MIAMI — Lance Cooper, owner of Best Rentals in Miami, was honored recently as “Small Business Person of the Year” by South Florida's Small Business Administation.

Cooper, who owns Best with his wife Elizabeth, has received seven SBA-backed loans, building Best Rentals into a nearly $5 million business with the help of SBA resources, the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reported.

Cooper was honored during National Small Business Week at the SBA Expo '04 in Orlando, Fla.

Cooper worked for another rental company for 10 years before founding Best, which recently acquired Perrine Rentals in Cutler Ridge, Fla., a move Cooper expects will double revenue. In addition to renting and selling air compressors, lawn and garden equipment, skid-steer loaders, backhoes, excavators, aerial work platforms, concrete equipment and more, Best exports equipment to Latin America and the Caribbean.