Kevin Shane
Telmé Clothing
Email: info@kostogie.com
Ewing, NJ USA
Year started working from home: 2004
Hours worked per week: 40-80
Happy at home index: 1 – miserable / 10 – nirvana: 9
Success at home index: 1-starving / 10-fabulously wealthy: 7
What kind of business do you have at home?
Telmé Clothing makes the most unique t-shirts on planet earth for retail and
promotional use.
What did you do before you started a home business?
I started this Company right after graduating college. I also worked part-time for a
Real Estate Development Company for the first couple years.
Why did you start a home business, and why this particular business?
I started a home based business because overhead is expensive and I was (and still
am) able to run my company from my home. This particular business just popped
into my head when I was designing a t-shirt souvenir for my college graduation
party. My t-shirt idea was a great success with my family and friends, so I began to
investigate the opportunity…Now I have a fantastic t-shirt company!
What was your biggest challenge in starting your home business?
At first, I was living in a small condo. My office was my kitchen table and
separating my personal life from my professional life was extremely hard. About
14 months ago, I moved into another condo with 2 bedrooms and converted the 2nd
bedroom to a home office. Now, when I enter my office, I enter work mode. It was
absolutely necessary to create this work space to divide my personal life from my
professional life.
What has been your biggest challenge staying in business?
I’m currently going through my biggest challenge in staying in business right now.
I plan on looking for investors to help Telmé grow to the potential it desires.
Looking for the right investors will be a challenge, but an exciting one nonetheless.
What do you love about working from home?
The flexibility it offers. If I want to go to the gym at 10 am, many times I have that
option. If I work until 2 am, I only have to walk 30 feet to my bedroom after turning
off my computer. It’s nice to have those options.
What do you hate about it?
My least favorite part of working at home is the lack of daily human interaction.
When I worked in an office, factory, lab, etc, I was interacting with other people
throughout the day. Working at home does not allow that.
How do you inspire or motivate yourself everyday?
Self-motivation was one of the hardest things to acquire
when I first started my business. It didn’t really come
about until I made my first sale to retail. Since then,
success, demand, new challenges and being able to use
my creativity freely have all been my motivation.
How do you separate home life from your work life?
When I’m in my office, I’m in work mode. I only leave to
use the restroom, to eat, to run a business errand, and
to watch CNBC. Sometimes, I may go into my office
throughout the night to reply to e-mails or organize
for the next day. Having a home office makes it much harder to escape from work
but I enjoy what I do. If I want to go do a little work during my personal life hours,
I will enter work mode and take care of business.
Where is your office in your home?
2nd Bedroom
What is your daily routine?
It always changes. Mornings always include responding to e-mails. I dedicate one
day to making sample or custom t-shirts in my office. Throughout the week, I’ll
contact media to spark interest in doing a story on Telmé, look for new business,
follow-up with contacts and customers, design new t-shirts, think of new ways to
market Telmé, etc…
What is your biggest (or proudest) achievement so far?
I just returned from the MAGIC fashion tradeshow in Las Vegas. It was the first
time I have exhibited Telmé at a tradeshow and it was a lot of prep and hard work.
It went very well and was a great accomplishment for taking my company to the
next level in business.
What are you working on right now to grow your business?
I am always contacting media to get some publicity. Other than that, I have many
people and businesses to follow-up with from the MAGIC Show. Those will lead to
growing my business for sure.
What advice can you give about starting a home business?
Make sure you are able to separate your professional life from your personal life.
If you had to do it all over again, what would you do (or not do)?
It’s too early to tell. Since my business has changed so much in the past few years,
I don’t know what I would have done differently.
What do you do for fun when you’re not working?
Family, friends, skiing, gym, beach, kitesurfing, soccer, road trips
Click here to read more Home Office Weekly Profiles
Would you like a Home Office Weekly
Profile written about you and your
business? Write to the editor:
MarciaDuffy@HomeOfficeWeekly.com
Telmé Clothing
Email: info@kostogie.com
Ewing, NJ USA
Year started working from home: 2004
Hours worked per week: 40-80
Happy at home index: 1 – miserable / 10 – nirvana: 9
Success at home index: 1-starving / 10-fabulously wealthy: 7
What kind of business do you have at home?
