. And I went back to school in the weekend while I was working for six months just to learn just a little of the lingo and then I started working in IT doing tech support. After that I decided if you know something I need to move on, I was making very good living in the garment and I really wasn’t making a good living doing IT so I said “I'm going to start my own business”. So during the day—I had worked for IBM at night on the Washington Mutual Bank account and then I went to work during the day on my own business. And after about a year and a half I decided to do my business full time and I've grown the business. Ivy Hartman: Talk about what you do for your clients. Yvonne Graber: Well basically I work with lot of medical and dental offices just by coincidence. The name of the company being Computer Community Hospital is just coincidentally related to the medical and then who knew I would have a niche. In the medical field we help them with the electronic medical records and right now I just recently have signed the agreement with the Quantum MD. And what they're doing is they came out with the product called POWER and it stands for Patient Wellness Electronic Record and it’s a living document online that will be doing the electronic—all your medical records will be on there into living document. So in other words when you are traveling anywhere in the world a doctor will be able to access your records. Ivy Hartman: Great and you'll be able to too. So it’s not like you need come, I need permission from my physician or whatever my provider and where to get my records. I can have it as the consumer and the patient. Yvonne Graber: Right. You wouldn’t have to run to the hospital let’s say if you have an MRI taken, you have to go the hospital to get the record and bring it over to your doctor’s office or get it released or whatever. Here everybody would have separate permissions plus you will also be able to make your own appointments online. Ivy Hartman: You have really grown your small business that you work very hard on the site from that to this now and you’ve got people who are interested in franchise. You are going to franchise your company talk about that. Yvonne Graber: Well I have a business model and it can be reproduced and the only way that you can grow your business today, I feel, was either you are going to have a lot of employees, which I did not want, or you have to grow your business in the different model. So I said “you know let me think about this why can't I just reproduce myself in other venues of locations in other geographical locations”. So what I did is I already started, I have somebody testing the market in another area and he’s doing very well and he’s very happy. And I started franchising as far as this is like a dry run and there's another car out there that looks like mine. We’re very, very heavily branded and the public knows us. What's really great is when somebody says “where did you get my name from?” “Well I saw one of your cars.” Ivy Hartman: Describe your cars to us because we’ve never seen them before. Yvonne Graber: I have a PT Cruiser that is totally wrapped with graphics on it related to the business and tells us what we do and it’s the best advertising vehicle literally. Ivy Hartman: Does it tailor to the doctor aspect or like a doctor computer or a hospital kind of thing for your IT? Yvonne Graber: Well it’s a blue vehicle and it’s got a sick computer on it with a thermometer on its mouth and it’s a Computer Community Hospital and it also tells us what we do. Ivy Hartman: Perfect. Give us your contact information that our viewers can get a hold of you. Yvonne Graber: Well you can get a hold of us on our website which is www.computercommunityhospital.com or cchpc.com or you can reach me by telephone at 561-239-3939, we have an 800 number, which is 1877-644-9403. Ivy Hartman: Perfect you’ve given us a lot of information. If you're not interested in being a client maybe you can become a franchisee. Perfect Yvonne, congratulations on being a first time attendee here at the conference. Have a great time here in Phoenix. Yvonne Graber: Thank you. Ivy Hartman: You're welcome. Keep it right here as we continue our complete coverage of the NAWBO 2008 conference only right here on sbtv.com.

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Ivy Hartman: Welcome to sbtv.com’s coverage of the 2008 NAWBO conference in Phoenix Arizona. I'm Ivy Hartman and with me is Yvonne Graber of Computer Community Hospital. And Yvonne came up to me earlier at the conference and said “you know I really like what you said”. We were talking about IT and a communication disjoint. Actually this is your second career and you started an IT business, talk about that.

Yvonne Graber: Well what happen was several years ago when 2001 I wanted to change, I was in the garment center for 25 years and I wanted to change career and I needed to into something that wouldn’t be age discriminator. So my brother being an IT in Orlando Florida for 20 years said to me “why don’t you go into the computer business, you're good at computers” and I said “well okay it wouldn’t be age discriminator”.

And I went back to school in the weekend while I was working for six months just to learn just a little of the lingo and then I started working in IT doing tech support. After that I decided if you know something I need to move on, I was making very good living in the garment and I really wasn’t making a good living doing IT so I said “I'm going to start my own business”.

So during the day—I had worked for IBM at night on the Washington Mutual Bank account and then I went to work during the day on my own business. And after about a year and a half I decided to do my business full time and I've grown the business.

Ivy Hartman: Talk about what you do for your clients.

Yvonne Graber: Well basically I work with lot of medical and dental offices just by coincidence. The name of the company being Computer Community Hospital is just coincidentally related to the medical and then who knew I would have a niche.

In the medical field we help them with the electronic medical records and right now I just recently have signed the agreement with the Quantum MD. And what they're doing is they came out with the product called POWER and it stands for Patient Wellness Electronic Record and it’s a living document online that will be doing the electronic—all your medical records will be on there into living document. So in other words when you are traveling anywhere in the world a doctor will be able to access your records.

Ivy Hartman: Great and you'll be able to too. So it’s not like you need come, I need permission from my physician or whatever my provider and where to get my records. I can have it as the consumer and the patient.

Yvonne Graber: Right. You wouldn’t have to run to the hospital let’s say if you have an MRI taken, you have to go the hospital to get the record and bring it over to your doctor’s office or get it released or whatever. Here everybody would have separate permissions plus you will also be able to make your own appointments online.

Ivy Hartman: You have really grown your small business that you work very hard on the site from that to this now and you’ve got people who are interested in franchise. You are going to franchise your company talk about that.

Yvonne Graber: Well I have a business model and it can be reproduced and the only way that you can grow your business today, I feel, was either you are going to have a lot of employees, which I did not want, or you have to grow your business in the different model. So I said “you know let me think about this why can't I just reproduce myself in other venues of locations in other geographical locations”.

So what I did is I already started, I have somebody testing the market in another area and he’s doing very well and he’s very happy. And I started franchising as far as this is like a dry run and there's another car out there that looks like mine. We’re very, very heavily branded and the public knows us.

What's really great is when somebody says “where did you get my name from?” “Well I saw one of your cars.”

Ivy Hartman: Describe your cars to us because we’ve never seen them before.

Yvonne Graber: I have a PT Cruiser that is totally wrapped with graphics on it related to the business and tells us what we do and it’s the best advertising vehicle literally.

Ivy Hartman: Does it tailor to the doctor aspect or like a doctor computer or a hospital kind of thing for your IT?

Yvonne Graber: Well it’s a blue vehicle and it’s got a sick computer on it with a thermometer on its mouth and it’s a Computer Community Hospital and it also tells us what we do.

Ivy Hartman: Perfect. Give us your contact information that our viewers can get a hold of you.

Yvonne Graber: Well you can get a hold of us on our website which is www.computercommunityhospital.com or cchpc.com or you can reach me by telephone at 561-239-3939, we have an 800 number, which is 1877-644-9403.

Ivy Hartman: Perfect you’ve given us a lot of information. If you're not interested in being a client maybe you can become a franchisee. Perfect Yvonne, congratulations on being a first time attendee here at the conference. Have a great time here in Phoenix.

Yvonne Graber: Thank you.

Ivy Hartman: You're welcome. Keep it right here as we continue our complete coverage of the NAWBO 2008 conference only right here on sbtv.com.

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