Virtual office team has all the bases covered

A difficulty of running a home-based business is maintaining a professional appearance while working from home. APC, a company out of Camp Hill, has devised a way that home businesses can reap the benefits of working from home and achieve the image of a professional office.

APC provides outsourcing

"We give home businesses the image of a professional organization without the huge overhead," said Londa Coulter, who co-owns APC with her mother, Joan Newberry.

Clients are given a suite number and a dedicated phone line with a staff person to transfer calls to their home or cell phone and schedule appointments. Offices or conference rooms, leased by the hour or day, come equipped with desks, chairs, computers, faxes and copiers. APC charges $20 an hour, but will contract with companies for a monthly fee, as well.

APC supplies an office manager to greet clients, answer the phone, make copies or send faxes. For an added professional feel, plaques with clients' names can be placed on the doors of the company's State Street office and pictures of their family set around the room during meetings.

"We create the details around the business owner's idea and give support to make their ideas work," Coulter said. Services are tailored for each business' needs. Clients include attorneys, doctors' offices, consulting companies and salespeople.

Jamie Nikoloff, who owns consulting firm PA Giving Online, has used APC services for the past year.

"If I had to do it all over again, I would start with a company like APC," she said.

Nikoloff believes it is important for small companies, in the early years, to outsource as many responsibilities as possible, putting their money and resources into growing the company. She began her company with large overhead.

"It's important to have a solid foundation first," Nikoloff said. "I learned the hard way."

Coulter, who has provided office support for seven years, said finding the focus for APC took awhile, and finding the right clients hasn't been easy. Oneon-one personal networking has been the best advertising for it.

Each year since its inception APC has increased sales. From July 2000 to July 2001, sales increased by 45 percent over the previous year's sales. Coulter did not give specific financials, but she said APC's goal is to reach $500,000 in gross sales by the end of July 2002.

"We are trying to set higher goals now that we have a higher focus," she said.

Expansion plans include opening several more office centers in Hershey, York and Lancaster. APC has three virtual offices in Harrisburg.

Coulter's advice for startups: "Follow through, don't give up, and keep at it. It's not easy to keep going, but you have to."