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The Newberry Group, Inc. — St. Charles, MO

Start out with an enterprising idea. Add drive, vision, determination, technical expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, a little luck, a lot of hard work, some time and solid advice. What do you get?

In the case of Brenda Newberry you get an award-winning St. Charles-based high-technology and systems consulting firm. Nearly a decade ago Newberry, president and CEO of The Newberry Group, combined her more than 20 years of experience in computer network and systems software with a propensity for teaching and a nose for business.

Brenda Newberry (center) with Max Summers (MO SBDC State Director, left) and Congressman Todd Akin in Washington, D.C. last week when Newberry was recognized as the Small Business Person of the Year for Missouri as part of Small Business Week.

The teaching penchant is demonstrated by her long standing as a professor of operating systems and network communications at Washington University. The nose for business comes from her career progression with a St. Louis-based defense contractor and a major credit firm where she climbed to vice president in charge of the unit responsible for the company's worldwide imaging technology.

With all these advantages and a self-enterprising itch, she decided to start her own business in 1996. However, despite all the experience she brought to her new enterprise, Newberry ultimately discovered she needed something more.

By 1999 The Newberry Group was making impressive business strides. However, growth was creating a challenge. The award of a government contract resulted in the need to expand the company, but the resources to fund the expansion were not immediately available. Newberry needed a business line of credit, but to obtain the credit line she needed to revise and formalize the company's business plan. She discovered the something more she needed was solid advice.

That's when she turned to the local office of the Missouri Small Business Development Centers (MO SBDC) at the University of Missouri. There she worked with several expert business advisers including Virginia Wilson, MU extension business development specialist in St. Charles County.

"I became aware of the Missouri SBDC programs while serving as a member of the board of the St. Charles County Extension Center," Newberry said. "I was impressed with the results Virginia reported on her activities. At the time it was the Strategic Management Analysis and Review Tool (SMART) program that piqued my interests."

Wilson worked with a team of Newberry Group managers to run a SMART review of the company's operation. The review measured key business indicators such as customers, products and services, operations and finances. Review recommendations included monitoring long-term achievements, implementing bid-design and customer analysis, and improving staff recruiting techniques.

"By using our tools and recommendations The Newberry Group developed processes and performance measures that allowed the company to achieve its goals, manage its growth and become a major competitor in both the public and private business sectors," Wilson said.

Results confirm impressive progress. The Newberry Group grew from a single ten-person office in 1999 to today's more than 110 employees in three locations, serving clients in seven states. Sales have made an equally impressive and steady climb from $56,000 in the first year to $17.3 million in 2004.

"Although those original recommendations have been modified to fit our business today, we still use these tools and concepts," Newberry explained. "We are still evolving and have enhanced our infrastructure, measurements and overall business processes in a way that supports continued growth for our business."

And because of the impressive growth the firm has demonstrated, The Newberry Group represented MO SBDC at the first Client Showcase and Legislative Breakfast Feb. 10, in the State Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City.

At that event hosted by MO SBDC, The Newberry Group and 24 other outstanding Missouri companies met with legislators to discuss their products and services. They also were recognized for their contributions to the economic development of the state of Missouri. Recognition from MO SBDC was accompanied by legislative resolutions presented by each company's district state senator and state representative.

For more information on the services of the MO SBDC program, call Wilson at 636/970-3000 or e-mail her at wilsonv@missouri.edu.

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