In marketing the workplace lactation program that is the centerpiece of Limerick, Inc., company President and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Kelly didn’t know much about how to approach potential clients. So the registered dietician did background research on companies she wanted to approach and then just made cold calls, often starting with the human resources department. “Ernst and Young was a cold call but luckily enough I got the right people,” Kelly said. “We started with Universal even before all the buyouts.” Founded in 1992, Limerick Inc. has staked out an area in which it provides not only the workplace lactation program but patented breast pumps designed with input from nursing mothers. Recently, the company received assistance through the Make Mine a Million program which chose Limerick as one of 20 women-owned companies to receive financial aid and mentoring. The award winners were announced June 2 at the National Association of Women Business Owners’ 2006 Women’s Business Conference in San Francisco. The goal of the program is to create 1 million women-owned businesses with revenues of $1 million or more. Limerick started manufacturing of the pumps in 1997 and is now on its third model released in late 2005 which stands out from the competition in that it mimics a baby’s nursing pattern. That translates into better productivity in the workplace in that nursing can be done quickly, often in the time given for a break or lunch, Kelly said. Another differentiating feature of the electric pump is that it’s been certified by the Food and Drug Administration to be used in a hospital, home and in the workplace, said Joan Ortiz, Limerick vice president and chief operating office. “They get used to a pump and making that transition when you are attached to one is hard,” said Ortiz, a registered nurse. Kelly and Ortiz have big plans for Limerick, now headquartered in the former Masonic Lodge building in Burbank. The Make Mine a Million winning businesses were chosen on their ability to reach the $1 million goal, willingness to reach that goal, and their existing financial plans, said Nell Merlino, president of Count Me In, creator of the Make Mine a Million Program. The award winners have access to $45,000 in aid from OPEN from American Express, a technology assessment from Cisco Systems, and mentoring and marketing assistance for one year. “For me I need the mentoring to see the next step,” Kelly said. “We’re at the point where we are ready to go to the next level. I think people who have achieved this and helped people achieve it is a great benefit to us.” Merlino said Limerick and its products has a great potential to go above the $1 million mark although the challenge will be for the company to ramp up quickly lest competitors get similar products to the public. “She addressed a whole set of issues that allows women to continue working and engage in business and provide something important to their children,” Merlino said. Kelly and Ortiz have ambitious plans to make Limerick a $20 million company by 2009. While their pumps are only available now through the workplace lactation program, they want to sell them to hospitals and through major retailers. Expanding to the international market could also be on the horizon. “That’s why we were so excited about Make Mine a Million,” Ortiz said. “We’re going to utilize their expertise to get us to that next level of being in the retail market.”