Precious mettle: country girl heals heartbreak of lost or stolen jewelry.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Top Women-Owned Businesses - Directory - Illustration

Becky Baxman showed the makings of an entrepreneur almost as soon as she could count money, but nothing in her country-girl up-bringing in the tiny town of Cane Hill, Ark., hinted that she'd make her mark in the jewelry business. "I grew up not having a clue about jewelry," says Baxman, 42. In fact, the only jewelry she recalls seeing growing up were her parents' gold wedding bands.

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But Baxman did show an early knack for business. As an 8-year-old she was given 50 chicks to raise by the local 4-H group and parlayed that task into a profitable egg-selling business. Her father, a teacher, would help by taking eggs by the dozen to school and sell them to other teachers.

That might not have been the typical training ground for a jewelry expert, but that's what Baxman has become as the founder and CEO of JF Options, arguably the top jewelry-replacement service in Colorado. The former Arkansas country girl can tell you any given day's spot price for gold, silver or platinum, or explain why a one-carat diamond can range from $800 to $16,000 wholesale depending on color, clarity and shape. Over the past 12 years she's seen a client's lost wedding ring turn up in the x-rayed body of the family dog; she's replaced diamond earrings flushed down the toilet by a toddler; and she's replaced a damaged wedding ring run over by its owner.

Her six-employee company operates out of the Denver Merchandise Mart on Interstate 25 and 58th Ave., working with insurance adjusters and their insured clients to replace lost, stolen or damaged jewelry. In 2003, the company generated revenues of $2.6 million to finish No. 63 on this year's ColoradoBiz ranking of the state's top 100 women-owned businesses.

Rankings are based on 2003 self-reported revenues. ColoradoBiz compiled the rankings by contacting chambers of commerce throughout the state as well as women's business organizations and PR firms that represent women-owned businesses. Many women-owned firms also applied directly by logging on to www.cobizmag.com and completing a form online.

In terms of the threshold for making the list, this was one of the most competitive fields in the 11 years the magazine has published the rankings. Consider: This year's No. 100 company, SpringSips LP, reported 2003 revenues of $792,000--more than 2 1/2 times the revenue of last year's No. 100 firm, Gene Pool Inc., which posted revenues of $298,000. You have to go back seven years to find a list with a cutoff point as lofty as this year's.

Overall, firms on this year's list represent 26 Colorado cities and averaged revenues of $10.9 million, a 7 percent improvement over last year's average of $10.1 million. Not bad for a rough economic year in Colorado, but then there are company owners who don't feel beholden to the economy.

Baxman is one. "I would say my business is recession-proof," she says. "Because if the economy's down, then there's going to be more thefts. Other companies have jewelry-replacement divisions, but we're probably the only company that's been strictly focused toward the insurance industry."

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Baxman found her calling through a series of serendipitous opportunities.

After moving to Denver with her now-ex-boyfriend in 1986, she was unable to find work in her field of television and radio ad sales, so she took a job at a jewelry story owned by a friend of her boyfriend. While there she started an insurance-replacement division for him, and that led to an offer in 1988 from Hyde Park Jewelers to run its replacement division. She says she took that division from $77,000 in annual revenues to more than $1 million.

"I put them on the map as far as jewelry replacement," Baxman says. In 1992, she struck out on her own, launching JF Options. Her husband, Barry, formerly a regional manager at Gordon's Jewelers, joined her in 1994 and today serves as JF "Options' president. "We both had a jewelry background, but we never knew we'd come together and have a business," Baxman says. "Here we are. When my feet hit the floor every day I'm just glad I'm here."

