A very short commute
If you have a home office, not only do you need the right technology; you need the right setting.

By David P. Willis • BUSINESS WRITER • June 4, 2008 • Asbury Park Press

You've no doubt heard stories about some successful business that started in the owner's basement or garage.

He or she doodled a product or idea on a napkin and set to work making it happen. The entrepreneur would go on to hire employees and move into an office building and enjoy greater success and, hopefully, greater profits.

But there was an early step, which probably came right after the napkin plan. It was a decision to open an office in the house.

"It is part of creating a viable business," said Angela Harrington, a consultant with the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers. "The home is the logical place to start. If you can operate in your home successfully, it serves as a launch pad to grow and have success."

Of course, it starts with finding a space in your house. It could be a spot in the basement or a spare bedroom.

Harrington said it is important to find a space that will allow you to block out distractions, such as noise from the lawn mower outside. "It is all about setting up an environment that allows you to thrive and prosper as a business person."

You'll need a telephone line, computers, a fax machine, copier and cabinets and shelves for storage. And you'll need office furniture, such as a chair that is right for your back and posture.

Ideally, you should buy a chair with an adjustable height and arm rests, wheels and a tilt seat, said Ken Souchek, senior manager of orthopedics and rehabilitation at Ocean Medical Center in Brick. You should be able to place your feet flat on the floor, he added.

"You don't need to spend a million dollars on stuff, but you do have to set up the environment for the body," he said. "You want to keep a good posture so you are not putting too much pressure on your neck or on your back."

Middletown resident Gloria Boudreau transformed a spare bedroom into an office when she started her company, Boudreau Fine Art Services, last year.

Boudreau worked in Manhattan for a company that arranged for the shipment of exhibitions and fine art. She started her own business after deciding she wanted to be closer to home to care for her daughter.

"When I would get that call from the nursery or day-care center that she was sick, it would take me three hours to get home," she said. "It became evident over time that I had to be closer to home."

She had to figure out the layout of the room and how it could be designed to suit her business needs. It meant going from a larger office in New York City into a 10-foot-by-10-foot space at home. There were some adjustments.

For instance, her business involves record keeping. "I had to figure out how to downsize that and use the space as efficiently as possible," Boudreau said.

She put filing cabinets and shelving in a closet and mounted storage files on the walls. "You have to look at the business and how you operate it outside and how you incorporate that into a daily routine at home," she said.

She bought a computer and the software she needed. In March 2007, several months after she started, she learned an important lesson, when her computer crashed and she lost her data and had to spend $1,500 to recover it.

Boudreau then bought a backup system for her computer. "Spend the money from the get-go to make sure you have everything, in case."

When Tinton Falls resident Brittney Jacoves, owner of Turning Leaf Solutions LLC, started her business, she organized her office to make sure everything she needed was close.

"I decided what I needed to do on a daily basis, what activities I needed to do" said Jacoves, whose business helps people organize their offices. "I take a good look at what I touch during the day."

She also suggests that people make sure their home office has a door. "You have to be able to leave work, a door between your space and your home," Jacoves said. "Every time you walk by that office, you are going to be want to be drawn in. You are going to feel guilty. You are going to think about the things you should be doing."

In her case, she has a door to the outside of the house, so clients do not have to walk through her home.

"I think it makes you feel like a business person," Jacoves said. "It makes you look like you take your business personally."

And there's another bonus: you only need to keep one room clean.

Jacoves and Boudreau also made sure they had a business telephone line that was separate from their home number.

"You can always choose not to answer it if it is after business hours, to keep that family and home balance, which is very important," Jacoves said.

David P. Willis: (732) 643-4039, or at dwillis@app.com

Social media, the interaction of individuals through technology in online communities, has long been recognized for its powerful impact on politics, public opinion and entertainment. For tens of millions of Americans, tapping into social media is a natural instinct, like tuning into CNN for your morning news or reading your local newspaper.

While many may attribute the popularity of social media to a generational revolution—teenagers on MySpace downloading music from a garage band in Oklahoma—there are no boundaries to social media’s relevance in the market. Even more than generational is social media’s cultural impact and collaborative ethos.

The lack of diversity in traditional media venues has fueled the growth of minority, ethnic, conservative and faith-based media hubs. Consumers are seeking alternative viewpoints to those presented by the conventional faces and voices that have long defined mass media. Social media is like chicken soup for the mind.

As marketers, advertisers and content providers, we need to understand that people want to be more than consumers of news and entertainment. They yearn to be participants in the experience. And they want this experience to take place in communities they can relate to. Multicultural communities on

the Web are among the most obvious destinations where advertisers and marketers can promote their brands to consumers.

Businesses competing to access diverse consumer groups should pay attention to the benefits of social media marketing and how it provides access to an expanding and influential network of online consumers who bank, shop, conduct research, obtain news and socialize on the Internet.

While minority groups may be under-targeted in the mass media, they are among the most approachable audiences online through niche Web sites. Examples of this are BlackPlanet.com, the fourth-most popular social networking site behind top-ranked MySpace, Facebook and entertainment social network Bebo.

Surveys have shown that African-Americans spend more time on Web sites than online visitors in general, making their experience more valuable for advertisers and marketers. The Nielsen Company reports the purchasing power of African-American consumers in the U.S. is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2012.

Another notable trend is the growth of Hispanic social media sites. MySpace recently launched MySpace Latino, a bilingual community with 9.7 million members. The service features content and promotional collaborations with Gibson Guitar, McDonald’s and Sprint Nextel. Hispanic consumers comprise 11 percent of shoppers online, spending $12.8 billion in 2007, a number expected to grow by 13 percent, or $21.6 billion, by 2011, according to JupiterResearch. Another Hispanic site, MiGente.com, has 3 million members.

Marketers should consider the following when trying to reach a minority audience online:

Demonstrate an authoritative and authentic voice. Be an expert in your topic area, providing fresh and interesting information. Present an insider’s understanding of the perspectives expressed by members of the community you want to affiliate your brand with.

Identify access points. Find the online communities that relate to your niche market. Determine the fit of the audience with your brand.

Value audience views. Encourage a civil dialogue that provides a balanced perspective on topics. Promote viewpoints that ripple into mass discussions across the blogosphere.

Engage and entertain. Use tools to enhance the dialogue with your audience and support their active participation with your brand.

Respond to breaking news. Share opinions on relevant news topics to generate a mass, viral impact and generate media coverage.

Inspire collaboration. Social marketing requires a content-driven, opinion-generating, communal approach where participants exchange viewpoints and information on topics of interest.

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