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Terry McCart and Von Kopfman have worked as co-owners of Blue Dot Services for going on 20 years. In 2003, they were offered the opportunity to buy the business, which had been in operation for decades. They both loved the work, and wanted to see Blue Dot stay open, so they took the leap. Together, Terry and Von have built a business that puts people first, with safety and affordable service at the heart of their mission.

“We care about people,” Von said, “and that’s the real reason why we’ve poured our lives into this business for the last 20 years.”

Von and Terry are committed to doing everything they can to keep their employees safe, while also keeping prices down for customers. Blue Dot has a crew of 47 employees, and all of them are in danger at work on a regular basis. Keeping homes safe and comfortable means working with high voltage, chemicals under pressure, machinery, and more. In 2020, Von and Terry dealt with the challenges of a pandemic by running their business the same way that they always have.

“We did everything possible to protect our workers and customers, purchased every equipment needed,” Von said. “We established ways to eliminate contact as much as possible, so that our employees and our customers could stay safe.” 

Unfortunately, all of that extra gear and the extra time spent sanitizing meant extra costs, which really hurt the company’s profits. On the plus side, Blue Dot serviced a lot of homes in 2020, and built new relationships with customers. Von and Terry feel incredibly fortunate that they were able to keep their doors open, and see 2020 as a reminder that Blue Dot is truly an essential business.

“People need us,” Von said, “and we need to be there for our customers. We were reminded why we’re here, and that is because of our relationships. I was so proud of our team and how we rallied together.”

Von and Terry chose Envista as their bank out of that same sense of value for relationships. Blue Dot was with another bank for years, but when their account manager left, Terry and Von decided to look around. Blue Dot serviced Envista’s building, as well as the homes of several employees. Terry and Von had developed relationships with Envista staff, and they were impressed that Envista had never pressured them to change banks. 

“When we asked ourselves what we wanted in a bank, we decided we wanted to do business with people we feel comfortable with, people we know,” Von said. “It was the right call. I don’t know if it’s because they are a credit union instead of a traditional bank, but they really think outside the box. They are community-minded, unique and special.”

Terry notes that Envista even updated their programming so that they could work with Blue Dot’s payroll system, rather than asking Blue Dot to change, saving Terry and Von a lot of work. 

“They were all-in from the moment we began working with them,” Terry said. “They’re community-focused and dedicated to Topeka.”

At the heart of Blue Dot’s success is the friendship and respect between the company’s co-owners.

“I couldn’t do it without Terry,” Von said. “We have the same determination to succeed and commitment to our employees.”

“I love Von,” Terry said. “We’re like brothers. We sit down every day to have a cup of coffee and talk about business, people, the world–we share so much.”

Von swears that they even look more alike after so many years of working together. 

“It’s funny, we’re like one of those old married couples,” Von said. “At least 3 days a week we show up in the same shirt.”