Safeguard Business Systems wants to make sure small businesses get the supplies they need to stay in business -- and maybe even become less small. Safeguard Business Systems oversees the distribution of printed products (business cards, forms), office supplies (toner cartridges, file folders), and logo-branded apparel and promotional items (pens, bags) to more than 600,000 customers throughout the US and Canada. It operates through a network of about 360 local distributors. Safeguard Business Systems is a subsidiary of small business services provider and check printer Deluxe. Safeguard Business Systems was founded in 1956.

Corporate Concepts is headquartered in Lombard, Illinois, and has an additional sales office in downtown Chicago. We also maintain several warehouse facilities and have extensive strategic partnerships in place, which makes it easy to provide the same high level of service on a nationwide basis. Our top priority is to provide our clients with the very best in design services, space planning, and specifications, along with timely order entry, tracking, delivery, and expert installation of product. Many other value-added services are available as well, including chair re-upholstery, furniture standards programs and financing consultation. Dedication to discovering and fully understanding our clients' needs is the foundation on which Corporate Concepts was built. By focusing on these fundamental principles, we have consistently grown our business, and we're proud to be considered an industry leader. It is through our commitment to these goals that we have consistently been recognized as a Knoll Top 10 Dealer worldwide, as well as being named as the 12th Largest Woman Owned Firm in Chicago, Crain's 2003.

Midland Paper Company (MPC) is a middleman for the paper industry. The firm distributes coated, uncoated, bond, specialty, and other types of paper produced by such manufacturers as Boise, Neenah Paper, Domtar, and International Paper. It also sells packaging supplies and equipment as well as janitorial supplies (including mops, brooms, cleaners, and floor-care products). MPC distributes primarily to large companies that print books, magazines, and catalogs. Founded in 1907 as a paper supplier to Chicago's graphic arts industry, the company now operates warehouses and sales offices in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin.

Sensational Beginnings (SB) helps kids start having fun early. The catalog and online merchant sells educational toys, furniture, and safety and child care items for infants and toddlers. (SB also operates a single store in Michigan.) Toy categories include science and nature, ride-ons, musical instruments, indoor active play, travel kits, and seasonal items. SB also offers gift-giving and parenting advice, a gift registry, and an online photo gallery of children using company products. Customers can shop by brand, category, or age group or get advice on age-appropriate toys and games. President Debra Shah, a former nurse specializing in mother and child medical care, founded the company in the early 1990s.

Adventure 16, Inc. operates a chain of retail outdoor outfitters in Southern California. It has about half a dozen locations, plus a wholesale division that distributes accessories for backpacking, camping, climbing, and adventure travel. The company offers lifetime guarantees on all its private-label products. Its Web site offers resources, guides, and classes for outdoor journeys, a backpacker's checklist, an interactive map and reviews of recommended hikes, a gallery of adventure photos, and an outdoor blog written by staff. Adventure 16 was incorporated by Mic Mead in 1970.

Lush's products are so luscious that you literally could eat them if you wanted to. The natural cosmetics firm is a UK-based manufacturer and retailer of environmentally friendly natural cosmetics and fragrances (including many vegan-friendly products). Lush company operates about 670 shops in some 44 countries worldwide, as well as a retail website and catalog. Most of Lush's products are handmade from natural (and edible) ingredients and carry an expiration date. The company's co-founder, Mark Constantine, formerly developed and supplied products for natural cosmetics behemoth The Body Shop, back in that company's development days. Co-founders Mark and Mo Constantine own Lush company with Helen Ambrosen.

Sweetwater Sound helps musicians and recording engineers make sweet music. The music technology retailer sells professional recording and live sound equipment, musical instruments (guitars, basses, keyboards, and drums), computers and software, and accessories through its website and catalogs. Manufacturers include Roland, Yamaha, and Kurzweil. The company was founded in 1979 by Chuck Surack as a four-track recording studio. The retail division grew out of Surack's need for a source for affordable, high-quality gear. Sweetwater Sound moved into its new corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2006. The following year, it acquired music retailer Lentine's Music from GE Capital for $4.5 million.

YBP Library Services helps academic, community, and research libraries find all kinds of books, including electronic books. The company offers a Web-based tool called GOBI (Global Online Bibliographic Information) that provides its customers with a wide array of acquisitions and collection management services connected to a database some 2 million English-language titles. Founded in 1971, YBP works closely with its parent company, Baker & Taylor Corporation (the top wholesale book distributor in the US), and benefits from B&T's large inventory. YBP's UK-based Lindsay and Croft subsidiary offers similar services to the worldwide academic and research library market.

Backcountry.com is an online retailer of outdoor and backcountry gear. The company sells products for activities such as skiing, backpacking, camping, snowboarding, rock climbing, kayaking, and mountaineering. Its offerings include more than 400 brands, such as Burton, K2, The North Face, Oakley, and Rossignol. Backcountry.com was founded in 1996 by CEO Jim Holland and president John Bresee. Backcountry.com is a subsidiary of Liberty Media, which owns more than 80% of the online retailer's equity.

Dive N' Surf outfits its patrons to catch the waves. Specializing in diving equipment and training, as well as surf boards, surfing gear and apparel, the company sells products through its own retail store in Redondo Beach, California, and its website. Brands include Billabong, Lost, UGG, and Volcom, among others. In addition to these, Dive N' Surf markets its Body Glove brand of high-tech surf gear. The family of the founding twin brothers Bob and Bill Meistrell own Dive N' Surf, which opened for business in 1953.

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