Field of Dreams This entrepreneur is making a difference for women in tech--and her SMB clients.

Lena L. West was initially discouraged by the lack of blackwomen in the tech field when she started XynoMediaTechnology, a Yonkers, New York-based tech consulting firm forSMBs, in 1997. "At the time, there wasn't much of apresence of people of color in general," says West. Then Westbegan noticing that people remembered her specifically because shewas one of the few black females in the field, and she says shestarted to revel in her unique status. However, she hopes more willjoin the ranks and acknowledges the pioneers that came before her:"I stand on the shoulders of a lot of women working in thetech space."

Yet West, in her early 30s, says it's also a challenge"being asked what it's like being a person of color intechnology." Through sharing her experiences and increasingawareness, West wants to be noted less for her race and more forher achievements--from 2005 to 2006, XynoMedia has increasedrevenue by 46 percent, projecting 2006 sales to reach $1 million to$2 million. West was raised with strong women in her family who"always thought in terms of possibility," she says.

West says she also realized business guidance didn't have tocome from someone who "looked like her"--she has hadmentors of many races. She has yet to find a one-on-one black womanmentor and notes that there's no national face for a blackfemale in technology. "If you can't follow the greatest,you have to be the greatest yourself," says West, hoping totake the helm.