BUSINESS

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OUTDOOR
LIGHTING

•

28801 Orchard Lake Rd./Farmington Hills, MI 48018/(313) 553-8540

IT'S FUR STORAGE TIME at

MALTER FURS

SOON TO MOVE TO WEST BLOOMFIELD
WITH STORAGE VAULT ON PREMISES.

AT

MALTER'S
YOUR FURS
WILL GET THE BEST OF CARE

Deep Pelt Cleaning & Glazing

MALTER FURS for a
FREE-BONDED PICK-UP AT 358-0850

So Call

Or visit them at HARVARD ROW MALL

At II Mile Road and Lahser • Southfield

58

FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1989

their business, Software Sav-
ings, also caters to children.
"We were both computer
mothers at our children's
school," Zeskind said.
"Sharlene and I were really
hooked on computers and saw
what was very exciting about
software, what the kids
learned and how they could
benefit. We try to investigate
the academic strengths and
weaknesses of each child and
find the program that will
best suit him."
Beck and Zeskind volun-
teered at their children's
school for four years and then
decided to start their own
business, selling educational
and entertainment computer
software out of both their
homes, in 1985.
Although their businesses
are different, the one thing
that links these women
together is that they all held
professional jobs before they
began their families. Along
with Rosen, Weisenfeld, Beck
and Zeskind were educators.
Cheryl Schanes and Dovitz
were social workers, and
Valerie Schanes was an
accountant.
Business has been smooth
sailing since most of these
women opened shop.
"I hired a rep, and she took
my line of hand-painted
clothes around to various
stores in the area," Rosen
said. "Then I found a rep in
Chicago, and my business got
bigger."
Rosen's Jodash line is now
found at boutique shops in
Ohio, Florida, Illinois,
California, Arizona and
Michigan. Her acryllics and
water colors are found in local
art galleries. She does sell her
line of handpainted clothes
and water colors out of her
home also.
Rosen works six to eight
hours a day painting and has
sold several thousand Jodash
clothes since she started pain-
ting eight years ago.
"My housework does suffer
from this job," she said. "I get
up in the morning, get the
kids off to school and start
painting."
"I'm open 24 hours a day,"
Rosen said. "People have call-
ed me at 9 a.m. on Sunday for
business and have come over
that same morning with their
children."
Since the Schaneses sold
their first Kinder Krate eight
months ago, the doubts they
once held have dissipated.
"Business has always been
consistenly busy," Valerie
Schanes said. "We've had
mornings when we've been in
the basement all day. As soon
as we finished one Kinder
Krate, the phone would ring,
and we'd get another order."

Over the past months, they
have sold several hundred
Kinder Krates, specialized
baskets, that are purchased
for birthday, baby and get-
well gifts.
Fifty percent of their
business is shipped out of
state and to Canada. For this
summer, they created Kinder
Krates that contain
"everything a boy or girl
camper could use — except
food or candy."
Dovitz and Weisenfeld have
owned That Personalized
Touch for 18 months and now
are looking for retail space.
"We have so much merchan-
dise and nowhere to show it,"
said Dovitz, who goes to work
at Weisenfeld's house every
day during the week at 9:30
in the morning. "I leave for
the day at 2:30 to pick up my
kids, 8 1/2 and 6, from school."
Dovitz will come back on the
weekend during the holidays
when it's busy.
Since Beck and Zeskind
started their business four
years ago, their clientele has
grown to include several
libraries in Oakland County:
Southfield, Birmingham,
West Bloomfield, Bloomfield
Hills, Waterford and Hun-
tington Woods.
Their merchandise is now
also finding a home in
Oakland County schools.
Besides selling to schools and
libraries, they offer "per-
sonal" service out of their
homes, where parents and
students can preview all the
software and purchase it at 20
percent off its suggested
retail price.
"It's an enjoyable job
because we enjoy the software
and the fact that we can help
children who have difficulty
with certain school subjects
and secondly, we enjoy travell-
ing to the different conven-
tions and seminars where
educational software is ex-
hibited."
Although they can't sell as
much software as McDonald's
sells hamburgers, this year
Software Savings can boast,
"Over 30,000 served." ❑

Second Annual
Conference

The second-annual manage-
ment conference for Jewish
communal professionals is
slated for May 1 at the Maple/
Drake Jewish Community
Center.
Sponsored by the Jewish
Welfare Federation, the
seminar is open to organiza-
tion and agency professionals.
It runs from 8:30 a.m. to
4 p.m.
Billed as "Self Manage-