The Answer People turn solutions into new customers

The people behind The Answer People like to describe their company as a virtual Metro Detroit company, but those people still call the city of Detroit home. The IT firm's co-founders call Palmer Park and Northeast Detroit home but count customers across the region, including the Woodward Avenue Action Association in Royal Oak.

"I like to think of us as being representative of a small business model," says Hermine Turner, president and senior project manager with The Answer People. "We use a lot of technology to run our business (virtually from their homes)."

Turner started the company with Les Lance in 1999 as a side business to help supplement their income. It has since grown to five principals and an average of 3-4 independent contractors. Over the last year that team has gone from just enough work to keep the business going to using everyone much more today thanks to scoring a half dozen new customers over the last six months. Turner hopes to expand the team by a few people in 2011.

The Answer People primarily focus on helping small businesses find and manage the best technology for their needs. It also has expanded into Web-design, hosting, marketing and cloud computing services.

"We consider ourselves a total solution provider for small businesses," Turner says.

Source: Hermine Turner, president and senior project manager for The Answer People
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.