The Hero of Small/Home Business Owners

Posted by on October 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment 

By Sara Bridget Au

Insight Business Update, October 2007

While the Orlando area ranks high nationally for being a mecca for small business start-ups, small or home-based business owners here, like everywhere, face a multitude of challenges. They do have the freedom and flexibility cubicle-dwellers only dream of, but the flip side is that there is neither a copy room just down the hall, nor a staff of mail clerks with an array of box sizes, and of course, no design department to create a new ad layout. Many small businesses end up spending lots of time and money trying to learn new software or hire the jobs out, which in turn cuts into their bottom line.

SOHO HERO, named for the small offices/home offices it serves, offers to seamlessly take over these kinds of support jobs, thus freeing up business owners to concentrate on expanding their enterprise. From printing menus for a mom-n-pop restaurant to designing a unique logo for a newly formed PR firm, to creating advertising posters for a real estate agency, SOHO HERO is faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound as it works on behalf of small business owners. What’s more, it aims to do it with a friendly smile and a thoughtful mindset for improving your end product.

“Our customer service is what sets us apart; we try to get to know our customers,” explains Jennifer Housewright, owner of SOHO HERO in Orlando. In fact, during this interview, she greets two people walking in the door by name. “We treat each customer like they’re special, because they are.”

There are an abundance of potential businesses to help in the Greater Orlando area, which was ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top ten cities for start-ups. Indeed, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission cites a MarketForce Corporation study in 2006 that counted more than 24,000 company start-ups in the region, and over 31,000 home- based businesses. And this past Spring, a BizJournals study found Orlando to be the only city that tops national small business growth statistics in all three of it’s key categories: population growth, small-business creation, and small-business concentration. But Orlando cannot stay tops without the support services, like what SOHO HERO provides, that help those new companies make it.

“We give individual attention, whereas at other places you could go there every day and get someone different each time,” says Housewright. “We know our customers and their needs and that’s why they choose us and stay with us.”

The most common services are designing and printing business cards, flyers, brochures and posters. Business people can easily email files or upload them onto SOHO HERO’s website, and the printed products can then be picked up or shipped out to them. Housewright also offers basic copying, faxing, shipping, notary services and hosts post office boxes at their location.

“SOHO HERO has been a complete solution for me from the time I was in my home office through my move into an office building,” states Tawan Turnquest, an accountant. She’s turned to them for such mundane tasks as color copies and faxes, but also the ones that now define her firm, like business cards, mailings, bound publications and brochures. SOHO HERO is currently designing a custom logo for Turnquest. “I just feel like with Jennifer, no job is too big or two small; she’s always willing to help out, she listens and then she goes above and beyond so you get exactly what you’re asking for. “

Turnquest also speaks of a warm camaraderie with Housewright: “She was one of my first clients, and I became hers very quickly, so we’ve been able to support each other as we grow both of our businesses.”

“Being a small business owner myself, I know the struggles, and I know how hard it is to be successful,” says Housewright. “Sometimes you need help and that’s what we can provide.”

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