"This is where the magic happens!"

The Work at Home Approach

Its Not So New!

BY CAROL GARRETT

For as long as I can remember,
my mother earned money from the production
of goods from our home. My mother
was a seamstress, and she
offered her services to the neighborhood.
She also made delicious brownies
and fried chicken dinners.
We kids (11 of us) were the
salespeople. We peddled the brownies at playgrounds
or during Mardi Gras parades.
My mother was not unique.
Every block in the neighborhood housed
at least one entrepreneur of sorts.
Lets see......there was
Ms Alexander down the street who made
and sold pecan praline candy,
and Mr. Lucien who sold blocks of ice,
before there was refrigeration.
My daddy made kites out of
thin layers of cypress that
he prepped himself and sold to
the neighborhood kids. Mr.
Magee, around the corner, repaired
bicycles and lawnmowers in his
backyard. Ms James was known as
the Zu Zu lady because of the
snacks ("zu zus," we called them) she
sold off her porch...large jars
of candy, big fat juicy pickles
and two-for-a-penny cookies. And
every neighborhood had
the beloved shade-tree mechanic.

All of these small businesses
had some things in common.
They would probably never expand,
they had low overhead,
and all were born of necessity.

NEVER EXPAND
There were some rare occasions
when a home-based business would
expand, but it was always the exception,
and never the rule. I remember
when the corner store was up for
sale, and Ms James, the Zu Zu lady,
gave a supper to raise money so
she could put down a down
payment on the store. (This was how people
raised a large amount of money in a
short time. They spent two or
three days preparing and selling
food from their home. The
neighborhood always cooperated.
It was usually done to get
somebody out of jail or to
pay a utility bill) Ms James
made suppers every weekend
for a month to make that down payment.
Everybody patronized her suppers
because we wanted her to succeed;
she already had a good reputation,
and, Lord knows, she had outgrown
her porch. (She did buy the store, and her
family still runs it.) But that
scenario was rare. Most home-based
businesses stayed just that....
in the home...for generations.
LOW OVERHEAD
Start-up costs were minimal
for the homebased business.
My daddy needed only to chop some
braches off a cypress tree in the
backyard and purchase some parchment
paper for pennies. Daddy
was skilled at folding and cutting
intricate patterns the he used
to decorate the kites. Mama would hem
work pants for the men in the
community for two dollars. Then she
would take a dollar of that and invest
in her brownie supplies. When people
needed supplies they often bartered.
BORN OF NECESSITY
Every home-based business
existed simply because there was not
enough money to last the month. Most
mothers wanted to be home to care
for their families, and were looking
for creative ways to earn extra income.
Social programs were nearly non-existent,
so creativity was in abundance.
Home-based business is no
new phenomenon. It was born of
necessity and survived because
of tradition. As technology
created jobs and people became more
educated, salaries naturally
increased and more people were lured
into working outside the home.
New generations abandoned the
home-based tradition of their parents.
But now we have come full circle.
Tough economic times and the needs
of our children are once again
making home-based businesses necessary
and attractive. People are returning home
to that age-old tradition.

Carol Garrett who grew up in New Orleans,
works out of her home in Oakland, CA.
Her company Dis N' Dat, makes
wearable art and fine collectables
that are sold at CobWebs
on Solano in Berkley, CA, and
Newark's Crafter's Gallery.
(Newark is a suburb just 20 minutes from Oakland)
Go to "Mardi Gras Indians"

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I would like to thank
the very talented
Dianne Gleaton for the use
of this great 7570 graphic.
Dianne Gleaton's Sewing Corner

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