Daniel was eight months pregnant with her second child when she tripped on a flight of steps in May 1997, fell and hit her head on a concrete floor, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.
“My neurosurgeon said I came within a shred of losing my life,” she said.
Daniel, who was living and working in Cleveland at the time, immediately had
surgery and was then moved to Columbus, where the child was born one week later.
When she fell, Daniel was holding her first child, who was 1 year old at the time, but he
wasn’t hurt.
“I have to say that divine intervention must have allowed me to survive,” she said.
“One doctor told me that if it had come down to a choice between me and the baby,
they would have taken the baby because he had a better chance of living.”
The accident left her with a scar from the top to the bottom of her head and other injuries, and she was told it would take at least a year to recover. But, she had other
ideas because her company, MTC Document Management Inc., was in the middle of an important transition.
Two weeks before the accident, the company had installed its first scanning software,
which represented a big jump from the era of microfilming documents.
“I knew what the doctors had told me about recovery time, but I also kept thinking
that I owned a business that had just undergone a big shift and that others were
depending on me,” she said. “What happened was an incredible shock to my staff
because at that time, I did everything. I wanted to keep going because I’d come too far
and I wasn’t about to let the staff down.”
When she was released from the hospital, she couldn’t go up or down steps or drive a
car. Two weeks later, she decided to get out of bed and go down the steps.
“People said I couldn’t, but I faced my fear,” Daniel said.
Four months later, she was back working, but the business’ recovery took much longer
than her own. She lost customers, including her oldest and biggest client.
“They didn’t think I’d be capable of running the business,” she said. “My confidence
went way down for a while, but I never thought of giving up, and in the end, my
anger and determination to succeed made me fight harder.”
Daniel said it took about five years for the company to return to where it was at the
time of the accident. Since then, it has grown steadily. Revenue has increased by more
than 30 percent in each of the last three years, reaching nearly $2 million in 2005, she
said.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
MTC started in a garage with a three-person staff and now employs eight people in its
office on the north side of Columbus. The company uses scanning equipment to convert
paper documents and microfilm into electronic images that can be viewed with a client’s own software or online. It also sells document management equipment. |
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JANET ADAMS | BUSINESS FIRST
Michael Stockinger is one of eight employees who work at Columbus-based MTC Document Management. |
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Its customers include the Ohio Board of Nursing, Ohio State University, Mattison &
Co., NetJets and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Columbus.
“Because we’re a small company, we give personal service and feel we’re better able to
listen to our clients’ needs than if we were a larger organization,” she said.
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, the city’s second largest law firm with 190 attorneys
in Columbus, is one of those customers.
“We’ve used Teresa for several years and she and her business are fantastic,” said Tom
Richardson, records manager for the firm. “We feel her company is an extension of the
firm, and she’s gone overboard many times to help us get everything our attorneys need
to assist clients. She’s come here personally many times on nights or weekends to fulfill
urgent requests and saved us from suffocating in paper records and intake forms.”
Richardson said MTC frequently will take about 75 legal-size boxes full of documents
and record them on three or four CDs, resulting in substantial savings of storage
space.
“MTC has handled our records for between eight and 10 years and grown with us
every step of the way from microfilm and microfiche to scanning, which is so much more
efficient,” said Diane Larsuel, claims manager for the fringe benefit program of the
Columbus-based Ohio Association of Operating Engineers. Its members operate heavy equipment used in construction and road building.
“Much of our work involves health-care claims, an industry that’s always changing, and MTC has been outstanding in the way the company listens and offers ideas to help
us,” she said.
GETTING STARTED
Daniel began the business as a microfilm service bureau in 1988 after about three years working with other companies.
“I didn’t have any problems at the places I worked, but always had a desire to go into
business on my own because I have a sense of operations that’s been instinctive in me
from the beginning,” she said. “I always ... thought there was a better way to handle
documents than having boxes full of paper.”
She began MTC with $10,000 she had saved and a $20,000 Small Business Administration
loan, which was paid back in five years.
Daniel said the best piece of business advice she has received came from H.K. Bain,
president of Digitech Systems Inc.
“He said that in terms of selling, I should just be myself. As soon as I started doing that, I realized he was right on the button,” she said. “I’d tell the same thing to any other
entrepreneur. I’d also say that if you’re going to go into business understand finances.
This isn’t something you have to go to school to do, but it’s a necessity to avoid all sorts of possible problems.”
Since her injury, Daniel has employed several other people who have had brain injuries
and is committed to providing others the opportunity to work.
One of those employees is Janiece Jennings, a scan operator, who says the work is
an important part of her recovery.
“In my case, I didn’t suffer trauma instantly,” Jennings said. “I knew for years that
I had a problem, but didn’t know what it was until I started working with counselors who
diagnosed it. Once I knew what my condition was, it changed my life because I could
get the help I needed. My job here is wonderful because of how it’s helped me get back
into the flow of everyday living.”
About a year ago, Daniel learned about the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, which
provides information, counseling and resources to people who have had brain trauma
and their families and friends. She has become active with the organization since then and is a sponsor of its annual conference, scheduled Sept. 28 and 29 at the Columbus Airport Marriott. Daniel will be among those who will be speaking about their experiences.
“I’m making plans for growth in the business over the next few years, but I don’t want
to get into specifics yet,” Daniel said.
“Whatever I do, I know I’ll be continuing to try to help people with brain injuries as
much as I can, whether it’s through hiring them or working with the brain injury association.”
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