Name of company: Artech Information Systems LLC
Name of woman leader: Ranjini Poddar
Based in: Cedar Knolls, N.J.
Description: IT staffing, consulting and business process outsourcing.
Began: 1992
2003 sales: $16.5 million
2007 sales: $128.2 million

What was the inspiration for your business?
Poddar, 40, wasn't inspired so much by a business idea as by the desire to start a business. "My father had his own business for years; growing up I used to help, just doing mundane tasks from filing to doing spreadsheets. That kind of gave me a base for the different aspects in running a business.

"This particular industry came up because my husband had worked in it previously, and it was experiencing a lot of changes in the early 1990s," she says. "We thought it was a good opportunity to be in the business."

How much did it cost to start the business?
"We raised about $200,000 from family and a close family friend."

How did you grow your business so rapidly?
"It takes time, a lot of persistence and a little bit of luck," Poddar says. "I mean, basically, there's no secret magic to it. It's really all about acquiring the customers, delivering a quality service and making sure they keep coming back as repeat customers."

Poddar adds that innovation is the key, staying ahead of any changes that affect your business. " I think a lot of companies go astray when they stay the same but the world around them changes."

How do you balance your family and business responsibilities?
Poddar's children are currently 16 and 11, which makes it easier than when they were younger. In the past, says Poddar, "I've brought my daughter in to the office with me when she had a day off or an afternoon off. She set up her art supplies in a cube, and that was like her 'office.' "

Technology has helped Poddar spend more time with family without missing much at work. "If there's something to be done on a weekend to meet a deadline, then I don't have to come in, or I can leave at some reasonable hour and still check my e-mails at 9:30 or 10 o'clock at night when the children are winding down."

What books are you reading?
"I'm re-reading Good to Great. For pleasure I read mainstream best-seller types of books like The Da Vinci Code. Something you don't have to think too much about. Otherwise it doesn't become relaxing anymore."

What's your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to grow their business?
"The best way to grow is to first set a growth goal. By specifying quantitative goals, you can best allocate resources, budget and later measure progress. Of course you need a plan to deliver on the objective. The plan has to begin with the high-end goals. then drill down to the tactical level, or at least the level at which managers and other key personnel are guided to achieve given deliverables.

Execute the plan with all due confidence while always remembering that redirecting or modifying it is not always a matter of coming to a full stop, re-planning and re-executing, but more often something that has to be done on the fly. Last, put everything in writing. You may always refer back to your plan and/or modify it, but having a record of planning and activities will help you recall your thought process, what went wrong, and what went right."

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