THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 22, 1996 TAG: 9604200229
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Ted Evanoff
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
A lot has been said about Tidewater's entrepreneurial spirit. Conventional wisdom says it's diminished by the huge tide of government workers.
Folks used to the government payroll are reluctant to plunge into business for themselves. So much for conventional wisdom.
You've heard of the Fortune 1000. And the Inc. 500. Well, now meet the Chesapeake 3.
No, they aren't big business. They're new business. Really new. And really small. What makes them special?
They're run by budding entrepreneurs who happen to be government employees.
Assuming that Chesapeake, one of the nation's fastest growing cities, also is a hotbed for commerce, we checked the March list of business licenses issued by the city. Here's a bit of what we found:
During the day, James V. Culpepper II works as the civilian head of the occupational safety division of the Naval Safety Center at Norfolk Naval Base.
After work, at night and if necessary on weekends, he's chairman, president and chief file clerk of Safety On Call.
``During the last furlough of federal workers, I was basically out of a job without any idea when I was going back to work,'' Culpepper said. ``That was really frustrating with a family to take care of.''
So Culpepper, 41, did what he had long planned to do when he turned 40. He'd decide - stay in the government or go it alone.
``By the end of the year, I should have a pretty good feel for whether I've overestimated or underestimated the business out there,'' he said. ``If I've overestimated, I have a nice part-time job.''
After reading library business directories, he figured potential customers abounded in Tidewater, particularly small manufacturers.
Most can't afford staff safety directors like Culpepper, whom the Navy sent to Indiana University to obtain a master's degree in industrial safety. He can recommend training procedures, navigate the maze of safety regulations.
``One of the things I'm banking on, especially if the Republican Congress stays in power, is OSHA becoming even more business friendly,'' he said.
That'll give him an edge. There's talk of certifying private inspectors, such as Safety On Call, to audit workplaces, a task now performed by OSHA, the U.S. Office of Safety and Health Administration.
It wasn't on-the-job experience that paved the way for soldier John J. O'Boyle III's new venture. It was the experience of Brutus and Tarzan, a pair of miniature Doberman pinschers.
The O'Boyles put their pets in a kennel for a few days last summer. When the dogs came home, they seemed sick. A veterinarian's diagnosis: kennel cough.
``I'd been thinking for a long time about starting a business,'' O'Boyle said. ``I just wasn't sure what.''
Until Brutus and Tarzan came home sick, that is.
Today, O'Boyle, an Army food inspector stationed at Fort Monroe in Hampton, runs Professional Animal Watching with his family. It is, said O'Boyle, bonded and insured.
Go on vacation, leave your pet at home and the O'Boyles will stop by to feed, water and walk the animal. And they'll make the house seem lived in.
They'll toss the newspaper inside the door, pick up the mail, open the drapes in the morning, switch on a light or two at dusk, mow the lawn, even clean the refrigerator. The fee depends on the service level (basic food & water: $12 a day).
``We just started the business. What it'll come to, we don't know,'' O'Boyle said. ``We think of this as more of a personal service. It's for people short on time. Most people these days need two incomes. We can save them time by coming into their homes.''
It was ranch style, four bedrooms, a gym. It was the house in Beverly D. Sawyer's dream, and the dream was no closer to reality. She'd peaked in her pay grade.
So she bought a pair of small franchises, quit clerking for the Chesapeake Sheriff's Department, and opened Vacation & Education Co. One franchise refers people to student loan programs, the other handles vacation packages.
``I'd always wanted a home-based business. I subscribed to an entrepreneur's digest and it referred me to seminars in my area. I kept going until I found a franchise I was interested in,'' Sawyer said. ``Right now I'm OK. I expect a profit in six months.
``I have confidence in myself,'' Sawyer said. ``Whatever I want to do, I can succeed. Like I told my boss, `If all else fails, I can find another job.' I've worked everywhere. Shoney's, 7-Eleven. And more than anything else, I have God on my side.''
KEYWORDS: SMALL BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR SECOND CAREER by CNB