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The Entrepreneurial Agenda by Robb Mandelbaum

Inc.com Blogs

October 3, 2007

Lessons From a Soloist Who Reached the Inc. 500 List

Posted by Terri Lonier at 12:48 PM

These lessons may help your one-person business grow -- and make the annual list of the Inc. 500.

How can a soloist surpass much larger companies and reach the prestigious Inc. 500 roster of fast-growing privately held firms? By staying nimble, creating a deep network of referrals, and using creative thinking to transfer risk and retain profits for his own firm.

Those nuggets of advice were among the gems shared during a recent chat with Jim Fairchild, the first soloist to reach the annual Inc. 500 list. Fairchild's one-person firm, Coggin & Fairchild Environmental Consultants, Inc., didn't just squeak in at the bottom of the list. With a whopping $3.4 million in revenue in 2006, the company landed a spot in the top quarter, at number 121.

Intrigued with how a soloist accomplished such a feat -- and what he could teach other independent entrepreneurs about generating impressive revenues while retaining a one-person payroll -- I tracked Fairchild down while he was vacationing recently in the Wisconsin Dells. What lessons can you glean from his success?

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