The Recession, Most Would Say, Is Already Being Felt : Services Outfit Starting Off in Shaky Times

Facing a possibe recession, How a rd Derman, 35, is taking a risk. He quit his comfortable job this month as director of human resources at AST Research Inc. in Irvine to start his own company, the Howard Group. The new Irvine firm will provide human resource services to small and medium-sized businesses.

“A lot of people have asked me, ‘Why are you starting a firm now?’ My answer is: This is a perfect time for what I am doing. For one, I am starting a services firm because services remains the fastest-growing sector of the economy. With layoffs, consolidations and cost cutting, companies still need these services and can contract out for them.

“I’m going out to small-to-medium-sized companies without human resources departments or (with) one staffed with somebody with less experience than they require.

“Downsizing doesn’t lessen a company’s needs for dealing with situations such as wrongful discharges. This is a very litigious state, and a company needs an experienced person to deal with it.”