5 Hot Business Fields For Women

Roz Ayres-Williams

Thinking of starting A company? These sectors Are proving to be Particularly lucrative for entrepreneurial sisters.

MARINA GRANT, PRESIDENT OF GRANT COMMUNICATIONS Inc., initially started her business out of a desire to help women fight discrimination in the workplace. She also happened to land squarely in one of the fastest-growing niches of the services industry--labor law consulting and conflict resolution.

It's also one of five hot industries for women that probably won't cool down for the next five to 10 years. Others include: home healthcare, information technology services, commercial cleaning and entertainment (television, motion pictures, publishing, recorded music and video games). Approximately 60% of black women-owned firms are in the service sector, according to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners.

For women entrepreneurs, these industries represent some of the best opportunities for success, which is always within your grasp as long as you are focused, prepared and have a plan and the determination to be the best at what you do.

Meet five women who, reading the clues and taking advantage of their industry knowledge and experience, started service businesses in our five hot industries at the right time, some even a little ahead of the curve.

Artistic Endeavors: Entertainment Consulting and Services

Consumers will spend nearly $270 billion on television and radio, recorded music, magazines, newspapers and books, home video, motion pictures, video games and consumer online services by the year 2002, according to a recent industry study, The Veronis, Sublet & Associates Communications Industry Forecast, 1998.

"Television is still an exploding industry," writes Lynne Rogers, author of Working in Show Business: Behind-the-Scenes Careers in Theater, Film, Television (Back Stage Books, $18.95). In addition, special interest television and video--both educational and corporate--continue to grow, which translates into opportunities for talent above and below the line, notes Rogers.

With the right skills and visibility, opportunities abound, says Pat Tobin, who serves on the board of the Los Angeles chapter of Women in Film and owns a 15-year-old public relations firm, Tobin & Associates in Hollywood, which helped put Spike Lee on the map, in the early 1980s.

"For me, staying operational throughout the years has required a proactive approach to obtaining business," says Tobin. Half of creating opportunities is networking and getting your name out there. "This industry requires nurturing key contacts and relationships, knowing your craft, and then exceeding your clients' expectations."

When a friend asked Nancy Carter to be the audience coordinator for her new television talk show, Carter realized there were business opportunities in supplying audiences. The show lasted one television season, which was just long enough for Carter to turn what she had learned into Applause! Inc., "The Audience Co." The five-year-old Santa Monica, California-based firm supplies audiences, page services (personal aides for a show) and consulting services for game shows, talk shows, infomercials and sitcoms such as Carter's first client, Moesha. Other clients include The Steve Harvey Show and The Hughleys.

A former actress, runway model, talent agent/manager and production company owner, Carter, 53, is an industry insider who knows how to network. "Once you prove you can fill the seats with a quality audience that fits the show's requirements, then producers will do business with you," says Carter. While Applause! has doubled its gross revenues each year since its inception, Carter is now ready to take it to the million-dollar mark with a full-scale marketing campaign set to roll out next quarter. Last season, the company earned almost $200,000.

Creating "content" or entertainment programming for the newer vehicles--such as video, the Internet and some of the smaller, specialized cable networks--is a wide open area, says Rose Catherine Pinkney, who sits on the board of Women in Film and is vice president of comedy development for Paramount Network Television in Los Angeles. The key is being skilled in the new technologies, getting in the door, working your way up, learning the business and making contacts.

For women, it's especially important to seek out mentors and establish your own network, says Marry Cavendish, executive director of Women in Film and Video, Washington, D.C. chapter. In such a competitive industry, people are always interested in working with people they know and trust. A broad liberal arts background is helpful as well as experience in some aspect of the entertainment business--theater, television or music. To bone up on the industry, Variety and Hollywood Reporter are must reads. Other publications, such as Script and Filmmaker, cover specific facets of the industry.

Carter suggests interning as a way to break into what can be a tough business. Carter ran her company for the first, year from her home with just a phone, a fax and a computer. As with all businesses dependent upon contract employees or consultants, have enough cash on hand to cover payroll, taxes and insurance costs for at least three months.

Cleaning Up Profits: Professional Cleaning Services

Residential and commercial cleaning services have the second-highest projected growth rate in the services sector through 2005. The number of professional cleaners is expected to jump by more than a half million over the next five years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Services magazine, published by the Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI), which represents more than 2,500 member companies, reports that the commercial cleaning service industry's receipts grew a total of 38% from 1992 to 1997, with another 10.7% gain estimated for 1998 by Marketdata.

Lillian Lincoln is president and CEO of Centennial One Inc. a Landover, Maryland-based business maintenance firm. Her 23-year-old company, which specializes in cleaning commercial buildings, airports, colleges and universities, cleaned up $18.5 million in sales last year.

