Born in Cuba, Tillie Hidalgo-Lima escaped with her parents to find freedom in the United States. She now leads a growing concierge service, Best Upon Request, which has expanded to 38 offices in 14 states, handling a variety of chores for clients such as running errands, handling shipping and mailing, planning travel and helping around the house. Increasingly, employers, particularly hospitals, are contracting with the firm to provide a benefit to employees who find free time to be a scarce commodity. Dropping the car off to be serviced, taking the shirts to the cleaners and making arrangements to have the grass cut while on vacation are the kinds of things that usually need to be packed in to an already busy day. Employers looking for ways to keep good workers and keep them productive see Best Upon Request as a way they can help ease the some of the small, daily burdens of living for them.
In June, the firm will open an office in a downtown Cincinnati building to serve its tenants and will also begin providing services to a Cincinnati law firm. Cincinnati-based BUR has had a four-year partnership with University Hospital in Cincinnati, making its services available to its more than 4,000 employees. Other clients include Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Ind.; the Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind.; Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Mich.; the Milwaukee Center in Milwaukee, Wisc.; and Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.
Since 2003, the company has grown from 16 employees to 107, while revenue has soared more than 500 percent over that time. Best Upon Request was the 2007 runner-up for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s WE Celebrate Award for women-owned businesses with more than 26 employees. It’s ranked 47th on Hispanic Business magazine's list of the 100 fastest-growing
Hispanic companies in the U.S. In 2005, it won the Chamber’s Small Business Excellence Award for Minority Business of the Year.