Medlin of Key Resources receives Small Business Award

By BOB FLISS
TRIAD BUSINESS NEWS

GREENSBORO - Pamela Medlin, president of Key Resources Inc, a local temporary staffing agency, was honored Wednesday as the Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce's "Small Business Person of the Year"

The chamber held its annual small business awards luncheon at the Airport Marriott. Others recognized were:

Faison Maintenance Group, a local building contractor, -named "Minority Small Business of the Year." Owner Robert Faison started the business in 1995 working with one other person on the rehabilitation of one home. Today, he has six employees and specializes in commercial upfit and facade enhancements. Faison has done work for Project Homestead and N.C. A&T State University.

- Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP, the largest public accounting and consulting firm in the Southeast, named "Small Business Advocate of the Year," in recognition of the volunteer work members have done for causes dedicated to helping small business. The firm was started in Wilmington in 1958 and now has 24 offices in seven states.

- Bondi Software Inc., a local e-commerce developer, which was named "Incubator Associate of the Year." It left its offices in the local small business incubator, the Greensboro Business Center, in April. Bondi increased its revenue tenfold last year to $3 million and increased its work force to 46. This year's projections anticipate $10 million revenue and more than 100 employees by year's end.

Medlin started Key Resources in 1997 as a one-person shop Today, she employs 15 People full time and placed more than 1,000 people a day in temporary assignments.

Medlin's award citation noted that she had to overcome many obstacles to make Key Resources a success. To begin with, she left a national company to start her own firm and initially had to work within the restriction of a non-compete clause in her contract. She also started a labor-based business at a time of labor shortage and in an industry dominated by national franchises.

The award also commended Medlin for outreach to minority communities in recruiting workers for her businesses.

The guest speaker at the awards ceremony was Lee Cornelison, North Carolina district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Cornelison said he wanted to re-emphasize that the SBA has a wide range of services for aspiring entrepreneurs.

"The two primary things we provide are ... assistance with the financing side of things, which is what most people need to get a small business off the ground ... and training and education, both through our local counselors and through our resource partners like the Service Corps of Retired Executives," Cornelison said.

Small businesses fail mainly because they are undercapitalized or because the owners lack knowledge they need - for example, how to write a business plan that will be acceptable to a lender, Cornelison said. The SBA can help in both these areas.

"There's a few things that it takes to succeed - one is commitment, the second is customer focus and the third is an obsession with product quality," Cornelison said.

He added that three out of every four new jobs is created by small business, at least since the federal government began tracking this data in 1993. About 19 million such jobs have been created since 1993.

Small business employs about 52 percent of the total work force and makes up more than 99 percent of all companies, Cornelison said.

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