Home-based Business

This week, I interviewed Marybeth Henry, founder of WAHMfest '99, a one-day expo for at-home parents interested in working at home.

• Marybeth Henry is a graduate of Georgetown University, married to fellow alum, Bob. They have one beautiful daughter, Meghan (2 years), and another child on the way. Before Meghan's birth, Marybeth worked for The Salvation Army and Georgetown University. After Meghan was born in November, 1996, Marybeth started her own home business, Christian by Design, selling Christian gifts. This year, she is the Director of WAHMfest '99, a one-day expo for mothers who would like to work from home. WAHMfest comes from the acronym Work At Home Moms, and will take place on Saturday, March 13, in Herndon, Virginia. You can receive more information at www.wahmfest.org or via e-mail at wahmfest@juno.com.

Q. WAHMfest seems like such an innovative and unique project. How did you come-up with the idea?

A. I had offered to speak to two local mothers support groups about starting your own home business (taxes, zoning, etc.). As I was preparing for it, I started making a mental list of all the women I knew who had home businesses who might be willing to serve as "references" for these moms. That's when I thought, "Why put it all on paper? Why not put them in a room and let them all TALK to each other!" So I did some research on whether anything like this existed, and there wasn't any. That's when I started my preparations.

Q. What is the main purpose of WAHMfest, and what do you hope to accomplish?

A. The main purpose of WAHMfest is to support mothers who want to stay home with their children but don't feel like they can let their salary go (or, if they are already home and are feeling the economic pinch, to give them some good ideas). When I was trying to decide how I was going to help support my daughter, I had to go with the options that came my way. I wanted to bring moms face-to-face with ALL (or at least MORE) of the options that were available to them and show them that there are all sorts of different ways to stay home and still make money.

Q. Why should a stay-at-home parent attend WAHMfest, and how much does it cost to attend?

A. WAHMfest is absolutely FREE and open to the public, open-house style. All costs are being underwritten by sponsors and exhibitors. Anyone who has ever even CONTEMPLATED working from home should come out just to see what sort of options are available to her. Even if she doesn't find the job of her dreams, she may go home with some good ideas to help her get started.

Q. Are you taking any precautions to avoid promoting "home-business scams" at WAHMfest?

A. When I first set up the WAHMfest application, one of the codiciles was that I had a right to request information on any business opportunity. However, thus far, all the business opportunties have either been ones I am familiar with or that have been able to reassure me that they are honest opportunities.

Q. Will this become an annual event? And can other parents from different parts of the country become involved in the future?

A. The plan right now is to turn this into both an annual and a national event. I already have women who have contacted me about starting a WAHMfest in their own area, so I hope the movement spreads and grows. Right now, the plan for WAHMfest 2000 is to make it bigger -- and more available across the country. We'll see how it goes!

Q. What do you hope to accomplish with this year's WHAMfest? What will you consider a "successful" event?

A. I hope to bring women who WANT to work from home the reassurance that it can happen -- and hopefully connect them up with businesses they WANT to be involved with. My definition of "success" for this year is a fun afternoon where everyone learns something. I hope the exhibitors will be able to connect up with promising new team members/employees, and I hope the women who come will find something that interests them and helps them support their families.

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