Contract Solutions Inc. named to Virginia Chamber's 'Fantastic 50'

MANASSAS, Virginia — Contract Solutions Inc. was named today to the Virginia Chamber’s “Fantastic 50” list, the Commonwealth’s only awards program honoring its fastest-growing companies.

It’s the second time in the past three years that CSI — also named the last three years to the INC 5000, an exclusive list of the fastest-growing private companies in America — has been included on the “Fantastic 50” list.

To be eligible for the Virginia Fantastic 50, a company must be privately held with headquarters in Virginia, show revenues between $200,000 and $200 million, and demonstrate positive revenue growth and positive net income in its most recent fiscal year over the previous year. Companies are judged on four-year revenue history.

Based in Manassas, CSI provides administrative, printing, facilities operations, acquisition and disposition, and management consulting to government agencies and commercial clients. A year ago, the company had 45 employees. Today, CSI — which founder and CEO Corliss Udoema began in her North Carolina kitchen in 2006 — has 76 employees.

“Small business is the heart of our economy and we are pleased to honor the entrepreneurial spirit and hard work of Virginia’s 50 fastest growing businesses,” said Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, in announcing the list. “Although we are unable to honor these business leaders and their dedicated teams in-person, due to COVID-19, we applaud each of these companies who continue to set the bar higher every year and want to ensure they receive the recognition they deserve for their contributions to the Commonwealth.”

Udoema said the Virginia Chamber recognition was special to her because when she relocated to Virginia from her home-state in North Carolina, “I had exactly one employee – me!”

“Virginia is where we laid our foundation and experienced growth,” Udoema said. “It’s good to bring recognition and be recognized in the place where you are.”

Udoema credited CSI’s growth to the “game-changing” adjustment of working on, rather than in, her business, as well as the three-pronged approach she used all her life.

“Our growth has been the result of a dedicated team delivering extraordinary results which has led to customer loyalty," Udoema said. "It’s been done with my three P’: prayer, planning, and patience! Prayer because before you start, you need divine direction. Planning because a plan is needed to ensure that your labor is not in vain and that your work will yield positive results. Patience because after you have planted and watered, you must patiently wait to reap the harvest of your labor. I like the old-school values: respect, honesty, integrity. Those are still very vital and key; it’s about doing the right things, treating people right. Our testimony is about the opportunity we are all given to make a positive difference.”

Jackie Robinson-Burnette, who succeeded Udoema as president of CSI last November, said Udoema has built “a great firm with a brand of excellence” over the past 13 years.

“I’m so grateful for this prestigious award, and it’s a reminder of how hard our employees work every day to provide excellent support to our federal government clients,” Robinson-Burnette said. “Our employees set the tone for our reputation which opens the doors for our growth. I couldn’t have joined a better team.”

Nationally recognized for service, growth and community contributions, CSI is committed to providing clients with top-quality personnel for short- and long-term assignments in areas including Acquisition Support Services, Training Solutions, Human Resources, Technology Solutions, Administrative Support Services, Project Management, Contract Closeout and Court Reporting.

In addition to its recognition from INC magazine, CSI was recognized in 2019 on the Washington Business Journal’s annual list of top corporate philanthropy companies — landing in first place among volunteer hours given by its 65 employees (with 3,700) and second place in total financial giving (more than $250,000). Udoema was recognized individually as Virginia’s 2017 Small Business Person of the Year, finishing 3rd runner-up for the national award from the Small Business Administration. 

CSI’s non-profit affiliates have also been lauded and recognized widely across Virginia and in North Carolina for service to the homeless, veterans and the senior citizen population.

For more about CSI, go to https://contractsolutions-inc.com.