Tell us a little about your business.
Weiss Family Services is a small, home based, Christian business that specializes in website design and housing. WFS offers quality work at an affordable price.

Why did you decide to start your own business?
We wanted to start our own business while we were still young so that as we grow older we will be able to spend more time with our children. Plus, we already figured out that the wealthiest people tend to be the employer not the employee.

How did you get started?
We started off just designing websites for ourselves and a few friends. Then we realized that an opportunity existed here. Right now, most of our work is done in exchange for other services.

What makes your company unique?
Probably our standards and morals. As you can see from looking at our prices, money isn't the most important thing to us, God and family is.

Were any special skills/training required?
Normally there would have been, but we learned everything we needed to know designing our personal pages before we ever decided to start our own company. Where did you get this training/experience? Mostly just by looking at other peoples code and figuring things out as we went.

What were the approximate start-up costs?
So far we have spent $45 for licenses and a P.O. box. We already owned everything else.

Did it require any special purchases (equipment, inventory)?
Not yet. There is some equipment that we could use, but since it's not a necessity and we really don't have a big budget we decided to wait until a project came along that required us to make a purchase.

What difficulties did you encounter starting out?
We encountered and are still encountering a lot of disbelief from friends and family. Another problem has been getting the word out about our existence (hard to advertise without a budget).

How many hours do you work in a typical week?
More than what's needed. Halve of the company is a perfectionist/workaholic. Between the two of us we spend somewhere in the area of 70+ hours a week

What are some ways you market your business?
Handing out business cards, submission to search engines, banner advertising, word of mouth (friends, clients, chatrooms)

What method has worked best for you?
Word of mouth

What has been most rewarding about working for yourself?
We can make our own hours. This permits us to take our kids to the park on a picnic during the week without having to clear it with someone else.

What has been most frustrating?
The lack of support from family and friends and the realization that it takes money to make money in most cases (trying to advertise)

How do you separate work from home?
Not really sure that we do. One of us may be holding a kid and typing at the same time, and other things of that nature. Then again, being able to do that was one of the reasons we wanted to start our own business.

How do you handle working at home with children?
Most of the work is done while they are asleep (naps or late at night). About all we tend to do during the day is try to find new customers and new ways to advertise our company.

What advice do you have for others starting their own business?
Pray about and do as much research as you can. If God says okay, and if you still want to do it after looking at all the facts; Go for it. Be persistent, don't let anyone talk you out of your dream.

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Love in Christ,
Amanda Weiss Gen. Partner
Jeremy Weiss Partner
Weiss Family Services
http://www.10mb.com/wfs/
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