Lumber Liquidators tops best small biz list

Toano-based Lumber Liquidators  has been named the best small business in the country by Forbes in its annual ranking if the 200 Best Small Companies in America. The company makes and sells hardwood flooring. Toano is between Richmond and Williamsburg.

To be considered, companies must have shown sales and earnings growth, have an annual revenue between $5 million and $750 million, have been publicly traded for at least a year and have a stock price above $5.

The rankings are based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity over the past 12 months and over five years.

In the past 12 months, Lumber Liquidators has generated sales over $500 million and reported an income of $24 million. This is their first year on the list; the company went public in 2007.

You can find complete coverage of the list at Forbes.com.

For more on Lumber Liquidators, check out this profile that originally appeared on BizSense.

ROI meets the MBA

Every two years Forbes comes up with a list of the top 75 business schools based on the return on investment.

Only two Virginia schools made the most recent list, which was released last Friday: the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia at (No. 9) and the Mason School of Business at William & Mary at (No. 49).

The rankings were determined by looking at the total compensation earned five years after graduation, minus tuition, fees and forgone salary while in school.

Darden graduates on average broke even on their MBA 4.2 years after graduation. At the end of five years, their return was $50,000. Class of 2004 graduates of the two-year program earned an average salary of $159,000 in 2008.

Mason grads took 4.4 years to recoup the cost of their MBAs. At the end of five years, their return was $24,000. The average 2008 salary for the class of 2004 was $110,000.

Mason’s in-state tuition over two years is $45,000, just over half the cost of Darden’s two-year tuition cost of $82,500.

Richmond gets tossed from the Top Ten

Harsh.

Forbes’ new list of best metro areas for business and careers is out, and Richmond is ranked 39.

That isn’t terrible considering there are 200 cities on the list, but it is quite a tumble from last year’s number seven spot that has been touted by local economic development agencies.

Richmond’s descent into the rankings isn’t totally a surprise considering the loss of Circuit City, Land America, Qimonda, and Wachovia Securities, as well as sizeable layoffs among the remaining Fortune 1000’s.

But do Forbes rankings really mean that much? When the city is ranked highly it is a point of pride, and when it isn’t it is quietly ignored. In 2007, Richmond was ranked 14. In 2006, the city was ranked number 41, and the year before that we were 14 again. The up and down roller coaster ride really makes one wonder how arbitrary the rankings really are. What happened in 2006 that made us fall to 41?

According to Forbes, the rankings are based on 11 different criteria including job growth, cost of living, income growth, and quality of life.