Everybody's Little Helper You don't have to make things to make money. Just help people get things done and rake in the bucks!

It is often said that it's better to give than to receive.Some of today's entrepreneurs might also say it's better toserve than to be served. Keep that principle in mind as you prepareto start a business, and you may discover that service-themedbusinesses are not only profitable, but also often overlooked.

The key to a successful service business is to offer somethingthat's desperately needed-and often that's somethingyou'd never think could be a business. Jayne Anne Harris andher sisters, Eloise and Mary Lou, discovered just how necessary thecoat-check business is. As aspiring actors and singers, the Harrissisters worked the coat room at the famed Studio 54 in New YorkCity. The company that provided the club's security also workedother events, and it soon asked the Harrises to run coat-checkrooms at other soirees. "At first, it was a side job to payour rent," says Jayne Anne, 46. "We tried a few, and itaccidentally turned into a full-fledged business."

The trio officially started Coat Check Inc. in 1993. "Therewas a demand for it," says Mary Lou, 40. "There was a lotof work out there." These days, the sisters are busyyear-round running coat checks at glamorous events-from theMetropolitan Museum of Art Costume Ball to galas hosted by The NewYorker and Vogue-and annual sales are fast approaching $230,000.And while training their staffers to properly handle thousands ofcoats in one evening is no easy task, the mavens of Coat Check knowit's all part of providing good service. "We keep ithospital corners all the way around," says Eloise, 42.

That kind of devotion to customers is integral to any goodservice business-whether it's caring for socialites' coatsor something a bit more, shall we say, down-to-earth. Cara Brown,28, and Erin Erman, 29, combined a desire to provide excellentservice with a passion for dogs when they launched Dirty Work, apooper-scooper service, in 1998.

The pair publicized their Atlanta business through fliers andads in the local paper, but Erman notes that the cheapest andeasiest marketing tool was their Web site. "It was one of the smartestchoices we could have made," says Erman. "People want toinvestigate you first, get a feel for your business and [determine]if they like what they see before they commit to talking to you-andfeel like they're being pitched for a sale."

Getting the word out to people was the biggest challenge, saysErman. "[In our area], people had never heard that you couldhire someone to scoop your yard," she says. Because Dirty Workis dependable and inexpensive, customers quickly grew to love theirservice. Erman and Brown recouped their $1,500 start-up costs inabout six months, and sales have continued to grow.

Be it hobnobbing with the rich and famous or keeping petowners' yards clean and fresh, serving can be the best way toreceive-a profit, that is.

Contact Sources

• Coat Check Inc.
  (212) 226-5484, www.coatcheckinc.com
• Dirty Work
  (404) 876-9333, www.atlantapooperscooper.com