Home business leaves the nest
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 09/01) - John Simpson's original plan was to write children's books. That lasted a morning.
"Somebody who knew I had quit called me and said, 'So, you're not doing anything?'"
The call ended in a contract offer, the first in a long line of contracts for the Genesis Group, which Simpson runs with his wife, Deb.
In the five-and-a-half years since Simpson gave up his job as director of policy and programming for Aurora College, the Genesis Group has thrived on the flexibility that gave rise to it.
Started as a one-man office in the sunroom of the Simpsons' Finlayson Drive household, the Genesis Group is now in the throes of its second move, from an office addition atop the Simpsons' double garage to the 261-square-metre retail office space on the second floor of the Panda II Mall.
From the beginning the transition from a double-income family to a running a business has required sacrifices in financial security.
"At the time (we started the business) we had to completely re-mortgage our house, because we had to plan to live on one income," said John. "It was a big risk."
"I was scared to death," confessed Deb.
Taking advice from a friend, Deb hedged her bet when she got involved in the business two years after it started. Instead of resigning her job as the college's chair of academic and applies programs, as she had planned, she took a one-year leave of absence.
The move turned out to be a good one. A year later, with regrets, Deb handed in her resignation.
The move from home to office is another big risk. John said it took a year to convince Deb that sacrificing the low overhead and tax benefits of home operation for the extra space (and the $75,000 in yearly lease payments that go with it) was the right thing to do.
Married for 30 years, the two said some of their friends question how their relationship can survive being partners in both business and life.
Deb, who takes care of bookkeeping, said they bring different qualities to the business: she is detail-oriented and he has an eye for the big picture.
The bread and butter of the Genesis Group's business has been human resources development, whether through education or job training.
But the business has also produced multi-media orientation presentations for government, numerous curricula for on-line education and PowerPoint presentations on self-government for aboriginal groups and screen savers featuring photos of tourism landmarks from around the world.
Seven staffers employed by the Genesis Group are complemented on any given job by sub-contractors.
Though the business is a success, it has not been easy. Running a home business means you're always on the job."If we got paid for all the hours we've worked, we could retire tomorrow," John said.
