Businesswoman's Stroke of Luck was Tennessee's Good Fortune
(Click here to see a photo gallery of the trip to Washington, D.C.)

Johnson City has a good reason to celebrate May as national Small Business Month--the state's top small business owner is in our own back yard.

Elisa Comer, founder and CEO of Eagle's Landing Transcription Service, recently was named Tennessee's Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. State officials caught on quickly to Comer's success; she's been here only 15 months, but Comer insists the admiration is mutual.

"I've said that if someone wants to start a business in Tennessee, they should be required to own a business in other states so they know how good they've got it," she said.

ELTS, an Internet-based medical transcription service, was started in Locust Grove, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. Not wanting to raise their children in such a big city, Comer and her husband, Chris, started looking to relocate.

They first tried Waynesville, N.C., where they had family. After spending six weeks during the summer of 2003 in their camper just to test the waters, the Comers decided to return to Georgia, but the day before they were to leave, Comer experienced a twist of fate.

She and her children were riding their bicycles when she wrecked and broke her arm. In the emergency room, she and a nurse talked about the Comers' situation. The nurse happened to be married to a Johnson City Medical Center ER physician, and she convinced Comer to check out the Tri-Cities before going back to Georgia.

"I don't remember her name. I wish I did. I would thank her," Comer said.

The family extended their trip by one day that was spent driving around JCMC and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and East Tennessee State University campuses. After returning home, they did some Internet research and hooked up with Hank Carr, project director for Med Tech Regional Business Park.

"He became our cheerleader and our tour guide," Comer said.

Carr introduced the Comers to people like Gary Mabrey, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, and P.C. Snapp, executive director of the Economic Development Board. He showed the couple Johnson City's emphasis on medical technology businesses.

"We realized it was a great place not just to own a business but to raise a family," Comer said.

ELTS was moved to ETSU's Innovation Lab, 2109 W. Market St., in February 2004--permanently, but just barely.

"We had major technical issues with the phone lines, and actually went back to Atlanta because we didn't think we were going to be able to stay," she said.

Since physicians call in dictations to ELTS--which then sends them to a transcriptionist who types them--phone service is essential. Luckily, Comer says now, Carr and ETSU "came to the rescue" and worked out the kinks.

"We were very happy to have been in this building and have the alliance with the university like we do," she said.

ELTS now has about 30 employees who support more than 100 physicians in 11 states--a big jump from Comer's initial client base of one doctor.

With a nursing background, Comer never intended to run her own company. A severe latex allergy that developed while she was still in school put her in administration rather than helping patients hands-on. After getting married and starting a family, Comer received her certification in medical language and transcription studies so she could work from home.

ELTS was incorporated in 1999, and in less than a year it went from one physician account to 50. Around that time, Chris Comer left his job with Delta to help his wife.

"If you know anything about Atlanta, you don't leave Coke and you don't leave Delta," Comer said, noting that their friends and family thought they were crazy. "You've got to have nerves of steel to do that kind of stuff."

ELTS also has grown to include a transcriptionist school, which Comer says is their answer to a shortage in the profession. While a lot of medical transcription has gone overseas, Comer decided to start home-growing employees. Six went through the first session, and a group of 10 is about to start the second round. ELTS is planning to add another six to eight employees as well.

Comer attributes much of her success to Tennessee's small-business-friendly environment, which she calls phenomenal. The cooperation between entities like the state SBA, the Chamber, ETSU and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center--which is presenting her with a "Rising Star" award in Chattanooga next week--has helped her flourish, she says.

But Comer has done a lot for herself in the past six years and has learned a lot along the way. When the SBA, upon naming her its Small Business Person of the Year, asked for her best business tips, Comer submitted this statement:

"Define the vision for your company. Write it down. Memorize it. Make it stretch beyond the walls of your business. Live it. Breathe it. Teach it to your staff.

"When growing the business, make sure everything that happens fits the vision and takes you one step closer to reaching your goals. Don't let good things crowd out the best things. Understand that to be successful, a leader must not simply choose the easy road--we must walk the straight and narrow path in direct pursuit of the company's mission. It doesn't have to be bad to toss it out; if it doesn't fit your purpose and your company's vision, don't do it.

"In pursuing your vision, keep a strong sense of morality. Stand for what you stand for; refuse to compromise. There is still room for morality in the workplace. Be good to your customers; be good to your employees. Right is still right--all the time. Confirmation for a job well done will not necessarily come from your peers. Look to a higher power to validate what you are doing and the purpose for which you do it. Let your accomplishments speak for you; ultimately, they will anyway."

[This article, written by Keisha Bratton, originally appeared in the Johnson City Press on May 5, 2005.]