Meet Count Me in Success Story Christine Cunneen

Building a million dollar business involves enduring many peaks and valleys along with the occasional fire or flood.

Christine Cunneen has experienced both while building her business, HireImage, which provides extensive background checking services for employers.

In 2005, Cunneen was making the long commute between her home in Rhode Island and Pompano Beach, Florida, where her ill mother was living close to Hire Image's only office. The day she buried her mother, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on the Gulf Coast. Cunneen was forced to evacuate while the building Hire Image had rented was demolished by the storm. Back in Rhode Island, Cunneen and her partner got to work on rebuilding the business and establishing a disaster recovery plan from her dining room table.

Hire Image had a number of clients operating nationally, so Cunneen expected the company's work to continue despite a disruption with one office. Cunneen soon had a plan to borrow money for the purchase of an office building that Hire Image could both occupy and rent. Along with the purchase of the building, she invested in off-site data storage for her offices and a number of other provisions. She also expanded Hire Image's services to include immigration checks, and began pursuing strategic partnerships with payroll companies and professional employment organizations.

Today, the company, with the expertise of law enforcement officials, leads the field in 2-day turn around time on background checks, and 24-7 online accessibility to customizable reports for employers. Despite some extraordinary obstacles, Cunneen came through for her employees, her clients, and for the folks at Count Me In. In 2006, Cunneen applied for and won a Make Mine a Million $ Business award, a program developed by Count Me In to encourage female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

Two "aha" moments led to establishment of her company. The first one occurred in the 1990's when her father was unemployed and lost a third of his pension. "I knew from that point forward, I wanted to create my own destiny and not leave my future in the hands of others," she said.

The second "aha" moment happened while she was working on a business plan for an MBA class project in the fall of 2004.

"I chose to work on a plan that would help a client of mine in the background screening industry to grow his business," she said. "While working on the plan I realized the great potential in the industry and approached Tom Tomlinson, my current partner, about joining forces to grow the business. In January 2005, we joined forces and have been growing ever since."

The company created a unique way to do business within the industry by focusing on the clients risk tolerances and aligning them with how they search potential employee's backgrounds. In 2005, the first office was opened in Pompano Beach, Florida. Expanded in 2006, Hire Image currently sits in an 1800 square foot office building in Johnston, Rhode Island.

Cunneen, 40, earned her BBA from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York and is working on MBA from Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts. She was a practicing certified public accountant for more than 16 years, working with small businesses to advise and protect their livelihoods. She lives in Johnston, Rhode Island and is the proud owner of a dog and two cats.

"Hire Image is my child. I’ve been nursing it since infancy and now it is walking on its own," she said. "I also have five nieces and nephews that I love to spoil whenever I have the opportunity."

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