Best business contest winners - Home Office Computing's annual contest - Cover Story

Home Office Computing, July, 1993 by Rosalind Resnick

Most of her $4,500 publishing costs for the first issue were derrayed by advertisers. The issue had 24 pages, 55 advertisers, a circulation of 25,000, and distribution in more than 100 locations. "I made a profit of over $4,000," says Solberg.

Santa Fe Kids? published its fourth issue in March 1993, and the number of advertisers has swelled from 55 to 74. Distribution has expanded to more than 150 locations and as far north as Los Alamos.

ALEXIS SOLBERG

RESIDENCE: Santa Fe, New Mexico

BUSINESS: Santa Fe Kids!, a newspaper publisher

1992 REVENUES: $25,000

EQUIPMENT: DTK Grafika 486 computer; Panasonic KX-P1080 dot-matrix printer.

SOFTWARE: PC-File. Publish-It! for Windows, and Word for Windows

Rx FOR SUCCESS: "Self-employment is a risk and challenge. By putting myself on the line, I get the opportunity to discover my real strengths and capabilities."

Taking Technology

Terry Killinger is no ordinary roofer. A veteran computer buff, the 40-year-old Idaho native takes his 486 notebook computer when he climbs up on roofs to bid for jobs. This way, he explains, he can size up the job, compile the information in Microsoft Word for Windows, and use FormKing to draw roof plans. When he's finished, he can print out a proposal onsite using the customer's printer or the Canon ink-jet printer he keeps in his truck.

"Customers have told us that our proposals, which can run six to 20 pages long, are much more than what they expected," says Killinger.

Killinger credits his high-tech method of doing business as the edge over his competitors, who continue to scribble their bids on pads of paper the old-fashioned way. "Since automating my business, I've noticed that in many cases it's the preparation and detail of the proposal that get us the job," he says.

Killinger also uses his notebook to edit customer and to-do lists on the fly. He even takes his computer along when he travels to Cleveland for training seminars. "I use the time in the air to catch up on correspondence," he adds.

He uses PackRat, a personal information manager program, to help stick to his schedule and Microsoft Publisher for creating invoices. His wife, Deborah, 38, is the company receptionist and uses the 386 computer and Quicken for Windows to monitor cash flow. "I also use the program to generate invoices," says Killinger. "And I use QuickPay to do the employee payroll, generate quarterly repons, and for financial statements."

He also uses technology to leverage his company's marketing efforts. The Idaho Department of Commerce's Small Business Network lets companies tap into a statewide database of bid specifications geared toward small businesses. Killinger uses a Quick Link fax/modem to view the bids from his desktop computer.

Killinger started his business in 1990 when he moved back to his home state after a stint as a building engineer at a church in Portland, Oregon. His first computer was an IBM-compatible XT clone, and he's bought a new computer every year since.

SNAPSHOT

TERRY C. KILLINGER

RESIDENCE: Twin Falls, Idaho C,