THE JUNNILA CO. INC.

Business: Commercial real estate services company, provides consulting for dental practices seeking to relocate or expand, providing site and demographic analysis, financial projections and lease negotiation, among other services.

Founded: 1993

Headquarters: St. Louis Park

Website: www.junnilacompany.com

Employees: 1

Executives: Tom Junnila, president

2009 Revenue: More than $190,000

Strategy: Continue promotional efforts through market shows and trade journal articles, to boost business from referrals.

The expert says: Herb Tousley, director of the University of St. Thomas' real estate master's degree program and the university's Shenehon Center for Real Estate, said Junnila's niche has worked because the health care part of the real estate market remains a relative bright spot.

One strength of Junnila's approach is his market research, Tousley said. "You need to know where the customers are," he said. "You need rooftops but you need rooftops with people that have the ability to spend the money on dentistry."

Other medical real estate niches might present an opportunity for those willing to do the market research and gain the specialized knowledge, Tousley said. He recommended attending professional trade shows as a way to network and begin doing market research.

"He's successful because he's hyper-focused on dentistry," Tousley said. "Anything that seems to be associated with health care is still actually reasonably good."