Jeff Beals spent nearly 30 rapid-fire minutes Tuesday morning spelling out his formula for self marketing and success in business. It wasn't an official introduction for the award to follow, but it worked just fine.

Linda Lynn Tripp, founder of Carolina Court Reporters, was honored at the City Hotel and Bistro during the annual Small Business Leader Awards Breakfast sponsored by the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce and the Pitt Community College Small Business Center.

Greg Eans/The Daily Reflector (ENLARGE)

Linda Tripp, founder of Carolina Court Reporters, was honored at the annual Small Business Leader Awards Breakfast.

Contributed photo (ENLARGE)

Britt Laughinghouse of Bostic Sugg accepts the customer service award from Gordon Jethro, left, of First Citizens Bank.

Bostic Sugg Furniture received the fourth annual Customer Service Award.

Beals, author of "Self Marketing Power: Branding Yourself as a Business of One" and vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group in Omaha, Neb., rattled off his philosophy of standing out in a "crowded and loud and extremely noisy marketplace."

His resumé includes teaching in the College of Business at University of Nebraska, co-hosting a radio talk show, more than 200 published articles as a freelance writer and six years as an administrator at a private college.

"The old saying that 'nice guys finish last' is complete bunk when it comes to self marketing," Beals said. "You have to have friends out there and a lot of people who love you, and that comes from treating them with great respect."

Tripp said that has been her approach since starting a one-person operation in 1992. She now has six office employees and several independent contractors, covering all of North Carolina and parts of South Carolina and Virginia. In 2005, Carolina Specialized Imaging spawned off of Carolina Court Reporters.

"I started on my own with an idea and no background whatsoever in the business," Tripp said after accepting the award. "... The one area that I will tell you that I absolutely excel in is, I have the ability to attract wonderful people, and it's the wonderful people that makes the business happen and makes it shine."

The Small Business Leader Award, given since 1984, recognizes a business with 25 or fewer employees. Donald Stocks of PIP Printing and Ray Craft of Signs Now also were finalists.

Tripp's award adds to a recent list of accomplishments. She was the Greenville-Pitt County Citizen of the Year in 2005, an East Carolina University Distinguished Alumni award winner in 2006 and named one of the 100 Incredible Women Leaders in ECU's history.

She said being nominated by her staff for the small business award was gratifying.

"They are the people that are the everyday bread and butter in my world," she said.

In outlining his tips for success, Beals said every person "needs to become a celebrity in his or her own sphere of interest."

Among the keys are:

Being nice, lifting people up and never believing that success should come at the expense of another person.

Live life zealously and be active.

Build an area of expertise.

Always be prepared for the unsuspecting opportunity.

Realize that everyone counts.

Remember that "you are always being watched" or "the microphone is always on, and we have to behave accordingly."

Communicate clearly and concisely.

Be "perpetually professional."

Britt Laughinghouse, president and co-owner of Bostic Sugg, said his company has tried to follow that model. Bostic Sugg joined Coffman's Menswear, Jefferson's and Wilkerson & Sons Funeral Home as a longtime Greenville business winning the Customer Service Award.

"Many of the employees have been with the company for decades, two with over 40 years of service, so they know their business and they know what their customers need and what they like," Gordon Jethro, area executive of First Citizens Bank, said in presenting the award.

Bostic Sugg was founded in 1937 and has been owned by the Laughinghouse family since 1948. Britt and his brother, Chip, have been co-owners since 1994. Bostic Sugg moved from 10th Street to Fire Tower Road in 2005.

Britt Laughinghouse said earning an award was "a team effort."

"I think my family has always wanted every department to feel a part of customer service," he said. "... You can't stay in business selling to everybody one time. You've got to sell them over and over again.

"Advertising can help," he said, "but word of mouth is the best you've got, and we've been fortunate to develop a good clientele, a great core of employees who have been dedicated to three generations of my family."