ColoradoBiz Top 100 women-owned businesses (ranked by revenues) 2004 2003 RANK RANK COMPANY CITY 1 1 Ralph Schomp Automotive Inc. Littleton 2 2 McClain Finlon Advertising Denver Inc. 3 3 Andavo Travel Greenwood Village 4 4 Fresh Produce Sportswear Boulder Inc. 5 Western Industrial Denver Contractors Inc. 6 Polk Majestic Travel Group Denver 7 PRACO Ltd. Colorado Springs 8 DSP Builders Inc. Commerce City 9 Micro Analysis & Design Boulder 10 7 Nexus Corp. Northglenn 11 8 Craters & Freighters Denver Franchise 12 Pacific Western Technologies Lakewood 13 10 EON Office Products Denver 14 12 Thayer Media Inc. Centennial 15 9 Travel Connections Inc. Denver 16 11 Slifer Designs Inc. Edwards 17 Portable Computer Systems Golden Inc. 18 13 Mayo Aviation Inc. Englewood 19 W.M. Brown Construction Westminster Corp. 20 14 Hensmann Technology Inc. Castle Rock 21 15 Highland Management Inc. Longmont 22 18 First Revenue Assurance LLC Denver 23 PrimeSource Staffing Inc. Denver 24 19 United Banks of Colorado Englewood Inc. 25 28 Mile Hi Tours Inc. Denver 26 Business Acquisitions Ltd. Denver 27 21 Sounds True Inc. Louisville 28 Design Materials Inc. Denver 29 17 ETI Professionals Inc. Lakewood 30 KLG Corp. Centennial 30 Leopard Communications Boulder 32 23 O'Brien Advertising Denver 33 27 Global Imaging Inc. Louisville 34 Frontier Communications Denver Corp. 35 20 Excel Personnel Inc. Parker 36 25 Community Interiors Inc. Commerce City 37 37 Destra Consulting Group LLC Boulder 37 36 Optimum Management Systems Denver LLC 39 26 Contract Design Services Denver Inc. 40 30 Pride Electric Co. Denver 41 CueStix International Inc. Lafayette 42 Nest Fresh Eggs Inc. Denver 42 31 St. Vrain Moving & Storage Longmont Inc. 44 32 Broadway Moving & Storage Denver Co. 45 38 Burkett Design Inc. Denver 46 34 LT Environmental Inc. Denver 47 33 Baker Interiors Inc. Littleton 48 35 Auto-Chlor System of Denver Denver Inc. 49 41 AET Environmental Inc. Denver 50 24 Connect: The Knowledge Littleton Network Corp. 51 40 Burlstone Inc. Lakewood 52 63 Gunther Douglas Inc. Denver 53 44 Namaste Care Group Inc. Denver 54 43 Alumni Consulting Group Greenwood Village International Inc. 55 51 Work Options Group Inc. Lafayette 56 Alta Milla Electric Corp. Lafayette 57 45 Schenkein Denver 58 29 J.C. Brooks & Co. Inc. Arvada 59 Boecore Inc. Colorado Springs 59 Trepke's Tire Town Longmont 59 46 Via Travel Boulder 62 50 Imaging Sytems LLC Colorado Springs 63 48 JF Options Inc. Denver 63 59 MorSports & Events Inc. Denver 65 42 RME Electric Corp. Aurora 66 52 Tallgrass Inc. Evergreen 67 56 ANKO Metal Srevices Inc. Denver 68 54 Routt County Auto Parts & Steamboat Supply Inc. 69 58 Fossi Group Inc. Steamboat 70 60 Orion Registrar Inc. Arvada 71 55 AvenueWest Corporate Housing Denver 72 49 Cable Television Services Boulder Inc. 73 52 Risk Removal Inc. Fort Collins 74 62 Arrow Insurance Management Frisco Inc. 75 Integrated Cleaning Services Centennial Inc. 75 46 Waterstone Environmental Boulder Hydrology & Engineering Inc. 77 80 In Touch Today Corp. Denver 78 68 JohnstonWells Public Denver Relations 79 66 Linhart McClain Finlon Denver Public Relations 80 Cara Mia Medical Day Spa Parker Inc. 80 57 REN Inc. Denver 82 79 HR Search Firm Denver 83 61 Kazoo & Co. Denver 83 67 Xpanshen Marketing Colorado Springs Communications 85 BRW LeGrand Denver 85 FPIC (dba Lighthouse Boulder Financial LLC) 87 76 Marketing Solutions & Englewood Results LLC 88 73 High Country Shopper Paonia 89 69 The Collection Denver 90 Exelcomm Commercial Advisors Denver Inc. 91 69 Blue Spruce Design & Niwot Construction 92 83 Syntes Language Group Inc. Centennial 93 74 Design and Image Denver Communications Inc. 94 81 AOR Inc. Denver 95 Keating Partnership P.C...