Military Careers, Second Careers - Air Force Times

Model for success: How a soldier built his own at-home business

Logan Coffey was a new Army recruit with no previous sewing or design experience when he purchased his first sewing machine while stationed at Hawaii's Schofield Barracks in 1991. Fueled by a desire to improve upon what he considered to be outdated, uncomfortable and impractical Army-issued gear, he taught himself how to sew by reading the manual that came with the machine and engaging in plenty of trial and error.

Fast-forward a few years. Coffey's barracks room resembled a "Project Runway" design studio for the military crowd -- complete with two industrial sewing machines and dozens of rolls of fabric -- as he devoted all his spare time to satisfying increased demand from fellow soldiers for his modifications of existing Army gear, and to designing gear of his own.

By the time he separated from service as a sergeant in late 1997, Coffey had a plan -- a business plan, that is -- and on Jan. 1, 1998, he officially launched a home-based business called Tactical Tailor. Today, the 33-year-old entrepreneur has moved out of his humble home-office setting and presides as president over a 65,000-square-foot business complex in Lakewood, Wash.

And how successful is Tactical Tailor, Inc.? All Coffey will say is, "I could retire tomorrow if I chose to."

His story easily could read like a how-to guide for other military personnel poised to retire or separate from service and interested in starting a home-based small business. According to experts in the field, Coffey followed two cardinal rules for launching a successful home-based business:

• Find your niche.

• Get ready to work hard and make personal and financial sacrifices to make your business succeed.

If you are curious about the possibilities of having your own home-based business but are afraid to take the plunge, don't be. According to Jim Blasingame, a leading small-business expert and the creator and host of "The Small Business Advocate" radio/Internet talk show, the 21st century is the century of entrepreneurism in America's economy, with public perception of home-based businesses markedly changing.

"Fifteen years ago, you were something of an oddity to be home-based," Blasingame said. "Today, it is cool."

Indeed, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy estimates that 52 percent of all small businesses in America currently are home-based. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2005 there were 13.8 million income-generating home-based businesses in the United States. Of those, 9.7 million were primary income generators for their owners.

Anxious that your dream may not translate into a successful home-based business venture? Blasingame and other experts agree: When it comes to a home-based business, it's not so important what you decide to do as how you go about doing it.

Finding your niche -- locally

Paul Edwards is a career strategy coach, broadcaster, columnist and, with his wife, Sarah, co-author of 16 books on entrepreneurship and home-based businesses. When it comes to succeeding in the home-based workplace, Edwards said his motto is, "You need to find your niche and scratch it."

This requires finding a match among the lifestyle you desire, your experience and background, what you enjoy doing and what people will pay for, according to Edwards.

It worked for Coffey, who combined his interest in sewing and design with his disappointing clothing and gear experiences as a soldier to create a new, improved range of products heavily in demand for use by service members.

One caveat: "The kind of niche that people scratch needs to be heavy on local service," Edwards said.

The prevalence of off-shoring -- the relocation of business to other countries -- has cut into the market for providing certain services. So, for example, if your niche is doing something like medical transcription, you may find that you have business rivals in places as far-flung as India or the Philippines, he said. By maintaining a focus at the local level -- having a personal-chef service or being a daily money manager for the elderly, for instance -- you are ensuring that you are offering customers a product or service they could not get just anywhere.

It's also important to make sure that you truly like what you are doing.

"... [I]t's important to identify not only what is hot in the marketplace, but what is going to motivate you," Edwards said. "There are times ... that what's hot in you is as important as what's hot in the market."

Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice

The typical U.S. home-based business has been in operation for 10.7 years, according to the International Data Group, a leading technology media, research and events company.

Ensuring that you truly like what you do becomes all the more important when you stop to consider how much time you will be spending doing it.

"Everybody thinks it's so much easier to start a business from home," said Beverley Williams, a leading home-business expert and co-author of "The 30-Second Commute: The Ultimate Guide to Starting and Operating a Home-Based Business."

The reality is that starting any small business is hard work, she said -- a statement to which Coffey can attest. During its first two years, Tactical Tailor was entirely home-based. Of the small home he rented, Coffey said, "The whole house was a business." He had sewing machines in his garage and kitchen; his living room served as a retail store; two bedrooms were an office and a supply room.

Coffey even admits to eating dinner on his sewing machine.

At the end of those two years, Coffey moved himself and his business to a nearby 2,500-square-foot warehouse. For the next 2½ years, "home" was a small loft above the warehouse, outfitted with a cot and some chairs. Coffey's days were consumed with designing, sewing, purchasing materials, dealing with customers, repairing equipment, doing paperwork -- even cleaning the toilets, as he grew his business.

"I had to learn to do many different things to keep the business going," he said.

During his Spartan days living in the warehouse, Coffey said he invested the majority of money he made right back into the business, upgrading machinery and hiring more people.

The need for such financial sacrifice also is important for success in a home-based or small business, Williams said. She cautions would-be home-based entrepreneurs to plan for at least six months -- and possibly as long as a year -- before they even start making money.

"I know very few people who made money just starting out," she said. "If you are looking for quick cash, something easy ... play the lottery. Don't start a small business."

Blasingame agrees. "If you are going into it to get rich, you probably don't need to do it," he said. "You might get rich, but the average small business makes a living."

Other considerations

Interested in having a home-based business but uncertain as to whether there is a market for the kind of experience you have? While having a niche certainly is helpful, other types of home-based businesses can and do succeed, Blasingame said. Business opportunities that offer a system on which to operate often reap great rewards. Classic examples include Avon, Tupperware and Longaberger baskets.

Just be careful that such business opportunities are legitimate, he said. "For every one that is good, there are a hundred that are not good. ... If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

If considering taking this route for a home-based business, do your homework, Blasingame said. His advice:

• Ask the parent company for multiple references, and call those references.

• Make sure you can personally talk to the people offering the business set-up, and ensure that you can actually call them as opposed to always letting them call you.

• Check to see that the company has a real business address. Be wary of companies that ask for too much money up front.

• Check with your state's attorney general's office and the Better Business Bureau to see if the company has had any complaints filed against it.

Another important consideration for service members who may be planning to start their business before they leave uniform is to ensure it is a portable business, Williams said. Research your business idea with an eye not just toward where you currently are living, but also toward where you plan to relocate after leaving the military.

Technology such as the Internet has made it much easier to have a portable business. It also has leveled the playing field for small businesses to compete with -- and often to partner with -- big businesses, Blasingame said.

Finally, just because you start your company as a home-based business, it does not have to stay that way, Blasingame said.

Many home-based businesses arise out of financial necessity or convenience, but as Coffey's example illustrates, it's not always practical -- or even beneficial -- to stay that way. Start slow, but don't be afraid to grow.

"Early on, I lived at work for years, and I sunk all the money back into the business and built a solid foundation," Coffey said. "If you start with a solid foundation, it's easy to go up."

Jessica Lawson can be reached at Jlawson@atpco.com.