Jeri Bevilacqua

CEO, Bevilacqua Research
Huntsville, Al

Jeri Bevilacqua, chief executive officer of Huntsville, Al-based Bevilacqua Research Corp. is growing a bit uneasy. Bevilacqua's 76-person, $4.5 million in sales technology firm provides services to the federal government and private companies, and is angling for a big new contract that would double her employee base. If she wins it, however, Bevilacqua will need to boost her bank line of credit to cover payroll costs until the contract payments start rolling in. But given the tightness of the credit markets right now, Bevilacqua says, "I have doubts about getting that bigger line."

That's not all. In the last couple months she has noticed clients are taking longer to pay. She's planning to call some of them to ask about the delays. And she hopes this isn't part of a trend. Says Bevilacqua: "I haven't [made calls like this] since 1997."