Elisha Bailez is both the artist and owner of Peek A Boo Rooms, a Sandy Springs company that sells unique artwork and bedding for nurseries and children’s rooms. It took two brains -- one creative and one no-nonsense and professional -- to turn her passion for art into a successful business. Fortunately she had both.
Bailez worked as an industrial engineer for Ingersoll Rand, helping her company improve its profitability until her son came along seven years ago. “I was in denial, and thought I could continue working," she said, "but it was a high-travel job, so I, tearfully, said goodbye.”
That gave Bailez more time to pursue her lifelong hobby of painting. Creating artwork for her child’s room led to commissions from friends, which gave her the idea for a business. “Women today are older when they have children, and they want a nursery that reflects their personal style and will grow with the child,” Bailez said. “They want something childlike, not childish because they don’t want to have to redecorate in two years.” Her goal is to create artwork that evokes that special mother/baby time and will be passed down in the family.
The idea of creating original paintings and murals for customers when she had three small children didn’t seem like a viable business plan. She turned to the high-quality giclee print process that allowed her to paint once and sell the image multiple times. “I thought about direct sales, taking my products to baby showers and home parties, but, again, I knew that time would be a limiting factor,” Bailez said. “Putting pencil to paper again, I realized that I could sell to the trade. I could create relationships with baby stores, gift shops and boutiques who would sell my wares.” She studied trade publications looking for an unexploited niche and devised a business plan with the help of an accountant, business lawyer and graphic designer (for logo and marketing materials). She’s been in business two years.
“If you’re going to turn your hobby into a business, you have to think everything through from a business standpoint," Bailez said. "Do nothing on a whim.”
She markets by calling retailers and sending samples and exhibiting at juvenile product trade shows. She maintains a Southeast presence with a booth at AmericasMart Atlanta. “I’m constantly tweaking the business plan,” she said. “For instance, I’ve sold out of three collections, so now when I find fabric I like, I buy every bolt I can get.”
Before launching a hobby-based business, people must ask themselves whether there is a need for what they make in the market, Bailez said. “Then they should ask if they have the staying power," she said. "A hobby is fun, but running a business is work. Are they willing to put in the time to learn the legal, marketing and financial aspects to make it work?”
Her business keeps Bailez on a tight painting production schedule. To keep her passion alive, she takes retreat weekends with other artists and paints with her kids. “It’s very satisfying to have a job where I get to use my creative and business sides at the same time,” she said.
Even after four years of running Goodness Gracious, a personal chef and catering business in Kennesaw, Cassandra Loftlin still loves to cook. She knows her hobby-based business is a good career fit because “it allows me to make a living at what I love to do,” she said.
Loftlin previously worked as a property manager for an apartment complex and hated it. “It seemed like I was chained to the phone and people only called when they had a problem,” she said. Taking six weeks off to rethink her career, she found herself watching the Food Network constantly.
“I finally figured out what I wanted to do,” she said. “My grandmother and mother were great cooks, and when I was little they’d watch Julia Child and other TV chefs who introduced French cooking to America. Dinner might include Southern favorites, like black-eyed peas, butter beans and corn bread with leg of lamb and spinach salad.”
Experimental menus proved to inspire Loftlin’s eclectic style of cooking, which includes Asian, Latin, Southern and Caribbean influences.
Deciding to get serious about cooking, Loftlin went to The Edge Connection at Kennesaw State University. The nonprofit organization provides training and support to microenterprises. Their experts and research library helped her think through the challenges of the food business and refine her business plan. “They also put me in touch with a chef who had a catering business. I worked with him for six months to learn the ropes,” she said. Still determined, she enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Tucker to hone her skills.
“As I began to plan my catering business, I realized that while parties are fun, what I really enjoyed was helping people meet a healthy diet goal or enjoy more meals at home or teaching children to like vegetables. I market to working families with young kids," she said. "I can’t compete with big companies on price and volume, so I concentrate on a quality product and excellent service.”
Loftlin has rented commercial space as needed and cooked in people’s homes. She’s looking forward to renting space in The Edge Connection’s Enterprise Center, a commercial kitchen and business incubator, when it opens in June.
“My advice to anyone wanting to turn their hobby into a business is to partner with someone working in the industry to learn the day-to-day operations,” she said. “Even an unpaid internship can be very valuable.”
It’s not enough to have passion and talent, Loftlin said. “Starting a business means learning new skills. I had to take a QuickBooks class and learn all the state regulations for running a food-based business," she said. "There are a lot of things you need to know if you’re going to start out right.”
For one thing, when your craft or hobby becomes a way to earn money, the Internal Revenue Service expects you to pay taxes on the profits, said Drew Tonsmeire, director of the Kennesaw State University Small Business Development Center.
“The good news is that you can deduct business expenses if your hobby is a business,” he said. To determine whether you are truly operating a business, the IRS will look at your intent, how much time you’re devoting to the enterprise and whether you are working to improve profitability with increased marketing and sales efforts. The Internet makes it easier to start and conduct a small business without the costs of a brick-and-mortar location, he said. “Being familiar with the tax laws, the state regulations for your industry and keeping good records will help you make a smoother transition from hobby to business,” Tonsmeire said.
