Online Job Search Company from Virginia Is National Small Business of the Year

WASHINGTON – A young lawyer who recognized a business niche when a friend had trouble finding an internship was today named National Small Business Person of the Year for turning his idea into a multi-million dollar Web site.

The announcement was made during ceremonies at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s celebration of National Small Business Week 2008.

“Shawn Boyer is a perfect example of the creativity and inspiration it takes to become a highly successful entrepreneur in America today,” said SBA Administrator Steve Preston.  “He identified an unmet need and filled it, and today, barely eight years later, his company, SnagAJob.com, has become a hugely successful site for posting and finding hourly and part-time jobs, connecting millions of registered job seekers with active job postings. 

“In doing so, Shawn demonstrated the qualities that make small businesses such a powerful force in the American economy, and in their communities,” Preston said.

First runner-up is Angela R. Timm, founder and CEO of Cottage Garden, Inc., in Bainbridge, Ind.  Two entrepreneurs tied for second runner-up: Deborah Moore, founder and CEO of AccuStat EMR of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and George Burciaga, founder and CEO of smarTECHS.net, of Chicago, Ill. 

The National Small Business Person of the Year and runners-up were selected from among the 53 state small business winners, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, who are being honored this week in Washington, D.C, as part of National Small Business Week.  The awards were announced at today’s national Awards Luncheon, sponsored by Sam’s Club at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

The top winner, Shawn Boyer, 36, was working as a transactional attorney for a Washington, D.C., law firm when a friend asked him to go online to help him look for a summer internship.  He was surprised not to find many sites geared towards internships or hourly jobs, and thus was born his idea.  When it became obvious that no one was fulfilling this need, Shawn researched the business, left his job as a lawyer and started the company.

In barely eight years, SnagAJob.com has become a hugely successful part-time and hourly job-posting site, connecting millions of registered job seekers with active job postings.  The business started in 2000 with 2 full-time employees crammed into a 1,000-square-foot doctor’s office in an office park.  Today it boasts 110 full-time “snaggers” in a 35,000-square-foot Silicon Valley-like facility overlooking a lake in Richmond.  Revenues have grown each year, and the company became profitable after its fourth year.  Yet Shawn’s passion goes beyond the bottom line, leading him to a level of volunteerism and community involvement that has become a big part of the drive behind his company’s success.

Angela Timm, the first runner-up, started Cottage Garden, Inc., a line of sentimental framed gifts and music boxes, as an outgrowth of a successful retail business.  The company grew into a thriving operation of its own, with annual sales the first year topping $128,000.  Sales doubled every year the first six years, reaching $5.9 million last year.  The company survived near disastrous circumstances and faced closure after 9/11, and underwent a major business restructuring in 2004 after a tornado destroyed Angela’s home.  Angela then went global, and recorded export sales grew of more than $900,000 last year.  Angela received assistance from the West Central Indiana SBDC, and an SBA-backed loan for $1.3 million through the Bank of Indiana.  

Second runner-up Deborah Moore enjoyed being a nurse but tired of the daily, 9-to-5 grind.  As a single mother of two, she sought flexibility and the quality of life of a home-based business and set out to create it.  She created AccuStat EMR in 2002, offering medical transcription services in the Myrtle Beach area.  In just five years, Deborah has taken AccuStat EMR from a home-based transcription service to a full electronic medical records consultation company housed in 2,400 square feet of office space, with $2.7 million in revenues.  Deborah benefited from her own hard work, dedication, and commitment, as well as an SBA-backed loan and guidance from the South Carolina Women’s Business Center. 

George Burciaga tied for second runner-up. George, who sold gum on the streets of Chicago’s tough Pilsen neighborhood when he was 7 years old, started a one-man information technology company, smarTECHS.net, in 1998 in his two-bedroom apartment.  The IT firm started out offering custom full technology life-cycle solutions to investment banking and beverage companies.  By 2002, the business had expanded to include IT services in the public sector, including the cities of Chicago and New Orleans.  The company recorded revenues of $2.6 million in 2006 and approximately $8.8 million in contracts for 2008. 

The winners are selected on their record of stability, growth in employment and sales, financial condition, innovation, response to adversity and community service.  For more information on these companies and on the rest of the state Small Business Person of the Year award winners, visit the SBA Web site at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com.  The Web site also includes additional information on Small Business Week 2008, including information on all award winners.

   

The U.S. Small Business Administration thanks the following cosponsors of National Small Business Week and related events: Sam’s Club, Administaff, Raytheon, IBM, Chevron, The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Salesforce, Lowe’s, Banco Popular, Minority Business Development Agency, General Service Administration, MyBizHomepage, Dun & Bradstreet, National Association of Development Companies, Direct Selling Education Foundation, Association of Small Business Development Centers, National Small Business Association, Federal Allies Institute, SCORE, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Consumer Energy Alliance, and FedSources.



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