Words from The Wise

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to dig a little deeper and uncover their secrets to success.

"Sixteen years ago, we were cold calling and struggling to land our first client, The Port Authority of New York. New Jersey called us by mistake, attempting to contact a company whose name was similar to [ours]. We kept them on the phone and discussed their IT infrastructure and project needs at length. Needless to say, they became our first client. We still laugh at this."
Ranjini Poddar, owner of Artech Information Systems LLC, No. 7
Cedar Knolls, New Jersey

"The biggest mistake we ever made was undervaluing ourselves. When we started, we were young and hungry, and we didn't give ourselves credit for the amount of value we brought to our clients and strategies. So the lesson learned is: Don't undervalue yourself and your expertise, and don't let your size dictate your value."
Shenan Reed, owner of Morpheus Media, No. 10
New York City

"It is important to take an inventory of your strengths and what you like to do. Focus on those things and get help for the others as soon as you can."
Amy L. Langer, owner of Salo LLC, No. 13
Minneapolis

"Be a great juggler. As a woman in business, you will always have lots of balls in the air, including the activities of running your business and being strategic in your decisions to grow your business. In many cases, [you also have] the role of being a wife, a mother, a daughter and a sister. The same traits that make us great in all of these roles are the ones that you will rely on to excel in business."
Leslie O'Connor, owner of Search Wizards Inc., No. 14
Atlanta

"Build an atmosphere of trust and respect. You must always respect the [employees and clients] you work with. Believe in your people. Make your word count. In addition, never lose focus on your next challenge." Jeni Bogdan, owner of The Saxon Group Inc., No. 17
Sugar Hill, Georgia

Behind The Numbers

The 50 fastest-growing women-led companies ranking was compiled with the help of the Women Presidents' Organization, a nonprofit peer advisory organization for independent women presidents and CEOs. Entrepreneur and the WPO solicited applications from women-led businesses in North America and considered those that met the following criteria:

• Must be a privately held, woman-led company in the U.S. or Canada.
  
• Company sales in 2003 must be $100,000 or greater; 2007 sales must be at least $1 million.
  
• Companies were ranked according to a sales growth formula that combines percentage and absolute growth. From this list, the top 50 were selected. (In cases where companies have multiple partners, only women are listed.)

Research was conducted by WPO director of communications Caitlin Jenkins, communications manager Kirsten Wynn and assistants Kat Piracha and Tanya Rosado. Entrepreneur research editor James Park also contributed to this listing.