Top 10 Businesses For 1997 Thinking of starting a new business this year? If so, don't miss our review of the hottest small businesses to start in 1997!

Over the last 12 months, we've charted remarkable growthin 10 booming industries that are yielding some of thefastest-growing small businesses. To illustrate this growth,we've compiled staggering statistics and interviewedenthusiastic entrepreneurs in all 10 fields to show you just howhot they really are. So dive in, read up and get started!

Exporting

So far, the '90s have been the decade for exporting.Exports of goods and services have been responsible for more than40 percent of U.S. economic growth in the past five years,according to Nancy Larson of the Small BusinessAdministration's Office of International Trade.

Contributing to this impressive growth is Steve Macri, owner ofS&S Seafood Ltd., a live-lobster exporting company inNorthwood, New Hampshire. "I was in Germany in 1988,"remembers Macri, "and I treated a friend to a lobster dinner,expecting it would cost about $15.95. So when the bill came and Isaw the $100 price tag, I realized there was a tremendous gap inthe market that needed to be filled."

Macri started his exporting business two years later with only$5,000 in start-up capital. Today, the business exports between 35and 40 thousand pounds of live American lobster to Europe eachweek, grossing close to $10 million in sales annually.

S&S Seafood Ltd. is a cooperative company that representsfive local lobster dealers from the Northeastern seaboard. Salesare made to European importers and distributors, who then sell thelobsters to upscale restaurants in England, France, Italy,Switzerland, Spain and, not coincidentally, Germany.

"A lobster can live 48 hours out of water, so we transportthem by air, packed in boxes filled with ice and seaweed, thenre-tank them when they arrive in Europe," explains Macri. Thejourney from Atlantic ocean to European restaurant generally takesfrom three to seven days.

Because the lobster-exporting industry tends to have a fiercelycompetitive and seasonal market, S&S Seafood Ltd. placesparticular emphasis on their customer relations. "Allcompanies have to sell lobsters at about the same price, socustomer service and personal attention are what make thedifference for a good operation," says Macri. "Because ofthe attention we pay to customer service, about 99 percent of ourbusiness is repeat."

At least twice a year, Macri and his three co-workers visittheir customers in Europe to ensure that operations are runningsmoothly. The trips abroad may not be necessary, says Macri, but itis this personal attention to detail that has enabled S&SSeafood Ltd. to grow into such a successful international business."It all comes down to this," concludes Macri: "Goodbusiness is still done person to person."

Hot Resource

SBA's Office of International Trade, 8th Floor

409 3rd St. SW

Washington, DC 20416

(202) 205-6720

Network Marketing

From 1991 to 1995, the Direct Selling Association charted a38-percent growth in direct-retail sales, and an increase of 41percent in the number of people involved in the industry. Now, in1997, the opportunities in the network-marketing industry-whereproducts or services are sold through a network of distributors-aregreater still.

Randy Sue Weiss, a representative for The Pampered Chef, acompany that sells unique kitchen and cooking utensils, haswitnessed a decade's worth of growth in the direct-sellingindustry.

"Ten years ago, I was a new mom looking to get a nursingjob, and I stumbled across an advertisement for The PamperedChef," says Weiss. "Little did I know that this wouldbecome a business where I would generate an income of well over sixfigures."

Today, Weiss is a senior executive director, the highest levelin The Pampered Chef's sales strata. "When I first saw theproducts, I got so excited, thinking 'I want this and I wantthat,' " recalls Weiss. "I thought that ifI felt that way, then maybe other people would, also. Afterall, everybody has to eat, whether they like to or not, andsometimes that means having to cook."

Some of The Pampered Chef's most popular specialty kitchenproducts include: baking stones, used for baking cookies and bread,which absorb moisture from the items being cooked to make themcrispy without frying; the lemonaide, a spigot device that'sinserted into a lemon to extract juice without seeds; and the foodchopper, which chops vegetables quickly-a convenience Weissbelieves encourages customers to eat veggies more often.

"We're the kitchen store that comes to your door,"says Weiss. "It's really a great opportunity for people,whether they're involved full-time or part-time."

Hot Resource

Direct Selling Association

1666 K St. NW, #1010

Washington, DC 20006-2808

(202) 293-5760

Adventure Tourism

Financial forecasters have been known to say that the firstindication of an economy on the upswing can be seen in thepublic's travel expenditures. If so, the U.S. economy lookslike it's getting better all the time.

