Get'em while they're hot: on the lookout for the latest and greatest opportunities for 2003

Entrepreneur, Dec, 2002 by Steve Cooper, Mark Henricks, Gisela M. Pedroza, April Y. Pennington, Chris Penttila, Chris Sandlund, Devlin Smith, Nichole L. Torres

It may not sound sexy, but it's very profitable. Core3's sales were $230,000 its first year. This year, sales for the company will reach $3.2 million, with $10 million projected for 2003. "We have about a $9 million backlog of contract revenue right now," Scoresby says. Core3 is branching into consulting and hopes to launch outsourcing services aimed at Fortune 1000 companies over the next few years.

The hottest outsourcing opportunities are in IT, but there are obscure business areas ripe with potential. You just have to think creatively. "We thought 'Let's offer something to the industry we came from that no one else is doing,'" says Dean Churack. In June 2001, Churack, 36, and business partner John Serafine, 45, took their extensive backgrounds in publishing and credit collection and $20,000 of their own money to start Media Receivable Management Inc., a collections and receivables firm based in Miami for print media companies. "We want to be the number-one collections agency to Fortune 100 publishing companies," Churack says.

Churack predicts sales of about $2 million this year and $7.5 million in 2003. The company has two employees and has added media consulting to its services. Churack and Serafine are working to update their Web site so clients can check the status of their collections in real time, something clients suggested in a satisfaction survey the company does every six months.

Setting rates, surviving fluctuations in the economy, dealing with lags in payment and understanding the client's mind-set are a few challenges. Outsourcing is a business based on trust and credibility, and "nothing matters more than customer satisfaction," Scoresby says. "You have to understand what the client's internal costs are."

HOT BIZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT INSTALLATION

Do you have friends who dream of custom-built home theaters with surround sound, automatic lights and a big-screen digital TV? We thought so--according to the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA), 86 percent of U.S. adults want home entertainment systems. And they're creating a tidal wave of demand for expert installers.

David Harwell and Greg Hill, founders of Audio Video Unplugged in Farmers Branch, Texas, are meeting that need. Offering custom-designed systems that start at about $20,000 and go well into the six figures, the pair expects sales to top $2 million this year. Business is so robust, in fact, that the partners work only on referrals and have had to turn customers away.

The government's recent mandate that all TVs larger than 13 inches be digital by July 1,2007 is fueling industry growth. "That gave a big boost to the audio-video industry," says Hill, 30. "If you're going to digital, you have to have people who can help you implement the technology in your home."

More than just entertainment, this industry encompasses everything from security systems to home computer networking. Right now, most clientele is affluent, though as the technology becomes more affordable, it will trickle down to more modest-income consumers, creating huge market potential, predicts CEDIA president Jeff Hoover.