Successful Startup 101: September 2014 Successful Startup 101: September 2014 | Page 51

Ruth Ellen Miller, Co-Founder
and President of NoUVIR Lighting
www.nouvir.com based in Delaware, is
a successful entrepreneur who saw her
business grow out of her living room to
become a million dollar enterprise.
Nouvir Lighting is a manufacturer of fiber
optic lighting, producing pure-white
fiber-optic light capable of minimizing
photochemical damage. Nouvir’s lighting
systems are used in museums including
historic documents and memorabilia
such as Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten
draft of the Declaration of Independence
to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg
Address, from the Bill of Rights to
The Louisiana Purchase, the Magna
Carta and hundreds of other priceless
documents. Through Ruth Ellen’s
leadership, Nouvir Lighting has become
a booming business that embodies her
passion and creativity.
As a testament to her contribution
in the community and her business
success, the Small Business
Administration named Ruth Ellen as the
Small Business Person of the Year for
the State of Delaware in May 2000.

imitate or copy us, because we planned
big. The cash for the new computers
was planned. We added a new building
to make NoUVIR more responsive to
customers; produce better products,
and create a better quality of life. The
cost of the new building was planned,
and it was completed right on budget.”

2. Start Small.
“Live tactically on rabbits, while
planning strategically to hunt
elephants. Small sales build a company.
Tiny offices, obsolete equipment, used
furniture; temporary employees, small
production spaces, etc. let you put
dollars towards more important things
like R&D that help you grow.”
“Those small sales of one fiber optic
lighting system have grown into lighting
whole galleries and floors. The tiny single
ad is now a modest ad campaign. We
continue to work on a small scale, prove it,
keep the process efficient and then grow
according to the plan into bigger things.”

Here are her tips to would-be
entrepreneurs, particularly small
business manufacturers:

3. Don’t Borrow.

1. Plan Big.

“There is no trouble in spending extra
if there is a need to correct something.
I have the financial freedom to give
a customer little extra something
extra as a customer service. Many big
companies can’t say that.”

“Entrepreneurs need to plan the
manufacturing and marketing