A little more than 15 years ago, Tammy Cohen, the founder of applicant screening company InfoMart Inc., stood on Park Avenue in the heart of New York City. In her pocket she had $35, and in her hand, the newly signed contract for her first big client, Philip Morris USA. It was then that Cohen knew her business was for real.

Although the Park Avenue moment remains a highlight of her career, the company recently added FedEx to its client inventory. Cohen was told InfoMart could land FedEx if it could implement what FedEx needed in a mere three weeks.

"It usually takes at least six months," Cohen said. Her staff told her to go for it.

"If my staff hadn't been motivated, we never would have pulled it off," she said. "Our motto is 'work hard, play hard.' "

Cohen was named a finalist by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce for its 2006 Small Business Person of the Year Award.

Currently, InfoMart employs about 125 and the company expects to pull in about $20 million in revenue this year (2005 revenue totaled $15.4 million). In the past three years, the company has nearly doubled revenue as well as its employee base. It's done all this while remaining debt-free.

"Everything is paid in cash," Cohen said. The only note she has is for the building she built to house her company.

Cohen's banker is OK with that.

"It's the kind of relationship where she puts more money in the bank than she takes out," said Mike Knowles, president and CEO of NorthWest Bank & Trust, who met Cohen in a Leadership Cobb class in 1996. "It's a testament to her management skills."

Although Cohen calls it accidental -- a result of hiring the best people for the job -- InfoMart's work force is very diverse, and she thinks that's great.

"It's exciting for the employees because they think of us as a melting pot," she said. "We hire the best person and we promote the best person."

On a quest to keep learning, Cohen does what she can to provide the same opportunity to her employees. To that end, the company established InfoMart University. From formal management training to viewings and discussions of the latest episode of "The Apprentice" (complete with popcorn), employees get a chance to have fun and learn something at the same time.

Bronwyn O'Dell met Cohen in 1994 when O'Dell worked for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. She keeps nagging Cohen to write a book. O'Dell thinks there's an audience for Cohen's story: that people who don't have a college degree, an MBA, or the backing of wealthy friends or relatives can make it in the business world.

"Her story tells them that they can," said O'Dell, director of volunteer and senior services for WellStar Health System Inc. "She didn't get where she is today by being lucky."

Cohen's education is less formal than most business leaders, but from a very early age, she soaked in lessons of a different kind.

She grew up on farms in both Oklahoma and the outskirts of New Orleans. She calls her stepfather one of the most influential people in her life.

"He told me I could do anything a guy could do. Be the president, own a business," she said.

The president of InfoMart is also the mother of two teenagers.

"I'm trying to focus on them," she said, noting that she tries to work about five hours a day when the company is in "coast mode," like it is now. Back when Cohen was in the thick of things, she routinely worked 15-hour days. "Work has always been my No. 1 hobby." She's also active in the community, currently founding the Academy of Women Leaders for the YWCA of Northwest Georgia.

Asked why she thinks InfoMart, which competes with much larger companies like Atlanta-based ChoicePoint Inc., is so successful, Cohen is quick to answer.

"You can buy criminal history from anyone. We treat it like a service, not a commodity," Cohen said. "The No. 1 rule of the house is respect. If that's core to your business, everything works."

Tammy Cohen Founder, president and chairman InfoMart, Inc.

Age: 43.

What is the secret to your success? Treat everyone with respect.

Where do you see your company in five years? She doesn't set goals. She does what she needs to do "day to day."