#21 Midwest Diagnostic Management LLC They didn't choose huge success; success chose them. So how did they deal with it?
By Nichole L. Torres •
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#21 Midwest Diagnostic Management LLC
Huge growth wasn't exactly in Kevin Tremblay's initialbusiness plan. When he founded Midwest Diagnostic Management LLC(MDM) in June 2000, he says, "we had dreams of one day gettingto 20 employees and just having a nice lifestyle." Today, hehas 89 employees.
At only four months, the business was recognized by patients,providers and insurance companies, and Tremblay realized how vitalhis service was. He networks independently owned medical diagnosticradiology centers (to provide tests such as MRIs and CT scans) andstreamlines the PPO referral process for doctors, patients andinsurers. Early on, the company built a reputation for goodcustomer service and received so many inquiries that Tremblay, 38,had to come up with a plan. "We said, 'We've got acouple of choices: We either dig in and go after it or choose notto.'"
Tremblay and his crew chose to go forward at full steam. Growingfrom $1.6 million in sales during MDM's first fiscal year to aprojected $34 million in 2004, Tremblay used careful hiringpractices to staff for the massive growth. "We kept addingwonderfully talented people, and we spent extra time making sure wewere recruiting and maybe paying a little bit more for the rightpeople," he says. Tremblay contracts with the diagnosticcompanies with equally meticulous attention. "If it takes acouple [extra] days before you fill that role, you [still] need tospend the time and make sure you know who you're workingwith."
Good hiring practices are even more important now that Tremblayjuggles three businesses. He started Advanced Ancillary ServicesLLC (AAS) in June 2002 and Diagnostic PET Network LLC (DPN) inMarch 2003 to round out his client offerings. AAS outsourcescost-saving services for employers and insurance companies, whileDPN has created a network of PET diagnostic centers (for earlycancer detection).
Looking to the future, Tremblay is striving for sales of $50million for all three companies. He likens his entrepreneurialjourney to a child learning how to crawl, then walk, then run."We're watching all those details-we're watching ourvendors, our bottom line, our sales growth, and we're in a nicerun right now."
