In its first year, 1996, VCI earned a modest $30,000. In 1997, sales leapt to $400,000 and more than doubled to $1 million in 1998. The company is now on its way to reaching revenue goals of $2 million by year's end. In a business environment where the life span of a computer business can be ever-so short, VCI appears on the right track.

"I look at companies that have been around for eight or nine years, and in four years we are doing what they have done," says David Janiszewski, owner of VCI.

With seven employees and an enviable zero turnover, VCI has set its sights on an aggressive goal of $20 million in sales by the end of 2003.

To keep up the growth, Janiszewski points to expansion plans. They plan to add five employees in 2000 with the goals of reaching 50 to 60 total employees in 2003. In today's ongoing battle for recruiting and returning employees, this could be one of their biggest challenges.

VCI's story is not unlike other successful companies. Like any small business, they face the challenge of cash flow.

"Finding capital and enough lines of credit is a problem every small business has," says Janiszewski. "We offer turnkey solutions. It is a bit unnerving to personally guarantee a $20,000 or $50,000 product order for a project. But if you sit there and worry about the risk of having your house sucked away, you will go insane." Janiszewski credits the passion he has for his company and the strong belief in what VCI offers.

That passion is apparent too in Jim Hale, Sales & Marketing Manager at VCI. "This (computer consulting) is still a people business. We are not a bunch of techies, but people building one-on-one relationships and offering solutions."

A boost for VCI may come in the form of a new agreement with Delmar Publishers, a division of Thompson Learning. Together the companies will offer video-based training software and complete network solutions with average price tags of $25,000 to $30,000. While VCI keeps its options open for additional partners, they consider themselves stable with a small pool of software and video server providers, along with a focus on safety training and the education market.

"We feel pretty economy proof," says Janiszewski. "If there is a downturn, companies usually cut soft training like Word and Excel for employees not things like OSHA regulations." He admits to a few competitors on a national scale such as The Network Connection, SGI and CBT Systems. "There are very few companies, if any, that offer the breadth of multimedia services that we do," says Janiszewski. He also notes the area of Internet-based instruction, which offers an alternative to video server solutions, but downplays its current potential with their target markets.

VCI's concerns lie more with the future. "We need to take advantage of technology now," says Janiszewski.

As we get more successful and get on people's radar screens, more competition will come."

The growth of multimedia training offers the most potential for VCI. Using computers, CD-ROMs, videoconferencing and internet technology, companies can conduct training on safety or supervisory topics or make sales presentations. Yet another niche is educational institutions, a market driven by demographics of the student body. "The education market is being forced into open entry, open exit (programs) in order to compete, says Janiszewski. This gives VCI about 70,000 schools to talk to as a target market for interactive courseware.

Janiszewski admits that it is not VCI's networking solutions that drive the sales, but the curriculum. The same goes for companies. The solution drives the demand.

Tom Rehrer, Safety Coordinator for Rock-Tenn Company of St. Paul and a VCI client, estimates that CD-ROM safety courseware and computer learning stations paid for themselves in less than six months. The savings came from the 'just in time' training approach, where employees train during down time and between shifts rather than overtime.

The State of Minnesota also found various uses for multimedia training. VCI developed 10 different computer training stations with courseware for the Department of Health. The project led to another with the Department of Natural Resources, which needed safety training at remote sites throughout the state. Rather than sending employees to periodic training courses, the DNR now uses two laptops as mobile training stations. Loaded with courseware, these stations make it easy for DNR employees to get the training they need. VCI also created a similar solution for the Department of Employee Relations that is sent to state offices where employees train at their own pace.

"It's all about gaining a competitive edge," said Janiszewski. "New technologies are continually emerging, and it's important for businesses to integrate them while also providing training and education at all levels."

"It can be an overwhelming task to begin integrating your knowledge management and technology management issues," adds Jim Hale. "Computer companies sell computers, software companies sell software, programmers sell consulting, and the customer ends up dealing with a bunch of different vendors. Our approach avoids all the fragmentation, and the long-term alliances that we form with clients ensure that we're around to help when they need us."