According to Lincoln, a former president of the BSCAI, the maintenance business has always been wide open for women. "There's plenty of growth potential because offices need to be cleaned and they haven't invented a machine to take over that work yet," she says. "The fact that women make up most of the labor force makes it an optimal opportunity for women entrepreneurs."

Lincoln, who learned the ropes from her previous employer, another black-owned maintenance company in the area, was challenged by friends and relatives to go on her own in 1976. Starting with a $150,000 8(a) contract with the Department of Agriculture to maintain two buildings, Lincoln's firm grew to a multimillion-dollar business over the next nine years.

Entrepreneurs get into the cleaning business from different angles, says a spokesman for the BSCAI. Many start businesses after working for another cleaning company. Some start a business on the side while going to school, then decide to go into the cleaning business full time.

To get started you need some technical knowledge of cleaning and basic business management skills. Start-up costs include cleaning supplies and equipment. which can often be leased. The main cost in operating the business is direct labor, which is nearly 70% of total expenses, according to the BSCAI. Most people finance the business from their own savings and many hire family members to help them get started. The major challenge: keeping good, reliable employees. Turnover is notorious in the industry. Also, a good salesperson is important in getting business and contracts.

"Try to line tip a contract before incurring any overhead costs," Lincoln advises, "which will help determine the amount of money you'll need."

High-Tech Prospects: IT Consulting

Computer and information technology (IT) are probably the hottest industries in history. More than 65 million Americans have personal computers on their desks at work, not to mention the number of home-based systems. While the price of the computer itself may average $1,500, the actual cost over time is closer to $10,000 when you factor in upgrades, software, programming and training.

Those who provide these and other services, such as database management and maintenance, are raking in profits. New technology creates increased demand for installation, customization and training--a self-fueling cycle that promises to keep the high-tech service industry alive and well far into the next decade.

A particularly hot area in the information technology field is providing businesses with qualified professionals on an as-needed basis. To gear up for Y2K and keep pace with rapidly changing technology, companies are hungry for skilled computer professionals who can help them meet increasingly complex and specialized needs on a project-by-project basis.

"It is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the country," says Don McLaurin, chief executive officer, National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses. "The growth rate of the IT staffing industry over the last five years has been in excess of 30% a year. It actually has been crucial in helping American industries across the board become more competitive in a global marketplace."

Renee Logans, president of Access Data Supply (ADS) Inc., a computer hardware and software consulting company in Houston, is not only in the middle of a hot industry, but in a prime location as well--one that places her at the heart of "a technology-centered city with a low unemployment rate." Companies like Compaq, headquartered in Houston, and the technology-oriented oil companies in the area, draw qualified candidates.

Logans, who has a pre-law degree, veered toward marketing instead, working for Xerox and Control Data before stepping out on her own. "The computer industry was booming," says Logans. "I asked myself, `Do you want to be in the game, or just stand on the sidelines?'"

She started ADS as a supplier, selling hardware, software and accessories, but quickly shifted to "providing solutions" when custom manufacturers like Dell and Gateway began eating into the hardware market. The nine-year-old company now averages between $3 million and $5 million a year in sales by providing corporate and government clients with network design, installation and cabling, and interim IT personnel such as database designers, programmers, software developers and trainers.

Logans says the IT industry is good for women because skills aren't gender-specific, and the demand and limited supply of these skills allow women to compete with men on a relatively level playing field.

McLaurin agrees that the field is a good one for women. Entrepreneurs usually come from a computer consulting, recruiting or staffing industry background, he says. As for start-up costs, the majority of costs will go toward payroll and other costs associated with hiring professionals. Logans' start-up costs were approximately $15,000 for rent, office equipment, staffing and insurance. Today, she works with a full-time staff of four and from five to 30 consultants, depending on the size of the contract.

To succeed in this business, you must get on clients' lists of preferred vendors. New companies with no track record may have to take less-than-desirable business in the beginning. And finding and keeping good consultants is the biggest challenge. Networking and having contacts are critical. While there are opportunities, it's a competitive business, says McLaurin, so you have to differentiate your company by the level of service.

Logans' advice for women who want to start technology businesses is to always be willing to change and reinvent yourself, your products and services at a moment's notice.

Legal Eagles: Dispute Resolution

High profile lawsuits and large out-of-court settlements have unnerved corporations enough to create a booming business for consultants who can help steer them away from trouble, resolve issues in a fair manner and help teach their employees to work cooperatively. According to the U.S. District Courts, the number of employment civil rights cases filed increased from 15,965 in 1994 to 23,735 in 1997.

