WOMEN OF THE YEAR 2002: Rhonda Robichaux

Rhonda Robichaux

Position: President of APCO Personnel Services, L.L.C. and APCO Payrolling Services, L.L.C.

Age: 37

Family: husband, Greg

Education: Immaculata High School

After working for years in the staffing industry, Rhonda Robichaux began to question the wisdom

"Here I was doing everything from top to bottom but I was making money for someone else," Robichaux says.

In 1998, using a $6,000 loan from her parents, Robichaux bought a computer, copier, phone and fax machine, and started her own permanent placement staffing company, APCO Personnel Services LLC. She couldn't afford an office so she worked from home and interviewed applicants at nearby restaurants.

Nine months later, she repaid her parents, opened an office, hired a staff and expanded her business to include permanent Placement, temporary and temp-to-hire.

Based in Marrero, APCO Personnel Services fills openings in everything from management and clerical to the hospitality industry. Robichaux says the people she finds jobs for come from all walks of fife, but she is particularly interested in helping the homeless.