Cheng is a 1982 graduate of Old Dominion University. He also holds an MBA from the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and is studying law part-time at Georgetown University. Following a 12-year stint at his father's engineering company, Cheng purchased the assets of Computer Hardware Maintenance, a company with six employees that repaired computer equipment. Cheng thought the company's computer maintenance contracts with the U.S. Navy -- and its sound reputation -- would be a good entry point for marketing a range of computer-related services.

Today CHM has 230 employees in three divisions. The information technology division provides networking and computer programming support. It has a $25 million multiyear contract with the Navy to do a variety of tasks, from building a high-speed computer network at the Navy yard in Washington, D.C., to helping integrate the financial systems for another Navy group. "He provides us with dependable people at a reasonable price,'' says Bob Cooney, division director of the Navy computers and telecommunications station in D.C.

The data services division handles activities such as data entry, tracking and analysis plus training for data entry and clerical support. One contract -- worth $18 million over five years -- with the Drug Enforcement Agency has CHM personnel looking for trends in data gathered by agents all over the country.

Meanwhile, a systems integration division handles computer maintenance, systems development and analysis of system purchasing. CHM provides computer maintenance for the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Defense. Cheng says one of his favorite jobs was this division's $500,000 contract to refit aircraft carriers with miles of computer and telecom network cable. "I see the aircraft carriers out in the ocean, and I say: "We wired that."

CHM's revenue growth has received a major boost from its 8a status with the U.S. Small Business Administration. This program encourages government agencies and their contractors to set aside a percentage of their contracts for minority companies. Cheng was born in Taiwan, and 80 percent of CHM's business comes through the 8a program.

But Cheng is quick to point out that the contracts are still bid competitively. "You used to be able to get some contracts (through 8a) without bidding, but you can't anymore. It has gotten a lot tougher," he says. Small Business Administration spokesman Askia Suruma agrees with Cheng's assessment, but she adds that CHM "certainly put the 8a program in a good light."

Cheng has nine years to get his business on track before his 8a status expires, but he believes that "if you start out with a competitive attitude" you can successfully make the transition.

Cheng's father, Richard, is a role model. The elder Cheng owns ECI Systems & Engineering, an 18-year-old Virginia Beach-based information technology company that also started out with 8a status. Cheng says his father continued to succeed after graduating from the set-aside program, particularly after diversifying from U.S. government business into overseas contracts and commercial work.

Cheng plans to follow in his father's footsteps by pursuing private sector work. The company currently performs computer maintenance for hospitals, and its next move is to expand into networking and systems administration for hospitals. "We are also looking at maintaining more specialized systems that use PC's for data management and capture," says Cheng. "But that's in the future."