"Travel has become much more of a staple product forAmericans," says Shawn Flaherty of the Travel IndustryAssociation of America (TIA). In fact, TIA estimates that travelvolume, the total number of trips taken by Americans, increased 45percent from 1985 to 1995, while the size of the U.S. populationgrew only 10 percent during the same time period.

"We consider the growth of adventure travel to be part ofthe trend toward niche marketing," says Flaherty, "inwhich many companies are able to tailor their product. Nowadays,people can search lists that describe people's preferences andhabits, so they can target very specific markets."

One of the specific travel markets most commonly being targetedis the adventure tourism market-with a particular emphasis beingpaid to mountain biking. But this is no secret to Jared and HeatherFisher, who operate Escape the City Streets!, a mountain-biking andhiking adventure touring company in Henderson, Nevada.

Started as a marketing project in 1992, when the Fishers werestudents at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, Escape the CityStreets! has since taken more than 8,000 travelers onmountain-biking and hiking excursions. "We initially wanted todo bike tours out of Las Vegas, marketing to conventioneers,"says Jared. But when their local, one-day trips started filling upfaster than they could schedule them, they soon expanded tomulti-day, out-of-town trips to Southern Utah and the GrandCanyon.

Despite their commendable growth, the Fishers' business isstill a very bare-bones operation. "We produce our ownin-house brochure, scout all the locations, plan the routes, andget the required permits," says Jared. On the trips, theFishers and up to eight other tour guides lead the biking andhiking tours and even do the outdoor cooking. "Most people inour company sooner or later wear every single hat there is towear," he continues, "except the financial hat, becausewe have an accountant who wears that one."

Hot Resource

Travel Industry Association of America

1100 New York Ave. NW, #450

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 408-8422

Web-Site Design

Web advertising revenues totaled nearly $312 million in 1996,estimates AdSpend, a World Wide Web advertising tracking service ofNew York City-based market research firm Jupiter Communications."It's expanding fast," says Peter Storck, groupdirector for online advertising at Jupiter Communications."Revenues for advertising are on track to reach Jupiter'sprojection of $5 billion by the year 2000."

The majority of these advertising dollars are spent on adsplaced at frequently visited Web sites. With more than 42 millionadult Americans currently online, the Internet is graduallypositioning itself as a powerful advertising medium-and a greatplace to start up a business. Because of this growth potential,Web-site designers are flocking to the Internet to stake theirclaim in the booming cybermarket.

Raj Khera has experienced this growth firsthand. As the owner ofKhera Communications, a Rockville, Maryland, firm that designs Websites and sells online advertising, Khera garnered sales of nearly$600,000 in 1996.

When he started his business in 1994, Khera invested just$10,000 in networking equipment and a UNIX server to host theWeb-site information necessary to create an online presence. Then,with the assistance of his brother, Vivek, Khera launched his firstWeb site.

Since then, he has created a number of Web sites, includingGovCon (http://www.govcon.com),which features the latest bidding opportunities and regulations forobtaining government contracts.

The Web-site-design industry has changed since Khera started hisbusiness. "When we first got started, you had to know a bit ofprogramming to set up a Web site," he recalls. "But nowyou don't have to know as much. There are tools out there thatmake it easy for people to set up their own Web sites." Buteven this ease-of-use for the general public doesn't put manyWeb-site designers out of work; for people who are either too busyor too overwhelmed to learn new software, Web-site designers can bean essential source of assistance to create an online businesspresence.

"Web sites have become the modern equivalent to afull-color brochure," says Khera. "Consultants, smallmanufacturers, product retailers and financial services are allable to use our services."

Hot Resource

Internet Developers Association

URL: (http://www.association.org)

(888) 243-2462

Kids' Transportation

According to Rob Hainsworth, CEO of the National Child TransportAssociation (NCTA), the child-transport industry is gainingmomentum as never before; NCTA's membership increased threefoldin 1996 alone.

"Based on the calls we receive, we estimate that there areabout two new kids' transportation businesses starting up eachweek across the country," says Hainsworth. "Our recordsalso indicate that there are now kids' transportationbusinesses operating in 44 states."

