* Name: The Meeting Co.
* Location: Gifford Street, off Rossville Boulevard. Meetings by appointment only.
* Products/services: Owner Ricky Crook says the company has the ability to plan any event from start to beyond finish, including working within a budget to plan everything from crowd flow and safety to restrooms and trash cans. Mrs. Crook joined the company six years ago, making the venture a husband-and-wife team.
* Age: Founded in November 1990, the company is 20 years old.
* Startup investment/annual sales: Mr. Crook started the company with $300 in his pocket, working as an X-ray technician at night to pay the bills. He added that in the years since, the company has been nominated for small business of the year in Chattanooga four times, and said the operation is doing quite well.
* Target market: Weddings, corporate events and nonprofit fundraising events
* Biggest hurdle: “To help with the amount of time involved in coordinating these events, you have to hire people, but then you are managing those people instead of the event,” Mr. Crook said.
* Biggest reward: Mr. and Mrs. Crook have met famous people, organized an event for President George W. Bush, and been involved in large events, but the biggest reward is being there on a bride’s wedding day.
* Challenges in the future: Volkswagen will keep the company very busy, he said.
* Lesson learned: It’s important to remain friends with competitors.
* Five-year goal: As long as his business continues to be successful, it will remain attractive for potential buyers as he looks to hand it off to the next generation.