26 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs: Victoria Parham

Victoria Parham Virtual Support Services

for serving as a mentor to military spouses

Victoria Parham knows firsthand how tough it is to be a soldier’s wife. Her husband, Andre, served in the Army until last year. When he was deployed to South Korea in 1995, Parham was forced to move in with her mother and to sell her small resume-writing business. When she later started another company, Virtual Support Services, she designed it to be portable. If Andre received another distant commission, she would go with him. So would VSS, which provides administrative support to businesses through a network of independent contractors.

The test came in 2000, when Andre was assigned to Anchorage, Alaska. On the cross-country drive, Victoria ran VSS from the back seat of the family SUV, juggling a cell phone, laptop, and portable printer. Over 22 days, 5 hours, and 30 minutes of travel, VSS never faltered. Today VSS’s revenue is in the six figures.

Once Parham, now 36, settled in Alaska, she began volunteering as a mentor at the Service Corps of Retired Executives. She parlayed that into a gig with the Navy, teaching military spouses, by Web seminar, how to design businesses that can move with them from base to base. She has taught 400 people so far. For the armed services, says Ed Roscoe, a program manager for the Navy, “our return on investment is keeping highly qualified soldiers on active duty by stabilizing families.” And that’s just what Parham is doing.

Patrick J. Sauer

1. Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Omnimedia

   because she took one for the team

2. Richard Branson, Virgin Group

   because he’s game for anything. In fact, everything.

3. Michael Dell, Dell Computer

   for being brilliantly straightforward

4. Jim Sinegal, Costco

   because who knew a big-box chain could have a generous soul?

5. Diane von Furstenberg, Diane von Furstenberg Studio

   for staging an elegant comeback

6. Julie Azuma, Different Roads to Learning

   for offering hope and help to the parents of autistic children

7. Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewing

   for setting limits

8. Ray Kurzweil, Kurzweil Technologies and other companies

   because he is Edison’s rightful heir

9. Craig Newmark, Craigslist

   for putting the free in free markets

10. Jack Mitchell, Mitchells/Richards

    because his family business makes an art of customer service

11. Frank Robinson, Robinson Helicopter

    for whipping an entire industry into shape

12. Mark Melton, Melton Franchise Systems

    for giving immigrants their shot at the American Dream

13. Michelle Cardinal & Tim O’Leary, Cmedia and Respond2

    for rewriting the rules for husband-and-wife teams

14. Mike Lazaridis, Research in Motion

    because someone had to stand up for all those frustrated engineers

15. Trip Hawkins, Electronics Arts and Digital Chocolate

    for still scrapping

16. Warren Brown, Cake Love and Love Cafe

    because only in America will someone quit a secure job as a lawyer to start a bakery

17. Muriel Siebert, Muriel Siebert & Co.

    for being a notable first with a worthy second act

18. Chuck Porter, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky

    for verging on reckless

19. Katrina Markoff, Vosges Haut

    for setting a completely unreasonable goal for her business

20. Barry Steinberg & Craig Sumerel, Direct Tire and Auto Service

    for showing the power of the peer group

21. Victoria Parham, Virtual Support Services

    for serving as a mentor to military spouses

22. Tom LaTour, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants

    for staying at fleabag hotels so that we don’t have to

23. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, Mitchell Gold

    for creating a true comfort zone

24. Izzy & Coco Tihanyi, Surf Diva

    for kicking sand in the face of conventional wisdom

25. Tony Lee, Ring Masters

    for saving 16 jobs, including his own

26. Rueben Martinez, Libreria Martinez Books and Art Galleries

    for simultaneously building a business and nurturing Latino culture