Yvette Betancourt, owner of The KidMover Inc., a child-transportservice in Miami, was initially interested in the industry as aconsumer. "As a mother with young children, I found that therewas nobody who could guarantee that my children would be able toride with a car seat," says Betancourt. "I heard aboutthe kid cabs that were popping up across the country, and thoughtit was a much-needed concept."

So, in February 1996, after conducting demographic marketresearch and finding an affordable insurance plan, Betancourt quither job as a hotel-marketing manager and started her own businesswith one van and one passenger. By the next month, she hadpurchased a second van, hired another driver, and had a customerlist of 25 scheduled riders.

"Every parent I spoke to believed in the concept becausethey, too, needed the service," recalls Betancourt, whoseoperation now consists of six vans which deliver more than 100students to school, day care, soccer practice and orthodontistappointments. Rider contracts are established for a semester at atime: One-way daily service to or from school costs $150 a month,while round-trip service is $230 monthly.

All of The KidMover Inc.'s vans are equipped with hand-held,two-way radios, allowing the drivers to be in constant contact witha main-office dispatcher, who can troubleshoot for the driver bycalling parents to confirm scheduling cancellations or see if thechild is running late.

"I have a responsibility which I take very seriously,"says Betancourt. "Parents are often shocked when I call toconfirm their children's schedules. But we really care aboutthe kids, and I think the kids and their parents knowthat."

Hot Resource

National Child Transport Association

381 Hidden Valley Dr.

Naples, FL 33962

(941) 775-5200

Computer Consulting

Medical house calls may be a thing of the past, but when itcomes to taking care of many Americans' dearestpossessions-personal computers-everything old is new again.

Home doctors, consultants who make house calls for computers,are especially hot, says Joyce Burkard of the Independent ComputerConsultants Association (ICCA). "If you think about it,"says Burkard, "most homes have a computer these days, whetherfor personal use or for business. And how many of those computerowners know how to fully operate and maintain theirmachines?"

Not many, which is great news for those in the know aboutcomputers. Arthur Ellingsen, owner of Arthur Ellingsen & Co. inArlington Heights, Illinois, is an independent computer consultantwho has made a great business for himself by helping those in needwith their computers.

As personal computers skyrocketed in popularity in the early'80s, Ellingsen was employed by a large firm as a PCspecialist, doing part-time consulting on the side. "When Ifound that I was earning as much from my part-time assignments as Iwas from my full-time job, my part-time business turned into myfull-time income," says Ellingsen about his transition fromcorporate employment to entrepreneurship.

An independent computer consultant since 1983, Ellingsen hasseen an increase in the number of house calls he makes. "About50 percent of my projects are now home computer doctorassignments," says Ellingsen, "but they generally lastonly a day or two. Other jobs, such as implementing a financialsystem for a large company, can last five or six months at atime."

Describing some of his typical house calls, Ellingsen says,"Sometimes, when clients purchase a new piece of software orinstall a new piece of hardware, they get it running and find thatother applications no longer work. Various other errors also oftencome up that they just can't understand. That's when theycall me."

Attorneys, college students and small-business owners have allbenefited from Ellingsen's computer expertise. "There arefour basic ways that I find clients or they find me," explainsEllingsen. "The first is through the Yellow Pages. The otherthree ways are through trade shows, mailing lists andreferrals-both from previous clients and contacts at theICCA."

Hot Resource

Independent Computer Consultants Association

11131 S. Towne Sq., Suite F

St. Louis, MO 63123

(800) 774-4222

Of-The-Month Clubs

Continuity companies, more commonly known as"of-the-month" clubs, have grown in popularity among giftgivers and business owners, according to the National Mail OrderAssociation (NMOA).

"Most products can lend themselves to this type ofmarketing," says John Schulte, chief manager of the NMOA."You could take almost anything-even jigsaw puzzles-and turnit into an of-the-month club."

Mail order entrepreneurs nationwide are tapping into the uniquemarketing potential of making sales to a membership of clients on arepeat, regular basis. "There's a uniqueness in giving agift that keeps on giving," says Doug Doretti, who, with hisbrother, Dirk, started Clubs of America Inc. in 1994. "Wethought about localized products that needed national distribution.And then we thought to ourselves, 'Why not deliver unique itemsright to the customer's door?' "

The first branch of Clubs of America Inc. was the Great AmericanBeer Club, which now provides nearly 9,000 members withhand-crafted microbrews from small breweries across the countryeach month. Since the success of the beer club, the Dorettibrothers created the Worldwide Cigar Club and the Gourmet PizzaClub, as well.

