Making low-cost start-ups pay off - includes a list of books and other resources for small businesses - B.E. Special Report on Small Business - Cover Story

Black Enterprise, Nov, 1992 by Caryne Brown

The concept of image-consulting was just taking off in the mid-1980s when Toy Russell-Van Lierop went into the business. (An image consultant can pull down $1,500-$2,500 a day by telling clients how to walk, talk and dress with style.) A former model and national spokeswoman for Union 76, Chevrolet and Lincoln-Mercury, Russell-Van Lierop had a background in television makeup. "I had been an apprentice at ABC in the makeup area," she explains. "I had to learn lighting and camera techniques, and after I left ABC I got involved in makeup in the film industry."

Russell-Van Lierop decided to specialize in advising oncamera talent at local TV stations. A friend at ABC recommended her for her first consultation; word-of-mouth and Russell-Van Lierop's reputation did the rest. She knew she would not have to spend a lot of money developing the content of her service because she was expanding on what she had always done as a makeup artist. She wouldn't have to set up an office address because she would be consulting at client locations. But she did drop $2,000 on a top-of-the-line brochure that went to TV station managers around the country; it included endorsements from some of the famous people she had worked with as a makeup artist. Russell-Van Lierop says that her all-time favorites--Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman and Halle Berry--"have been extremely helpful. They have recommended clients, both individually and at stations."

Although Toy Russell Inc. grosses "into the six figures" these days, it wasn't all uphill. "It's extremely difficult to go into a service business," Russell says, "and a lot of times it could be discouraging. What l am selling is myself and my expertise. The single most important thing you need is perseverance."

There are many business options open to entrepreneurs. The personal computer, for example, has made it possible to run complex and highly professional information-age enterprises from a home-office PC: desktop publishing, computer-database research, medical transcription, bookkeeping or medical-dental billing. But each of these businesses has different staffing requirements, client expectations, billing practices and growth patterns. The time you take to understand them today ill help you make informed decisions on them tomorrow.

One research option is to exchange work for knowledge. "Find someone who is already doing the business and volunteer your services to them," Dickerson suggests. "If I wanted to go into the insurance business, I might want to work for an insurance broker, helping him get leads by phone." To some people, that kind of sweat equity may be a raw deal. But from a business-investment standpoint, it makes more sense to part with time than with cash.

If money is really tight, Dickerson advises, try to ease your way toward entrepreneurship. "Start part-time," he says, "creating a transition bridge, where you allocate some time to do what you want to do. Accumulate sick time, vacation time, a leave of absence and couple that with savings. And if you can, get into a low-cost housing situation where you don't have to worry about a lot of rent."