Home Business Information

January to December--wherever you are, whatever the season, home-based businesses across America are as diverse and distinct as the people who live here. Although most run their operations with Windows-based computers, there are 19 people who use Macintoshes (four of whom use both types of systems). Those businesses are hooked up to one or more laser printers. And our home-based heroes have been in business for an average of 5.5 years, with the newest only six months old and the oldest being 20 years.

In the following pages you'll find profiles of businesses in all 50 states--plus the District of Columbia--ranging from publishers and property inspectors to professional organizers, television producers, cashmere farmers, and the inventor of Rollerblades. So, let's get on with the show.

ALABAMA

LIZ REED, 52 Market researcher Birmingham, AL BUSINESS: Market Research Management GROSS INCOME: $250,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 4 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Several PCs; Excel, Microsoft Word, ProComm, Quicken, Word-perfect WHY WORK FROM HOME? Why load up on capital to rent space? WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT WORKING AT HOME? The isolation. WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE? The isolation.

ALASKA

RUSS WESTON, 42 Television producer; photojournalist Chugiak, AK BUSINESS: Weston Productions GROSS INCOME: $100,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 1 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Gateway 2000 486SX, Toshiba 1900, HP LaserJet 4L; Crosstalk, Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, WinFax Pro DOES COLD WEATHER STOP YOU FROM WORKING? No, I do most of my work then...like a documentary of the Iditarod Dog Race. We cover that on a snowmobile. We also take a little office with us--I have to keep servicing clients. We'll gather in Iditarod, an old ghost mining town. It will be 40 below zero, and we'll be huddled around the campfire with our laptops.

ARIZONA

BARBARA FLOYD, 55 Newspaper publisher Phoenix, AZ BUSINESS: The Country Register GROSS INCOME: $50,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 6 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Generic 486, Panasonic 4220 laser printer, HP ScanJet, Canon FaxPhone B70; PageMaker, WordPerfect HOW DID YOU GET INTO BUSINESS? I started the paper for my own shop and for similar shops in the area--Victorian stores, bed and breakfasts, tearooms. Now I license 20 newspapers across the country, from Hawaii to upstate New York.

ARKANSAS

BOB MCANARNEY, 39 Property inspector Fayetteville, AR BUSINESS: AmeriSpec Home Inspection Service GROSS INCOME: $50,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 1 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Packard Bell 486SX Legend, Epson ActionLaser 1500, Samsung FX500 fax machine, Lanier copier; QuickBooks, QuickPay, WordPerfect HOW DID YOU END UP IN THIS LINE OF WORK? I was an insurance adjuster, but I always dreamed of being my own boss. AmeriSpec uses my background in construction, insurance claims, project coordination, and communication skills. WHAT'S THE HARDEST THING ABOUT YOUR WORK CHANGES? That I'm totally responsible for everything--for both my success and failure.

CALIFORNIA

VIVIAN L. SHIMOYAMA, 37 Designer and manufacturer Manhattan Beach, CA BUSINESS: Breakthru Unlimited GROSS INCOME: $100,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 3 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Vector 386DX, HP LaserJet 2P, DEX fax machine; Lotus 1-2-3, Quicken, WordPerfect WHAT DO YOU DO? I create jewelry, picture frames, paperweights, and other accessories. HOW DO YOU MAKE THE ART? We put glass shards in a design, sometimes adding gold or platinum trim. The glass goes into a kiln, which is heated to at least 1,300 degrees. The pieces fuse together. It's all abstract. WHY USE GLASS IN YOUR WORK? It's a symbol of breaking barriers, invisible barriers, the glass ceiling.

COLORADO

LOUIS R. DILTS, 50 Software publisher; consultant Littleton, CO BUSINESS #1: Software Audit BUSINESS #2: Center for Business Development GROSS INCOME: $310,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 5 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE; Packard Bell Legend 486, Apple Newton, Brother 400 fax machine; AmiPro, Astound, Microsoft Works, MYOB WHAT'S YOUR SOFTWARE BUSINESS? We publish a program that highlights how many copied pieces of software a business has--a first-class felony. We either sell the software or go in and do the audit. WHAT ABOUT YOUR OTHER COMPANY? Technical companies receive SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants. Most don't have a clue about how to commercialize. I go to them and say, "Here's how to go through the product commercialization process." WHY DID YOU START A BUSINESS? I was a CEO at large companies, but I got sick of the SEC requirements and potential shareholder suits. I decided I can do this myself with a few employees and better control. Home-based businesses are the wave of the future.

CONNECTICUT

MAYBETH WIRZ, 54 Landscape designer Norwalk, CT BUSINESS: The Master Plan Landscape Design GROSS INCOME: $30,000 YEARS IN BUSINESS: 11 HARDWARE/SOFTWARE: Macintosh IIsi, CalComp DesignMate 1025 plotter, HP DeskWriter 550; MacWrite II, Mums the Word Plus WHAT DO YOU DO? MY specialty is drawing up a landscape plan, mainly for residences. Sometimes I get involved with installation or shopping, but clients typically hire a plantsman to implement the design. HOW HAS A COMPUTER HELPED YOU? When doing landscape design graphics, I need to draw the property to scale. With a computer, I can rough it out and see what changes will do. Also, I normally need to keep an enormous amount of plant information in my head. Mums the Word stores all this data for me. I can enter, "Gee I want something that's blue that blooms in June," and the program shoots back a list of plants. The program also prices out jobs. That feature has saved me hours of labor.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:20 AM