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Similarly, Jordan benefited from a relationship with a former employer when she formed CTB in 1999. The London native, who was an in-house booker for CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" for five years, found more support than she anticipated when she embarked on her solo mission.

"I let the 'Letterman' brass know that I was leaving to start an independent booking company," Jordan recalls. "They said, 'Let us be your first client.'"

Jordan says the field was wide open at that time, with only a few freelance bookers who jumped from one syndication show to the next. "My idea was instead of hiring one freelance person to book one show, they would be hiring a team of people that also would be working for multiple outlets at once," she says. "I always had this idea to (assemble) a group of people who specialize in all the different areas -- movies, television, politics, human interest, sports."

What started out as a small enterprise based in Jordan's home office has blossomed during the past six years into a thriving business with 20 full-time talent bookers. With offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, CTB schedules guest spots for wide-ranging properties including CBS' "The Early Show," Comedy Central's "Weekends at the DL" and MTV's "Punk'd," as well as broadcast outlets such as A&E, the Discovery Channel and XM Satellite Radio. Most importantly, the firm is approaching Jordan's goal of $5 million a year in annual revenue.

"We're a machine," Jordan says, likening her well-oiled operation to publicity firm PMK. "We're on the front lines, working with all kinds of producers."

Jordan also has expanded her business into such previously untapped areas as magazine bookings. The opportunity fell onto her lap when a friend began working on the launch of O: The Oprah Magazine. Jordan says the magazine's staff wanted to book big names for profiles, but they were having a hard time because they didn't have the cover to offer.

"People were a little skeptical because it was a new magazine. So, my friend said (to Oprah Winfrey's people), 'Oh, you should meet Jo. She started this booking company,'" recalls Jordan, who subsequently met with editor-at-large Gayle King, and voila, O became her first magazine client. "I wasn't even thinking about doing magazines. I was the TV girl."