CALABASAS WOMAN HONORED.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

Lauren Raissen's husband loved pickles but she didn't care for his breath afterward.

``It used to drive me absolutely crazy,'' said the 34-year-old native South African who now lives in Calabasas. ``I told him it's the pickles or me.''

None of the breath fresheners on the market worked. So the Raissens set out to develop a better product.

Today, Raissen is the president and chief financial officer of Breath Asure. The Calabasas company markets five different breath products and enjoys $25.5 million in annual sales. Not bad for a mother of two and accountant who started the company out of her garage.

Working Woman magazine noticed. Raissen was named one of its top 500 businesswomen in the country in 1999. It's her second year to be so honored.

Her company ranked 291. She was listed alongside Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart and Katherine Graham of the Washington Post.

The listings underscore the progress achieved by female-owned businesses. Working Woman's 500 top companies generate nearly $72 billion in annual revenues; in the past decade, women-owned businesses increased by 78 percent, according to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners. Women provide jobs for one out of every four workers, according to Working Woman.

Locally, other honorees include Margaret Sahroian of Foothill Nissan of La Crescenta, Herminia Dilbeck of Dilbeck/James R. Gary & Co. in La Crescenta, Lynda Resnick of Roll International in Los Angeles and Dineh Mohajer of Hard Candy in Los Angeles.

Raissen started the company when she was 27, hoping to build a home-based business so she could stay home with her children. At the time, her husband had an electrical contracting business where she was second in command. When the family's second business, Breath Asure, was launched, she told her husband that she didn't want to play second fiddle this time.

Since the company was founded in 1992, it has taken off. First-year sales of $40,000 have soared to over $25 million annually with 37 employees.

Breath Asure became so successful that it eclipsed the family's electrical contracting business, leading to the decision to discontinue that venture.

Raissen believes her greatest contributions have been keeping it on a conservative growth track, creating a good working environment and emphasizing teamwork and joint decision-making.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Chart

PHOTO (Color) RAISSEN

CHART: WOMEN OWNERS

Of the 20 million businesses in the United States, more than a third are owned by women. A look at the number of businesses, people employed and the sales generated.

SOURCE: NFWBO; SBA