HispanicBusiness

Wendel Torres, CEO of Alliance General Contractors in Colorado Springs, Colo., says the 8(a) program allowed his company to gain experience working on large projects and build relationships in the construction industry.

Revenues from the larger federal contracts allowed the company to purchase equipment and increase its bonding capacity, the key financial measure agencies look for in a construction firm. With higher bonding capacity, the company's revenues have grown from little more than $2 million in 2000 to $52 million in 2004, an increase of nearly 2,500 percent. The company, which began in 1987 with Mr. Torres as the sole employee, now has a staff of 85, including five project managers and 16 superintendents. "As our growth started, it allowed us to gear up our staff to perform larger projects," Mr. Torres explains.

While money presents a problem for many CEOs, it's the main product of several service firms on the Fastest-Growing 100 directory. Florida-based Town Center Group has grown its revenues 2,879.9 percent since 2000 by providing a comprehensive approach to financing and buying real estate.

CEO Carlos Valentin credits Town Center Group's growth to foreseeing the boon in refinancing that hit the mortgage industry a few years ago. The company geared up that portion of the company and aggressively offered lower interest rates.

But to grow his business, Mr. Valentin doesn't borrow money – he pays cash. Town Center Group recently doubled its office space and has plans to open branches in Fort Lauderdale and Coral Gables this year. During the next two years, Mr. Valentin plans to have 10 more offices throughout the state, all without borrowing a dollar.

Like other CEOs of the Fastest-Growing 100, Mr. Valentin feels that good employees account for most of his success. "The most powerful part of this business is the people I recruited two years ago," he says. As an investment, "hiring the key players has paid off handsomely."

When interviewing potential employees, he seeks someone who shares the company's philosophy and the core value of catering to the client's every need. "As we hire new people, the first thing we do is sit down with them and make a presentation of the company and tell them, 'This is what we stand for, this is how we do business, this is how we treat clients,' " he says. "It's kind of a challenge, because not everyone works in that kind of environment on a daily basis."

As a group, the 100 Fastest-Growing companies report five-year revenue growth of 298.7 percent, a strong figure given the uneven performance of the U.S. economy. Looking forward, CEOs interviewed by Hispanic Business rate their local economy as steady to growing. Mr. Mandel speaks highly of the South Texas economy and Mr. Valentin describes the Miami market as "better than ever." He says the continued migration from the Northeast to Florida almost makes the state immune to the economic downturns that affect the rest of the country.

"That influx of money and people coming in makes this economy different, and even though it's tied to the economy of the United States, it almost stands by itself," Mr. Valentin says. "I forecast the state is going to be one of the richest states in the United States in the next 10 years because of that particular situation."
But to continue to grow, companies must change with the times. Mr. Flores of Diverse Staffing plans to obtain capital for future growth by selling franchises. He also believes in extending his networking and lobbying efforts to bankers.

Although acquisitions delivered 40 percent of Diverse Staffing's growth, the other 60 percent came from organic growth. For the foreseeable future, Mr. Flores expects to continue the grind of finding new customers. He says that in the cutthroat staffing industry, "our competitors are always looking to replace us" – unless he buys them first.