Telmé Clothing makes the most unique t-shirts on planet earth for retail and
promotional use.
What did you do before you started a home business?
I started this Company right after graduating college. I also worked part-time for a
Real Estate Development Company for the first couple years.
Why did you start a home business, and why this particular business?
I started a home based business because overhead is expensive and I was (and still
am) able to run my company from my home. This particular business just popped
into my head when I was designing a t-shirt souvenir for my college graduation
party. My t-shirt idea was a great success with my family and friends, so I began to
investigate the opportunity…Now I have a fantastic t-shirt company!
What was your biggest challenge in starting your home business?
At first, I was living in a small condo. My office was my kitchen table and
separating my personal life from my professional life was extremely hard. About
14 months ago, I moved into another condo with 2 bedrooms and converted the 2nd
bedroom to a home office. Now, when I enter my office, I enter work mode. It was
absolutely necessary to create this work space to divide my personal life from my
professional life.
What has been your biggest challenge staying in business?
I’m currently going through my biggest challenge in staying in business right now.
I plan on looking for investors to help Telmé grow to the potential it desires.
Looking for the right investors will be a challenge, but an exciting one nonetheless.
What do you love about working from home?
The flexibility it offers. If I want to go to the gym at 10 am, many times I have that
option. If I work until 2 am, I only have to walk 30 feet to my bedroom after turning
off my computer. It’s nice to have those options.
What do you hate about it?
My least favorite part of working at home is the lack of daily human interaction.
When I worked in an office, factory, lab, etc, I was interacting with other people
throughout the day. Working at home does not allow that.
How do you inspire or motivate yourself everyday?
Self-motivation was one of the hardest things to acquire
when I first started my business. It didn’t really come
about until I made my first sale to retail. Since then,
success, demand, new challenges and being able to use
my creativity freely have all been my motivation.
How do you separate home life from your work life?
When I’m in my office, I’m in work mode. I only leave to
use the restroom, to eat, to run a business errand, and
to watch CNBC. Sometimes, I may go into my office
throughout the night to reply to e-mails or organize
for the next day. Having a home office makes it much harder to escape from work
but I enjoy what I do. If I want to go do a little work during my personal life hours,
I will enter work mode and take care of business.
Where is your office in your home?
2nd Bedroom
What is your daily routine?
It always changes. Mornings always include responding to e-mails. I dedicate one
day to making sample or custom t-shirts in my office. Throughout the week, I’ll
contact media to spark interest in doing a story on Telmé, look for new business,
follow-up with contacts and customers, design new t-shirts, think of new ways to
market Telmé, etc…
What is your biggest (or proudest) achievement so far?
I just returned from the MAGIC fashion tradeshow in Las Vegas. It was the first
time I have exhibited Telmé at a tradeshow and it was a lot of prep and hard work.
It went very well and was a great accomplishment for taking my company to the
next level in business.
What are you working on right now to grow your business?
I am always contacting media to get some publicity. Other than that, I have many
people and businesses to follow-up with from the MAGIC Show. Those will lead to
growing my business for sure.
What advice can you give about starting a home business?
Make sure you are able to separate your professional life from your personal life.
If you had to do it all over again, what would you do (or not do)?
It’s too early to tell. Since my business has changed so much in the past few years,
I don’t know what I would have done differently.
What do you do for fun when you’re not working?
Family, friends, skiing, gym, beach, kitesurfing, soccer, road trips
Click here to read more Home Office Weekly Profiles
Would you like a Home Office Weekly
Profile written about you and your
business? Write to the editor:
MarciaDuffy@HomeOfficeWeekly.com
| Home Office Weekly Your guide to successfully living & working under one roof! |
Click here for more HOW Profiles! Click here for your FREE subscription to Home Office Weekly Free weekly advice on how to happily & successfully live and work under the same roof...tips on business success, organizing your office space, time management & more! |
|
|
Home Office Weekly is a BackPorch Publishing site Marcia Passos Duffy, Publisher & Editor Author of Be Your Own Boss 301 Moved Permanently |
HOW Profile: Kevin Shane / Custom T-Shirts
home|your business|your office |your time |your home life|yourself |art|books|tools|site map|about us
home|your business|your office |your time |your home life|yourself |art|books|tools|site map|about us
