Company: Joy Lynn, Inc., Roswell, GA USA
Company Description: Joy Lynn, Inc. is a qualitative marketing research and consulting services company. The company was founded in 1995 by Joy Lynn Fields, recent recipient of Enterprising Women magazine's 2013 Enterprising Women of the Year award. Joy Lynn, Inc. conducts qualitative research for some of the world's leading brands of consumer products and services.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services –10 or Less Employees

Nomination Title: Joy Lynn Fields, President

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated entrepreneur since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

In the past 12 months, Joy Lynn Fields has been busy continuing to manage her existing business while making it a priority to give back.  Because of these efforts, in February, Joy Lynn was named one of Enterprising Women Magazine’s 2013 Enterprising Women of the Year. In April of 2013, she was a featured guest on Enterprising Women TV and in August, appeared as a guest on the BusinessRadioX Midtown business radio show.  She continues to spearhead company growth without hiring additional personnel. Past 12 month revenues are up 15% over previous 12 months and YTD 2013 revenues are up 74% versus same time period (jan-aug) of 2012.  The company is on track to have a record year.

Amidst this growth, she has made giving back a priority with a focus on helping future generations of women. Joy Lynn manages and oversees disbursements from her newly created philanthropy called the Pearl Fund, which provides interim assistance to needy families who have been thrown into extenuating circumstances and she has begun personally mentoring young aspiring women on an individual basis.  Joy Lynn was recently invited to join the Girls Scouts Second Century Circle and she also co-sponsored the Future Women President’s Learning Lab at the Atlanta headquarters of Girls Inc. In February of this year, Joy Lynn also got her dog Ernie tested and licensed as a therapy dog so she can take him to local hospitals and nursing homes to help the elderly and young sick children.

During this time, she has continued to develop her own knowledge and was just accepted to the Tuck WBENC executive program.  Joy Lynn currently serves as consumer advisory panel member for a major consumer products manufacturer and a Thought Leaders panelist member for another organization. She is a member of QRCA, MRA, WIT and the Women Presidents Organization.

Provide a brief biography of the nominated entrepreneur (up to 125 words):

Joy Lynn grew up in Griffin GA, where, after her father's sudden death at age 14, she received many scholarships and became the first person in her family to go to college. Her advertising-related career began during college as an intern for BBDO. Upon graduating, she held multiple advertising-related jobs, but in 1989, she got a rare opportunity to train in marketing under the tutelage of the late Frank Lane, ex-Neutrogena President and author of Killer Brands. Here she worked on brand strategy assignments for many famous brands and saw an untapped opportunity to build the business through research. She created a profitable research arm of that consulting practice and after 6 years, spun off on her own to create the company she has today.