"We envision Clubs of America Inc. to be the customer'sone-stop shop for a whole variety of unique products that aredelivered on a monthly basis," says Doug. "So, afterthree years in business, we're beer, cigars and pizza. Inanother three years, it could be beer, cigars, pizza, coffee, tea,herbs, cookies, etc. It could be anything, really. We want toposition ourselves as a well-diversified company, fit for everydemographic."

But not every item will produce successful results using thecontinuity sales format. The key, according to the Dorettibrothers, is to offer your customers something out of theordinary-something they can't go out and pick up for themselvesat the corner store.

Finally, first-rate customer service, say the Dorettis, istantamount to success in this industry. "Word-of-mouth is verybig in this business," says Doug. "If you don'tdeliver on time, or send that gift letter out, people aren'tgoing to buy from you again so quickly. It's important that youmaintain your reputation-with both customers and suppliers-becauseit will control your destiny."

Hot Resource

National Mail Order Association

2807 Polk St. NE

Minneapolis, MN 55418-2954

(612) 788-1673

Herb Farming

Here's a pinch of sage advice: If you've got a greenthumb and a mind for business, the thyme is right to start anherb-farming business. "Consumption of herbs is up 10 to 15percent," says Maureen Rogers, director of the Herb Growing& Marketing Network in Silver Spring, Pennsylvania.

"As the general public becomes more and more interested inand accepting of alternative health remedies, we're finding alarger number of people taking natural supplements, most of themplant-based," says Rogers, who has also witnessed an increasein the number of people interested in getting into the businessside of the industry. "We had requests for information fromwell over 1,000 people in 1996 alone," says Rogers,"about 25 percent of whom started up a business."

Becca Prager, director of Urban Herbals, an offshoot project ofthe San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG), has helped toturn herb farming into a successful community-based project forteens.

"SLUG has built more than 100 gardens throughout the city,located in women's shelters, hospitals, schools, recreationparks, public housing developments, and nursing homes,"explains Prager. "Urban Herbals employs more than 100teenagers every year who work 10 hours a week during the schoolyear and 20 hours a week during the summer to produce a selectionof herbal vinegars: Spicy Tarragon, Balmy Basil, and MediterraneanRed Wine."

The teens, who learn all of the different steps ofgardening-including soil preparation, planting, watering andharvesting-currently grow about 25 percent of the herbs used tomake the products, including tarragon, oregano, basil and garlic.Prager estimates that more than 5,000 units of herbal vinegar wereproduced by the Urban Herbals program in 1996-the profits fromwhich went directly back into growing the community-basedprogram.

Raichele Richardson, an 18-year-old who has been with UrbanHerbals for almost three years, now works there full-time."When I first came here, there was no such thing as UrbanHerbals," says Richardson. "Then we started with thevinegars, and it grew into producing fruit jams, as well."

"We'd like to foster a base of self-reliant teens whocan operate a small factory where we're creating newproducts," concludes Prager, "and grow this into asustainable business."

Hot Resource

Herb Growing & Marketing Network

P.O. Box 245

Silver Spring,

PA 17575

(717) 393-3295

Medical Transcription

"With all of the changes in health care, the emphasis nowis on the bottom line," says Pat Forbis, associate executivedirector of the American Association for Medical Transcription(AAMT). "In an effort to cut expenses, many hospitals havebegun to outsource their transcription responsibilities, so a lotof new medical-transcription businesses are starting up."

No longer are just physicians privy to the convenience ofdictating patient medical records; now, dentists, chiropractors andeven veterinarians are starting to dictate records, creating acompetitive playing field for medical transcriptionists, whotransform these dictated records into written copy. The records arethen used to bill insurance companies, as evidence in a court oflaw, and as a source for continuing patient care-whether forhumans, canines or felines.

Pat Lowery Segura, owner of Physician Assistant TranscriptionService (PATS) in Houston, started in the medical-transcriptionindustry in the early '70s, and now runs her own transcriptionservice from her homebased office, transcribing records for a localhospital and a general family-practice clinic.