If you're interested in consulting in the area of dispute resolution, experience and knowledge in a particular niche, such as labor law or family disputes, is helpful, says Janice Robertson, associate executive director of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution.

Training in mediation and conflict resolution is available through various community organizations as well as many universities. Hands-on and volunteer experience go a long way in building skills in dispute resolution. The personality traits of someone interested in conflict resolution are critical, says Robertson. "Listening and negotiation skills are extremely important when you are trying to solve problems in a way that will salvage relationships."

Marina Grant worked for several years as a prosecuting attorney and as a volunteer helping women advance on the job in the face of discrimination. She noticed in the early 1980s that employers were also having a difficult time dealing with workplace conflict and problem resolution. In 1983, she started Grant Communications Inc., a corporate labor relations and conflict resolution consulting firm based in Del Mar, California.

Today her firm matches its five-year average earnings of $2.5 million annually doing investigations and helping personnel or labor relations executives or in-house attorneys unravel and understand constitutional and equal employment opportunity law.

"You will always have problems surrounding cultural differences. Add sexual harassment to the mix and you've got an industry need that's nearly out of control," says Grant, who works with a network of 150 contractors. One-third of these are attorneys, who do the training and consulting, and the rest are investigators with experience in employment law and the EEOC.

As for making a go of it as a lawyer running a consulting firm, Phil Shuey, past chair of the law practice management section of the American Bar Association and owner of his own consulting concern, suggests making sure you have a unique service to offer and deciding how you want to balance practicing law with running a consulting firm. Also, be aware that as a consultant you'll have a wider range of competitors. While being a lawyer helps you with credibility, your competitor could be a larger or more specialized organization with more resources.

Tender Loving Care: Home Healthcare Service

Nearly 25 million Americans over 70, whose baby boom children are increasingly desperate for an alternative to nursing home care for their parents, are helping to drive the home healthcare industry through the roof.

The need for geriatric care managers, facilities and services, plus home healthcare assistance, occupational therapy services and outpatient care is growing at rates as high as 60%, making home healthcare the industry to watch. Supportive care services hold the greatest potential for entrepreneurs, says Judith Clinko, RN, a member of the advisory board of the Home Care Aide Association of America in Washington, D.C.

"There is a lot of opportunity for people to provide home care in their communities," says Clinko, who is also CEO of Catalina In-Home Services Inc. in Tucson, Arizona, and a consultant in private-pay supportive care services. "What we need are compassionate, people who are concerned about the elderly in the community and interested in making a difference."

Rosalie Crowe is the owner of Southern Hospitality, a home healthcare firm in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Crowe, 40, whose company grossed more than $600,000 last year, started her business in 1994, after wishing she had someone to help her look after her mother.

Crowe started her business from home with a $12,000 SBA loan, while working the night shift as a full-time nurse.

While the demand for private-pay homecare services will continue to increase, the growth opportunities are in placing caregivers who provide nonmedical services, such as meal preparation, cleaning, companionship and transportation, says Clinko.

Due to recent cuts in Medicare reimbursement, many traditional home healthcare agencies are fighting for survival. Odds are better for entrepreneurs who provide supportive services to the general public who pay directly or through long-term care insurance as opposed to Medicare, she says. Scott Lara, director of governmental affairs for the Home Care Association of America in Jacksonville, Florida, agrees that private pay is the area of opportunity. And the field is a great one for women. "This is a 90% female-owned industry," he says.

For those thinking about starting a homecare agency, a nursing background is ideal, says Clinko. Start-up costs depend on a number of factors, including regulatory mandates in your state or municipality and the size of the staff you begin with, she says.

To minimize expenses, you may want to start out by running the business from your home. You'll need to hire an office manager/receptionist, or perform these duties yourself with an answering service and a beeper. Licensing and certification costs vary, so check with your Department of Health Licensure or its equivalent. A major challenge will be finding and keeping good homecare aides: you'll need to pay them a livable wage and provide a benefits package.

Cool Resources For Hot Industries

Home Care Association of America
9570 Regency Square Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32225
www.hcaa.org

Building Services
Contractors Association International
10201 Lee Highway, Suite 225
Fairfax, VA 22030
www.bscai.org

National Association of Computer
Consultant Businesses
1800 Diagonal Rd., Suite 520
Alexandria, VA 22314
www.naccb.org

Women in Film & Video
Washington, D.C., Chapter
P.O. Box 19272
Washington, DC 20036
www.wifv.org

Women in Film
6464 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1080
Hollywood, CA 90028
www.wif.org

Society of Professionals
in Dispute Resolution
International Office
1527 New Hampshire Ave., NW
3rd Fl.
Washington, DC 20036

www.spidr.org

COPYRIGHT 1999 Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group