Inner Southeast “lifestyle assistant” lightens burden of life’s minutia

By Merry Mackinnon

The Bee, Nov 27, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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She’s never owned a business before, but Johnson is a fast learner. Little by little, with the help of ads on Craigslist and guidance from other small business owners, Johnson set up her home-based business. And, she converted part of her commercially-zoned rental on Tacoma Street to business and community networking events.

“You name it, I do everything,” Johnson declares, having already been hired for various tasks, including genealogy research. “If they have an unfinished project, I will step in and complete it for them.”

For those like Johnson who are jumpstarting their own small businesses, one piece of advice offered by consultant Sally Rhys of Eastmoreland is to access local resources, such as the Business Development Center at Portland Community College. Rhys is a business ethics consultant who advises small- to medium-sized businesses.

For her part, Johnson also learned by joining the local Association of Home Businesses (to which Rhys also belongs), which meets monthly at SMILE Station on S.E. 13th at Tenino. “If you don't go to the meetings, you don’t know what a great resource they are,” says Johnson, who is now on the Board, and writes the AHB blog for its website, www.ahboregon.org. (AHBs 2008 president is BEE Editor Eric Norberg.)

Another resource close to home is the DIY Lounge at Collage in Woodstock, which holds workshops for artists and craftspeople on how to write business plans.

As for Zoe Johnson, one of her goals is to organize her workdays and business travel as efficiently as possible — but, pressed for time on our telephone interview, she tells this BEE reporter, she must hang up now.

"I have to go walk a puppy," she explains.

The puppy in question is Oscar, a svelte and rambunctious Chocolate Lab belonging to an ad executive who travels a lot, and who hired Johnson to look after Oscar.

So far, Johnson is growing her business step by step. She also eventually became employed part time at Waverley Country Club.

“I’m trying to find good fits,” she says.

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