by Peggy M. Jordan
For Owen Jones, running a home-based property management business
means juggling the roles of marketer, webmaster, bookkeeper, handyman, rental
agent, gardener, and sometimes even graphic designer. But his most challenging
trick is walking that fine line between being at work and being at home.
Owen launched Dreamcatcher
Properties of Idaho, LLC just over two years ago and loves it. “I like
being the one who makes the decisions,” he explains, “knowing that whether I
fail or succeed is completely up to me.”
Working 16-hour days in the corporate world taught Owen that
life should be about more than making money. That’s why his definition of
success or failure goes beyond the bottom line. “Balance is more important to
me now than profit, so I’m intentionally growing the business at the right
speed to provide great service and still have a personal life.”
Keeping Overhead Low
Like many of us, Owen works from home to keep costs down. He
has also found creative ways to leverage what he’s good at and likes doing. Thanks
to job experience as a bookkeeper and proficiency with QuickBooks, accounting
is no stretch for Owen. He even enjoys it, saying, “For me, the complexity of
the accounting is what makes it fun.”
Years in computer programming gave Owen the expertise to
build, design, and populate his own website. He even owns his own server. Being
both host and webmaster enables him to keep his website current without paying
for tech support or a web developer. And because of his skill with the Linux
operating system, he can use free, open-source software instead of having to
invest in pricey applications.
When it comes to hardware, Owen looks for opportunities to
buy used equipment, especially from companies going out of business. That’s how
he scored bargains on two Internet-based phones, as well as a high-end HP
all-in-one printer.
Investing Now for Payoffs Later
Despite being such a do-it-yourselfer, Owen is willing to
spend money where it counts. He’s convinced that hiring a professional
accountant to prepare his tax returns is an absolute life saver. “My accountant
finds deductions I never would’ve known about and saves me money, stress, and
headaches,” he explains.
He advises other small business owners to, “keep track of
everything you do that can – legally, of course – be funneled through the
business. You can’t be lazy and say, ‘it’s no big deal, it’s too much work to
track that’ or you’ll miss some great opportunities.”
Making the Leap
Even though Owen has always wanted to work for himself, he
didn’t initially set out to be a property manager. While in his early twenties,
he and some friends tried launching a computer consulting business, but soon realized
that there was more to it than they were ready for. “That was scary,” he
admits. “We found out pretty quickly that we really didn’t know what we were
doing.”
Owen went back to the world of long hours and steady
paychecks as an IT programmer. He and his partner, Deborah, bought a rental
property in the meantime. He had begun toying with the idea of moonlighting as
a property manager when the company he worked for suddenly went out of
business. The severance package gave Owen the seed money and breathing room to
launch Dreamcatcher Properties.
“This time it really wasn’t scary at all,” he tells me. “I’m
at the perfect place in my life now to be able to do this and make it work.”
The Balancing Act
So how does Owen deal with the challenges of working from
home? Like cabin fever, keeping his focus, knowing when to quit for the day,
and staying out of the refrigerator?
“Actually, I’m eating right now while we’re talking,” he
laughs. “I should make it a rule not to eat at my desk. I’d probably lose some
weight!”
Owen is very sociable, so he deals with the isolation by
regularly getting out to lunch with friends and business contacts. He admits,
though, that on some days he overwhelms poor Deborah when she gets home from
work because he’s so starved for interaction.
It helps that the couple enjoys a rich social life. They’re
both avid cavers and outdoor enthusiasts. Owen is also the founder and
moderator of Idaho Outdoors, a Yahoo! Group of more than 1300 hikers, climbers,
backpacker, skiers, snowshoers, and boaters who regularly plan trips and social
events.
He acknowledges that it has taken awhile to learn to keep
work from taking over home, or vice versa. But he’s comfortable with his
boundaries these days. “Except for
emergencies, I’m disciplined about answering business calls after hours,” he
reasons, “If I had the cash flow to justify an office, I wouldn’t be there to
hear the phone ring. So I don’t feel too guilty about not picking up.”
Another challenge of self-employment is “motivating yourself
every day to get to work,” according to Owen. “It’s too easy for that balance
to go in either direction. On a nice day, it’s easy to put a few things off
until pretty soon you’ve screwed off for half the day and you end up paying for
it the rest of the week.” When asked, “How do you keep that from happening?” he
answers with a grin, “Well, mostly I just pay for it.”
Owen Jones, owner of
Dreamcatcher Properties of Idaho, LLC., is based in Boise, Idaho and can be
reached at: www.dreamcatcherprop.com.
Peggy M. Jordan has her own
home-based business called Working Words Copywriting, where she
offers writing, editing, and marketing consulting services as well as
book-writing workshops.
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