Lansing State Journal -- May 28, 2006 --

One thing leads to another.

Four years ago, Leah Boroski, 40, had a one-and-one-half employee firm in a 450-square-foot office. Her job called for her to travel around the state as court reporter taking depositions.

Today, she leads a 28-person document management company that has had to move three times in four years to keep up with growth. Today, her office is 6,000 square feet in size.

Boroski said she began by looking for a better way to manage her own documents, and solved that by creating a paperless office.

Now Axiom Digital Management Solutions, located in a one-story office building on Canal Road near Saginaw Highway in Delta Township, uses these skills to help other businesses manage their documents.

The business expanded by serving law offices spread over a four-state area. Axiom helped them with document collection and trial preparation. Boroski and her staff gathered documents, converted them to digital images and made them available over the Internet.

Axiom has expanded their service again, and Joel Price, vice president of corporate development, said the firm is targeting small to medium businesses with large volumes of paper records and regulatory compliance issues.

He said small medical offices concerned over HIPPA regulations, which require patient privacy and portability of information, have a huge potential need for converting records into a secure, but easily retrievable format offered through electronic imaging.

Price also said they seek to serve businesses that could be subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed following the ENRON scandals, and creating numerous documentation and disclosure requirements and setting criminal penalties for violations.

Axiom looks for businesses concerned over compliance issues, said Price, but not wanting to make a major investment in staff and equipment.

The firm lost money in its first fiscal year, but its revenues were around $1.5 million last year.

Boroski, who is building a house in Grand Ledge, said she sees great expansion opportunities for the business, because of the unmet needs, and the fact that much of the competition is still "chiseling in stone."

Price thinks this is the type of business local government wants to see.

"It's growing; it's not dependent on manufacturing; it doesn't pollute," he said.

Axiom can be found on the Internet at www.TheAxiomSolution.com.