Leading the pack: from high technology to publishing, B.E.'s small business Award winners are pushing their companies to new levels.

AMID THE LINGERING AFTEREFFECTS OF THE recent recession certain savvy business owners are emerging from the miasma stronger than ever. They've managed to keep their ventures afloat and grow them by adapting to difficult times. These Stalwart businesses, led by die-hard entrepreneurs, are poised to shift into high gear and lead the way to recovery as America's business conditions continue to improve.

The 2003 winners of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Small Business Awards are among those hearty entrepreneurs. Presented during the 2003 Black Enterprise/ Microsoft Entrepreneurs Conference in May at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennesse, this year's winners are: John Sterling of Synch-Solutions Inc., Colleen Payne-Nabors of Mobile Cardiac Imaging L.L.C., Orlando Robinson of D&D Innovations Inc., and Kenya James of Blackgril Magazine. In selecting these winners, BE'S editors analyzed dozens of business models and surveys to select those who embody the spirit of black entrepreneurship. Over the next four pages, we'll present them to you. For more information about the 2004 conference or to nominate a small business award candidate, call 800-543-6786.

John Sterling Emerging Company of the year

John Sterling is gracious about winning the BLACK ENTERPRISE Emerging Company of the Year award; he's not even thinking about resting on his laurels. The award, which recognizes businesses that are poised for future growth because they've carved out a special niche or have adopted creative marketing techniques, was given to Sterling as part of BE'S Small Business Awards.

Chicago-based Synch-Solutions Inc. provides systems integration solutions and implementation strategies with services that include business process design, application development, project management, and training to ensure that institutions run more efficiently through the use of technology. With 63 employees, the firm's revenue has grown from $1 million in 2000 to $6 million in 2001 and $13 million in 2002. Sterling predicts continued growth for 2003.

"We are on track for revenues of right around $20 million for the year," says Sterling. Much of that growth is expected to come from its business continuity services that allow companies and government agencies to continue to function off-site in the event of a catastrophe. "We're going very deep into the homeland security arena."

Sterling anticipates seeing his firm rank among America's largest black-owned businesses. "In 10 years, I imagine we'll be nationwide and have over $100 million in revenue. We'll also be playing at the highest level as a systems integrator," Sterling says. "That would be my goal--to be on the BE 100s."

Colleen Payne-Nabors Business Innovator of the year

"When I think of one thing that keeps me going with this company, it's perseverance." says Colleen Pay-Nabors, 40, CEO of Mobile Cardiac Imaging L.L.C. in Tulsa Oklahoma. Perseverance and novel business concepts enabled her to win the BLACK ENTERPRISE Business Innovator of the Year award for 2003. This award honors companies that have successfully set trends and broken new ground in a particular industry.

Launched in 1998, Payne-Nabors' firm provides mobile nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology, and ultrasound services to rural and metropolitan hospital and clinics via customized trucks. The company now employs a staff of 13 and has four vehicles. "Not many people would think that what I do is typically a woman's kind of job," says Payne-Nabors, who had to shell out $654,000 for her first vehicle, the equivalent of a tractor trailer.

Mobile Cardiac Imaging (MCI), now with revenues of $2 million, has grown significantly since 1998 when Payne-Nabors started the company with $90,000. She currently manages two fixed-site departments and will soon acquire a third.

Payne-Nabors is working to get minority business certification so that MCI can also sell medical supplies. MCI's expansion does not indicate a shift away from mobile services. She remains confident that mobile medical technology will be a growing trend and a "win-win situation." "Patients are more comfortable in their physician's environment," she says, and the physicians have more control over the diagnostic report and interpretation."

Orlando Robinson Rising Star Award

Orlando Robinson, this year's winner of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Rising Star Award, shocked his critics when he invented the Seat Belt Shifter Lock. It was created in honor of his late fiancee, Dionyell Walton, who tragically in a car accident because she was not wearing a seat belt. The Rising Star Award recognizes individuals ages 21-35 whose outstanding skills, professionalism, and perseverance have established them as future business leaders.

Robinson 30 was told that a guy without an engineering degree, working from his garage, couldn't design an automotive-grade technological product with the potential to save over 9,000 lives a year. Now Robinson's product is being tested on fleets of government and corporate vehicles. The Seat Belt Shifter Lock guarantees that you cannot take a vehicle out of park until your seat belt is on. You can take the seat belt off, but a loud chime will sound constantly. D&D Innovations Inc. also provides electronic and software engineering services to automotive suppliers and projects revenues of more than $1 million in 2003.

"I want D&D to be a company that people associate with products that enhance the quality of life," says Robinson. In his own pursuit of social justice, Robinson hopes to prompt legislation, requiring automotive manufacturers to offer the Seat Belt Shifter Lock as an option to consumers. "It's easier to install than a securer system," says Robinson. "If we're offering security systems that protect people's cars, we should be offering similar technology to protect people's lives."

Kenya James Teenpreneur Award

For a 14-year-old without a license to drive. Kenya James, winner of BLACK ENTERPRISE'S 2003 Teenpreneur Award, is going places fast. This award recognizes entrepreneurs under the age of 18 who serve as role models and are committed to advancing the rich tradition of black business achievement.

James is publisher of Blackgirl Magazine, a publication geared toward African American teenagers. In an industry where many magazine startups fail, being declined over and again by advertisers hasn't stopped her from publishing seven issues.

"You have to have the mentality that you are never too young to make a positive difference," says James, who predicts that the Atlanta-based Blackgirl will generate $30,000 in 2003. Starting out with $7,000 from two previous business ventures, plus loans from friends and family, James' resourcefulness led her to successfully approach the Rev. Al Sharpton for ad revenue.

"I want Blackgirl to become the voice for black girls worldwide," says James. With more than 4,500 subscribers, James is encouraged by the responses she receives from young women across the country who proclaim that Blackgirl has improved their self-esteem.

Over the last two years, James has been featured in The New York Times and Essence magazine. She has also made appearances on 106 and Park, Teen Summit, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Driven to positively affirm black girls, she insists that if teens have a dream they should "take the first step."