Expo to Display Options for Self-Employment

Computerized garment decoration and embroidery make for a good home-based business venture. So say the folks at L & M Distributions of Oxnard, which represents about 20 clients involved in the industry.

L & M will be touting the benefits of investing in clothing decoration equipment at the Own a Business Expo Saturday and Sunday at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

The local distributor, which includes among its clients VIP Computers of Ventura, will be joined by about 80 other exhibitors looking for people interested in franchises and other opportunities.

Own a Business Expo is a touring show that will hit 68 cities in the United States and four in Canada by the end of the year. Businesses pay $1,245 for a booth to promote their products and ideas.

Among the other businesses expected at the Ventura show are Missouri-based Freshomatic vending operation, All Tune & Lube of Maryland and Independent Capital Management of Calabasas.

“We have become a source for people looking at different ways of making an income,” said Shael Buchen, a partner in the Colorado-based S.C. Promotions, producer of the traveling show.

“Owning your own business is not so much of a luxury any more--it has almost become a necessity,” he said. “People will go into their own business to have a secondary income.”

Buchen and business partner Chris Huke, both USC graduates, began producing the expos in 1987 as a response to increased corporate downsizing and unemployment.

The duo included Ventura on the tour this year because of an increased need in the area, Buchen said.

“We’ve seen a rise in the population in Ventura County and more people moving out to the area from Los Angeles,” Buchen said. “Our research indicates that Ventura County is a very large area with home-based businesses and there is a strong economy.”

Buchen said the expo will provide business opportunities requiring investments from $100 on up.

In the case of L & M Distributions, entrepreneurs can spend as little as $1,000 for decorating machinery that can transfer an image onto a garment, or about $8,000 for a fully computerized embroidery system.

“Income level is really not an excuse to not get into businesses,” Buchen said. “Businesses can be had for different prices, anything from a Tune & Lube franchise to something as simplistic as getting involved with vending.”

The expo will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is $5.