Jump to the winning small businesses’ videos:
- Grand prize winner: Salud by Dr. Rigo (Salud Para Todos)
- Honorable mentions:
It was a banner year for RingCentral’s National Small Business Week Contest. There were so many outstanding videos sent in from our customers that we had to expand the number of honorable mentions!
Every year during National Small Business Week, we ask RingCentral customers to send in a short video for a chance to win one of several prizes. This year, the video’s focus was—you guessed it—how their businesses have survived, pivoted, and even thrived during an unforeseen pandemic.
To all of our small businesses customers who participated: We were blown away by the quality of your submissions, as well as the heart and soul you put into your videos. We’re lucky to have each and every one of you as RingCentral customers and are honored to help keep your businesses running, especially during such a disruptive time.
It was a tough decision to make, but in the end these five videos stood out and earned top spots:
Grand prize winner: Salud by Dr. Rigo (Salud Para Todos)
“We always knew we were a family, and this pandemic really confirmed it after having the most terrifying conversation.”
– Hilda Perez, COO, Salud by Dr. Rigo
Sarah and Hilda Perez inherited Salud—a small, Latinx-focused health and wellness company—from their father. The sisters’ mission is to carry on their family’s thirty-year legacy of making health products that are accessible to all communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic could have closed Salud’s doors forever and stopped the family dream in its tracks: how would they package products, distribute them, or stay connected with their team?
Luckily, the sisters acted quickly. When their state shut down to essential businesses only, they moved production to Sarah’s living room (where they gained the help of a truly adorable new “employee”!). Then, they used RingCentral to run virtual events and team check-ins to keep the business’s family vibe alive.
“We never lost hope because we were always in contact with every member of the team… and present for them in every step of the pandemic,” says Hilda Perez, COO of Salud.
With RingCentral, Salud saw meetings become more efficient thanks to file sharing, HD video conferencing, and screen sharing. Team members also benefited from more flexible schedules, and it was easy to stay in touch with clients. After seeing all the ways RingCentral helped them thrive in a pandemic, Hilda says they’ll continue to use the platform to support their employees and clientele.
Congratulations, Salud family! Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Honorable mentions
Easy Pro Property Service and Carroll Media
“Both of my companies are on track for record-breaking profits and sales in 2021. However, just a year ago, these would have seemed impossible.”
– DJ Carroll, President & CEO, Easy Pro Property Service and Carroll Media
DJ Carroll kept not one but two small businesses afloat during COVID-19, with the help of RingCentral. He credits this success to the increased mobility and seamlessness that RingCentral’s contact center offers.
For example: advanced call routing has meant a better customer experience, even when the team was spread out and working from home. “The customer doesn’t have to hang up and try multiple numbers to try to find the person they need to contact,” Carroll says.
This is just one of the ways Easy Pro Property Service and Carroll Media have seen improvements to processes and efficiency thanks to RingCentral. Check out their video for more, like how they increased their outbound call value by 18%!
Congratulations to DJ and everyone at Easy Pro and Carroll Media.
Chatterkick
“As the world went remote, so did we. Instead of recording in our in-person podcast studio, we didn’t skip a beat and went virtual with RingCentral.”
– Allison Gates, Creative Experience Manager, Chatterkick
Chatterkick helps local, national, and international businesses optimize their presence on social media. And when the pandemic hit, their creative team had to get, well, creative in order to keep serving their clients and putting out content like their podcast. Thanks to RingCentral, they were able to do all this and find new ways to make connections, get stuff done, and find time for fun.
“2020 had a knack for making people feel alone,” says Allison Gates, Chatterkick’s Creative Experience Manager. “But with RingCentral, we were able to stay connected and strengthen the relationships within the company and with our clients.”
Cheers to you, Team Chatterkick!
City Cab Management
“The demand [for paratransit services in New York City] is very high… This requires great communication between our clients and employees. And this is where RingCentral comes into play.”
– Nolan, Employee, City Cab Management
For people with health conditions and other impairments or disabilities, public transportation can be a nightmare. Services like City Cab Management work with municipal transit organizations to offer accessible, door-to-door rides for those who qualify.
You can imagine what the demand might be like in a city as bustling as New York City. And during the pandemic, City Cab Management needed to stay more connected than ever. All three of RingCentral’s main components came in handy to keep such an important service running smoothly: messaging, video, and phone.
Having all of their communications in one app like RingCentral has made a huge difference for City Cab Management, especially with team members working both locally and abroad. It was easy to reach drivers, clients, and other employees quickly and reliably.
Congratulations, team! We’re glad such an important service exists and that RingCentral helps you get the job done.
Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates™
“All of our 42 nurses had to start working remotely. Thanks to all of the features of RingCentral, we didn’t miss a (heart) beat, and I’m proud to say we grew even stronger.”
– Betty Long, RN, MHA, President/CEO and Founder, Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates
As a small business founded on the importance of hands-on, in-person relationship building in the healthcare world, the pandemic really could have thrown Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates for a loop. But they were able to “flex” and figure out new ways to support their clients and each other. RingCentral was there every step of the way.
The best thing about RingCentral was how easy it was for nurses on the go to use:
“Even though our team is made up of highly trained critical-care nurses, believe me when I say they would rather be doing CPR on a patient…than sign into a video meeting,” says Betty Long, the President/CEO and founder. “RingCentral Video made it simple for them to stay connected to one another and their patients.”
Betty’s video was both heartwarming and side splitting – you don’t want to miss it!
Congratulations to everyone at Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates and thank you for all you’ve done for your patients during this pandemic and beyond.
👀 How are other small businesses winning with RingCentral? Learn from your peers and grab our eBook to dive into five small business success stories.
Your small business could be the next success story
We received nearly thirty submissions from our small business customers, telling us all the ways RingCentral has helped them stay connected. Small businesses love RingCentral, and the feeling is mutual.
If you’re looking to get more connected, improve customer experience, and supercharge all of your communications, we’re ready when you are. Learn more about the RingCentral Advantage: our personalized onboarding service that’s built specially for small businesses like yours. And be sure to stay tuned for your chance to submit for our 2022 Small Business Week Challenge.
Originally published May 20, 2021, updated Dec 30, 2022
