In Entrepreneur magazine last month they listed the top 500 entrepreneurial businesses in the US. The majority were men (88%) and the average age - 44. Most got their start-up funds from their own savings account.

How were they selected?

- Must have been founded no earlier than 1998 and no later than 2002
- Company sales in 2002 must be $100,000 or greater; 2006 sales must not exceed $1 billion
- Must have positive job growth between 2002 and 2006
- Must have a minimum level of sales growth or a sales growth quantifier of 1 or higher between 2002 and 2006; the
growth quantifier is a measurement that combines percentage and absolute growth.

Only 95,000 businesses-or 0.5 percent of the 19 million businesses-met the above criteria.

Every industry was represented with top businesses listed in the following categories:

Advertising and Marketing
Apparel & Accessories
auto dealerships
Banks
Business Services
Construction
E-Commerce
Environmental Solutions
Equipment Rentals and Sales
Financial Services
Food
Government Contractors
Health
Home Improvements
Logistics Services
Manufacturing
Media
Miscellaneous Products
Miscellaneous Services
Natural Resources
Real Estate
Recreation
Retail
Security
Staffing
Technology
Telecommunications
Travel

Are you interested in applying for the 2008 list? Deadline is fast approaching: October 12 . Here is the application for 2008.

Deborah Chaddockl Brown