Many Capital region residents are taking advantage of technology—and the freedom and access it provides—to start their own homegrown businesses.
These so-called “homepreneurs” pursue their professional dreams while working in slippers and playing with their dogs. They’re also able to do it at a reduced cost because they don’t have to pay for office space.
And that means some long-ruminating business ideas, many of which may have otherwise languished awaiting office space, shops or a storefront, are instead flourishing in converted spare bedrooms and attics.
Sound DecisionSergei Kvitko, founder of
Blue Griffin Recordings, operates a recording studio in the attic of his ornate, historic four-story Cambridge Road home in the Moores River Drive area of Lansing.
Kvitko, who has a doctorate in piano performance from MSU, produces and records the music of international classical artists. Many musicians also stay as guests in one of the English Tudor home's six bedrooms during recording sessions.
“Most days I don't leave the house” says Kvitko, a native of Russia. “If I don't have a recording session, I'll do some editing or practice myself. Everything I need is here. I do feel like a prisoner, but it's a great thing. I want to be here.”
Kvitko started his recording venture at the
First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, where he's an organist. About four years ago, he and his partner, James McClurken, bought the 1920s-era Ray Potter (of
Potter Park Zoo fame) home, which was once owned by the Lansing Diocese and served as the bishop's residence.
The lavish home is also the base for
McClurken Archival and Anthropological Research.
Kvitko converted the attic into a recording studio, which is large enough to hold intimate concerts. A Steinway piano stands at one end of the hall, while Kvitko sits at the other end surrounded by three computers, a litter of orange sticky notes and several simian likenesses that include a ceramic chimp.
Unlike a soundproof studio, Kvitko is not sequestered in a glass-encased booth. Classical musicians prefer the attic's stucco walls and original wood floors, which provide the optimum sound resonance.
Most of the artists that record at the studio are from out of the area, traveling from places like Argentina, Korea, Japan, Russia (Dave, our photographer, was particularly excited to shoot photos of one of the top flutists in the
Russian National Orchestra) and New York.
Why? Kyitko’s talent and recording venue is just that good, and his prices are so competitive; the artists can travel to Lansing and stay and record cheaper than many other places.
“I didn't want to have a small studio in the basement,” says Kvitko, whose Blue Griffin label is in its 10th year of operation. “It's sufficient for many kinds of music. For classical musicians, the feel of the hall is important.”
Dogs, Kids and CashSarah Haubert ,23, wakes up on weekdays to this comforting reality: “I don't have to get up and go somewhere.”
But she still needs to make money, and she’s found a way to do it without leaving the house, her dogs or her seven-year-old daughter, Dylan.
She's the owner of
Lansing Companion Animal Services, and that same liberty she talks about is the main attraction for most home-based business owners. Haubert sets her own schedule and meets clients at her choosing, which also allows her to take 11 credit hours at
Michigan State University (MSU) where she's working towards a zoology degree.
Haubert lives in a small house on Lansing's Southside with a big backyard but no spare rooms. So the nerve center of her business is two desks in the home's living room.
Despite the hurdles, Haubert's pet-setting business is flourishing. She recently hired another person to help with caring for the growing client list of animals, which range from dogs and cats to exotic reptiles and farm livestock.
“It's been going like crazy,” says Haubert. “There is too much for me to take on as my own.”
Financial Stability“I do think that, right now, with the economy and things people are looking at, [a home-based business] is a more economical way of doing business instead of getting an office,” says Amelia Marschall, 24, who is the creative half of
Gravity Works Design, a home-based website design company.
In January, Marschall and her co-worker, Jeff McWherter, went out on their own after working together at Okemos-based
Web Ascender. She now works out of a spare bedroom in her Grand Ledge condominium while McWherter, a computer programming specialist, operates from his Webberville home.
The tag-team has also added Marschall's boyfriend, John Miller, to their home based business mix. Miller operates
Healthy Paths Consultants out of the condo.
"We just make sure we are respectful of each other’s time and space,” says Marschall, a Northern Michigan University grad who interned at
Tria Design & Marketing in Old Town. “I guess you can say that is a little bit of a distraction, but so far it hasn't become an issue or anything.”
Gravity Works partners meet daily at
Biggby Coffee and
Panera Bread, and use the East Lansing
Technology & Innovation Center's (TIC) conference room thanks to their role as virtual tenants. The pair also go to Tweet Outs and
BNI to trumpet their web design services.
While hatching their business plan, Marschall and McWherter figured it would take at least year to open. The realization they didn't need a separate office helped accelerate their venture.
Flex TimeMelissa Keeley has been operating her wedding photography business,
Telltale Photography, out of her Westside Lansing home for about a year.
While she loves the flexibility (“If you need to meet a client's on a day's notice, you don't have to worry about shutting down an office,” Keely says), the line between work and home can become blurred.
Keeley works out of a converted office in the home she shares with husband, Cory Smidt, who is an MSU political science professor.
“The bigger problem is making sure we schedule date night,” Keeley says. “You can always say, 'Oh, I have to respond to these emails,' and a 20-minute task can suddenly turn into an hour or two hours.”
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Larry O'Connor is a mid-Michigan freelance writer who also works from his home where his three mongrels surround his desk to make sure he doesn't slack off.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Sergei Kvitko in his home studio space
Sergei accompanies Maxim Rubtsov
Music and recording equipment
Sarah Haubert's home business
Sarah Haubert at work
Melissa Keely's work samples hang in her home office
Melissa Keely
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie