Home Is Where Her Business Is

Debra Schacher has a vivid recollection of her first business venture.

“When I was 12, I put up a lemonade and cookie stand in front of a construction site and I thought it was a huge success, even though it only lasted a week and a half,” said the Irvine woman.

She even hired the girl next door to help. “I knew then that was what I wanted to do with my life,” said Schacher.

Today she has a home-based business and has formed a group with the unusual and catchy name of HOBO (Home Office and Business Opportunities) to help promote similar types of ventures.

“I felt I needed a name that could draw attention, something that was independent and free spirited, like a hobo,” said the University of Oregon graduate whose degree is in business administration.

She is chief executive officer and president of the group, which has 33 member companies ranging from consultants to desktop publishers.

“We want to project a professional image,” she said.

Schacher ran a home-based health care management business in Oregon, where she was born. She decided to move to Irvine to find new marketing opportunities in a different climate.

She also found out that life in Southern California was not the same as in Oregon.

“This place is not for real, is it?” Schacher asked. “The pace and speed of everything and the way people do business is so different,” she said.

“Where I came from, we used to walk and ride bikes and horses. Everyone here has a car.”

But it did not take Schacher long to adapt to the new pace, and “quicker than I thought I would,” she said.

Schacher researched the marketplace and looked at several opportunities but decided to get back into her own home-based business.

“I didn’t like what I saw and thought I could do it better by myself,” said Schacher, who also operates Dare to Dream Marketing Service, which designs logos and stationery and helps small businesses with marketing.

She feels a growing percentage of people are tired of working for other people and want more control over their lives. Some accomplish this by starting their own business--especially at home.

“We did a survey and found that the level of education was very high for people who work at home,” she said.

She points out that 34 million people in this country work at home and 60 million small businesses will be home-based by the year 2000.

“This is a whole new marketplace,” said Schacher. “Home-based operations are recession-proof. They don’t have a high overhead.”

Schacher hopes to develop HOBO into a national organization with chapters in every state.