DOTmed caught up with Cheryl Kirk, sales manager and all around "go to" person at Hy-Tech Respiratory Equipment's home office in Albertville, Ala. Kirk oversees the company's five-member staff with company President Brad Jones. Bringing 35 years of industry experience, Jones' father and Vice President Jim Adams operates from a second office in Prosper, Texas. This family-owned business has provided high-quality, pre-owned and remanufactured respiratory equipment to medical facilities in the Albertville region for 12 years under the Hy-Tech banner, although recent Internet sales are moving the company into a larger national arena.

Even as Hy-Tech moves into larger markets, Kirk believes that strong business ethics and long-standing quality guarantees have been the cornerstone of sustained company growth. Since joining the business over three years ago, Kirk has maintained that Hy-Tech's reputation and good business policy are the drivers of its competitive advantage, even in e-commerce. Kirk sees the payoff when competing with larger companies. "We're a small business. But sometimes I'm amazed at just how well such a small company can compete."

Kirk helped take the company into the Internet marketplace just over three years ago, while letting the quality-driven business model guide her. Internet sales alone have boosted annual revenue by 25 percent. Joining DOTmed a year and a half ago, Hy-Tech has expanded sales and, as a small business looking for quality contacts, has appreciated DOTmed's rating and certification process.

"I've had really good luck with the people that I've met on DOTmed," she said. Kirk asserts that DOTmed not only brings both buyers and sellers directly, but the association with DOTmed also helps maintain their prominent search engine rank for easier Internet promotion. "We're first and I love it."

Kirk gives the impression that old-fashioned values, coupled with innovation and creative problem solving, are the best solution for small businesses to thrive. Hy-Tech makes use of its own small business model by extending incentives and discounts to up-and-coming companies they feel will make good long-term business partners. "That's what we're here for... to help the small growing companies."

Hy-Tech's good neighbor attitude extended to the recent victims of Hurricane Katrina as well, with both offices located just outside the devastated region. Alerting the Red Cross and Salvation Army that they could offer a ready stock of 3,000 oxygen cylinders, knowing that other portable devices would need electricity, speaks volumes about Hy-Tech's ability to assess and target needs quickly while keeping their place as beacon on the neighborhood block.

Kirk's advice to other companies is to establish a grassroots foundation, and build on solid business practices, wherever your marketplace. Kirk reiterates "ethics and trust" are the backbone of Hy-Tech's business style and hopes other companies will make use of their time-honored model.

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