Name of company: KellyMitchell Group Inc.
Name of woman leader: Cassandra Sanford
Age: 34
Based in: St. Louis, Mo.
Description: Provides Fortune 500 companies with professional IT consulting services
Began: 1998
2003 sales: $4.6 million
2007 sales: $33.6 million

What was the motivation behind starting KellyMitchell?
Sanford was confident that technology consulting was the wave of the future. "We believed that we could provide more cost-effective options to the corporate community than the big firms, all while remaining emphatically employee-focused," she says.

How much did it cost to start the business?
Startup costs ran about $10,000, in addition to the purchase of some computer equipment. Sanford says the biggest investment was in brain power, experience and hard work.

So is hard work the secret to growing a multimillion-dollar business?
Actually, Sanford says, "It was focusing on our core competency and seeking business that we were 150 percent confident we could meet the promised deliverables on." She recognizes that it's hard to say no to potential revenue when you're starting out or taking the business to the next level, but cautions against engaging in work outside your scope. "It's rarely profitable, and the important thing is to propel your reputation forward."

How do you balance your family and business responsibilities?
For Sanford, balancing isn't something she has to think about, though she acknowledges the importance of having a good support system. "Really, I have two families. I have my personal family--my husband and kids--and my work family," she says. "I just really try my best to focus on the quality of time and attention that I give each while I'm there."

What's your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to grow their business?
Relationships with employees are extremely important, Sanford says, so utilize your employees' ideas and their understanding of the industry. "Many business owners try to carve out strategic plans on their own, but if they get the whole team involved in making those decisions, it promotes ownership, and the strategies tend to be successful."

How do you relax?
To relax, Sanford spends time with her family. She particularly enjoys golfing and skiing.

What's on your iPod?
Sanford doesn't own an mp3 player and has no plans to get one. The times that most people use their iPods happen to be when she likes to read, reflect, think and brainstorm. "But if I had one, it would probably be Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald," she says.

What books are you reading?
Sanford has started The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. In general, biographies are her favorite. "I'll read biographies about everybody from baseball coaches to foreign leaders who've had hard times. I enjoy reading about how they've pushed through and turned out to have a great life, or turned around and given back to their community. It's just something different from those self-help books," she says.

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