"I guess, after 25 years, I'm just hard-headed and setin my ways, so I decided to do my own thing," says LowerySegura. "I like working for myself and calling my own shots. Ilike using the software and equipment that I want to use."

A certain amount of independence is indeed available whenoperating your own medical-transcription business, but knowing theindustry vocabulary is essential for operation; schooling anddedication are both needed to succeed in this field. AAMTrecommends a two-year training program, which includes the study ofpharmacology, disease processes, anatomy and physiology.

"You've got to lay the groundwork for this kind ofbusiness," stresses Lowery Segura. "You can't go frombeing an executive secretary at some oil company to doingtranscription. Clients aren't paying us for our keyboardingskills, they're paying us for our medical knowledge. Inaddition to knowing the terminology, you've got to be good atspelling and linguistics, and, if you work in a multicultural partof the country, you've got to have an ear foraccents."

Hot Resource

American Association for Medical Transcription

P.O. Box 576187

Modesto, CA 95357

(209) 551-0883

Restauraunt Delivery

Busy diners across the country are having their favoriterestaurant dishes delivered to them in record numbers: The NationalRestaurant Association shows a marked increase in the number ofrestaurants sourcing outside delivery services. According to arecent study, about one out of 10 tableservice operations had mealsdelivered by an outside service in 1995, compared with practicallyno operations at all in 1992.

More restaurants have started to offer what has recently becomeknown as "home meal replacement," to assist busycustomers by bringing their meals directly to their front doors. Inaddition to being delivered to patrons' homes, restaurant mealsare also being delivered to the workplace-to accommodateconvenience-driven consumers who are working longer hours.

As the owners of A La Carte Express in Washington, DC, RussellWinter and Martin Scholl see both types of clients."Basically, everybody eats," says Winter, who witnessed a15 to 20 percent increase in business in 1996. "They eat whenthey're at work and they eat when they're at home. Becausewe're in downtown Washington, though, we get a lot of officework, which tends to be profitable because they're usuallylarger orders."

Started in 1990 by making deliveries on Capitol Hill, A La CarteExpress now delivers food from about 90 Washington, DC,restaurants. "We sell the food at the restaurant's menuprice, and we buy it at a discounted price, which is usually afixed percentage," explains Winter. "So the restaurantsare the wholesalers in their relationship with us, and we are theretailers."

Customers are also charged a delivery fee which ranges betweenthree and 12 dollars, depending on the distance the driver mustcover and the price of the order being delivered. "We'vedivided the city into about 24 zones," Winters explains."The cheapest delivery is if you are in the same zone as therestaurant."

With an office staff of 15 and a rotating delivery staff of morethan 35, organization and efficiency are two essential ingredientsin A La Carte Express's recipe for success."Communications are also very important to us, so we havetwo-way radios and alphanumeric pagers for the deliverystaff," says Winter. "We try to make it as efficient aspossible, because when we get busy, everything happens atonce."

Hot Resource

National Restaurant Association

1200 17th St., NW

Washington, DC 20036-3097

(202) 331-5900

Contact Sources

A La Carte Express, P.O. Box 21543, Washington, DC 20009,(202) 232-8646.

Arthur Ellingsen & Co., P.O. Box 1273, ArlingtonHeights, IL 60006-1273, (847) 506-0555.

Clubs of America Inc., 480-C Scotland Rd., Lakemoor, IL60050, (815) 363-4000.

Escape The City Streets!, P.O. Box 50262, Henderson, NV89016, (702) 596-2953.

Khera Communications, 2400 Research Blvd., #250,Rockville, MD 20850, (301) 548-4363.

Physician Assistant Transcription Service (PATS), 8111Edgemoor, Houston, TX 77036, (713) 771-4476.

S&S Seafood Ltd., RR-2, Box 3196A, Northwood, NH03261, (603) 942-7925.

The KidMover Inc., 10691 N. Kendall Dr., Miami, FL 33176,(305) 595-KIDS.

The Pampered Chef, 70 Clermont Ln., St. Louis, MO 63124,(800) 455-0002.

Urban Herbals, 2088 Oakdale Ave., San Francisco, CA94124, (415) 285-7584.