Other companies, he said, created markets where none existed before or found a business model no one else had seen.

"They found a new way, and they did it very well," Burton said. "There's some very profitable companies out there."

• Don't worry about profits.

Ah, profits. Money's not everything, of course. But it does make the business world go 'round.

"They need to show profitability; that's the reason you're in business," said Lunceford. "Also sustainability: Is this a business that's only going to be here for a short time because they have a product that's going to be outdated or out of style soon?"

Burton said strong financials are always impressive, though some companies' growth is so explosive that it most likely won't last.

"We discussed one company, and we just looked around at each other and said, 'How do they do that? How do they produce that type of margin?"' he said. "And you do ask, will they be able to sustain that, and probably they won't. But it's impressive to see it."

In addition to strong sales, Burton said, businesses should reflect sound financial practices across the board. And, he added, most if not all of the 2007 finalists do that: "This is picking between one A+ and another A+."

• Don't worry about people.

However, even the best sales figures won't help a company that doesn't excel at public and employee relations, judges said.

"The company culture definitely plays a part in it," Lunceford said. "You want to know it's a culture that is as rewarding to employees as it is to customers."

Company culture is one of the criteria specifically mentioned in judges' guidelines, Burton said.

"It's how their employees view the entrepreneur, the respect level the entrepreneur has among employees," he said. "I think that all goes hand in hand. You do find companies out there where that is not the case, but I don't think we found that in any of the organizations we dealt with (as EOY judges).

"But there were some that had done some unique things that were interesting in the approaches they have, not only to retaining employees, but to getting better production or performance."

In fact, Burton said, learning about the best practices of some of this year's entrants led to some soul-searching for him.

"We pretty much had a corporate culture (at International Armoring) that I enjoy, that I like and feel comfortable with," he said. "But I will tell you that as I went through the judging process and saw what these companies are doing, I did evaluate myself and think, 'You know, I might be able to improve in this area or that.' From that standpoint, I learned."