http://www.thepost.nnindspring.com
®I)E CI)arlotte
THURSDAY, May 8,1997'
BA
STRICTLY BUSINESS
Getting around with AbUity
By John Minter
THE CHARLOITE POST
What can you do when your
wheelchair bound loved one
wants to go out to dinner?
Or perhaps they need to go to
that family reunion in Florida.
Maybe your handicap-accessible
van is being repaired.
Just call Eddie Hanna.
Hanna, himself confined to a
wheelchair, began Ability
Transportation Services last
year.
He rents special vans for the
handicapped on a daily basis.
“My customers are individuals
who want to take a friend or
someone they are caretaker for
out, usually for short periods,”
he said. “My rates are on a 24
hour basis.”
“The reason 1 wanted to go into
the rental aspect of adaptable
vehicle rental is to give the indi
vidual the opportunity to travel
at their leisure, rather than with
the time restraints of the ser
vices. 1 give them fieedom to go
when they want to go.”
Hanna has four vans equipped
to carry people in wheelchairs or
those imable to ride in regular
vehicles. The vans have televi
sions and VCRs. One is a luxury
van for longer trips.
When he started, Hanna said
he did not know there were so
many people unable to get
around because of a lack of
transportation. He said he may
get into running a regular trans
portation service, but said “this
is interesting right now and it is
picking up.”
“This leaves me with a lot less
headache rather than competing
with other services,” Hanna
said. “1 like what 1 am doing
now.”
Vans have been rented to pick
up loved ones for outings or for
the evening.
“One lady had not been out of
the house for three years,”
Hanna said. “She had tried a
service but was not satisfied.
She was in a wheelchair, but she
was also obese. It was a good
feeling to be able to furnish this
to the lady. They kept the vehi
cle for a couple of days and visit
ed some people she had not seen
for quite a while.”
Hanna is running a special
with 20 percent olf the daily rate
See ABILITY on page 9A
PHOTO/OALVIN FERGUSON
Eddie Hanna, owner of Ability Transportation Services, rents .
vehicles that are accessible to the disabled. Hanna opened the
company last year after moving from Richmond, Va. ' i
Mothers’ helper
PHOTO/HARLEE LITTLE
“Momtrepreneur” Sandra Maye-Key, a custom cake designer and president of Amazing Cakes, works on her computer as her daughters Hollis, age 2 and Sinclair, age
5, play in the background.
AT&T program works with U.S. ‘momtrepreneurs’
By Missy Daniels
SPECIAL TO THE POST
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -
There is a new group of small
business owners springing up
across America called
“Mompreneurs.”
Mompreneurs — nearly 10
million of them- are women
with children who have
embraced the concept of being
their own boss. They are jump
ing into the small business
ring, some of them even set
ting aside the demands of a
lull time job, so they can spend
more time with their kids
while setting up home-based
businesses.
According to work-at-home
experts, Ellen H. Parlapiano
and Patricia Cobe, authors of
“Mompreneurs, A Mother’s
Practical Step-by-Step Guide
to Work-at-Home Success,”
this new breed of business
owners is powerful and grow
ing.
“Today’s mompreneurs want
more control of their time and
more flexibility to be with their
kids. Home-based businesses
help many women achieve
this,” Parlapiano said.
In an effort to assist in the
growth of this unique category
of home-based businesses,
AT&T now offers a small busi
ness start-up program called
AT&T Resources for New
Business, a comprehensive
small business program.
“We’re experiencing a boom
in membership which we know
is driven hy new market niches
including mompreneurs,” said
AT&T Vice President, Small
Business Markets Cliff Holtz.
“Mompreneurs’ attraction to
our program reflects the reali
ty of their already busy day
and RNB's ability to relieve
the additional burden of hav
ing to rear a business along
with their other full-time par
enting joh.”
'The AT&T program includes
the following components for
its members:
• A starter kit with informa
tion to help get a small busi
ness off the ground and run-
rang,
• A free consultation with an
industry expert
• Access to a 24-hour Fax-on-
Demand service with articles
ranging from marketing and
navigating the Internet to tele
phone techniques and adver
tising;
• Access to the program web
site, which offers online ses
sions with industry experts
and a wealth of small business
background data;
• A quarterly resource guide
containing additioned informa
tion on how to manage and
grow a start-up business;
A dedicated resource center
that can be accessed through a
toU-ffee number;
• Discounts on products and
services, including equipment,
software and payroll services
from industry leaders
Parlapiano said mompre
neurs need to rely on the best
resources available that can
help them balance their work
and family.
“AT&’Ts program is a perfect
example of how small busi
nesses can look to big busi
nesses for that kind of help,”
she said.
Small businesses can obtain
program and enrollment infor
mation by calling the AT&T
Resource Center at 1-800-
STARTER (1-800-782-7837) or
by visiting the website at
www.att.com/rnb/.
Real estate investment trust
is income-oriented option
CHARLES ROSS
Your
Personal
Finance
If you want an
income-oriented
investment
option, consider
a real estate
investment
trust, called a
■REIT, (pro
nounced reet).
REITs trade like stock and invest solely in real
estate or real estate mortgages. At present, in
many cities, vacancy rates are down and rents are
up, creating a strong market. In addition, REITs
can do well even when other stocks are performing
poorly, so they are a good way to diversify your
portfolio and reduce your risk level.
Yields on REITs in recent months have been very
strong, and experts expect them to increase their
dividends at twice the rate that utilities increase
theirs. And on total return, which takes into
account dividend growth and share-price apprecia
tion, REITs have performed impressively. Even
during market down turns, real estate investment
trusts can be a wiiming investment, for both safety
and income.
Telling one REIT from another
Choosing the right REIT can make the difference
between dividends and disappointment. Like all
investments, REITs carry imique risks. Among the
red flags are yields above eight-point-five percent.
See REITs on page 9A
Social Security faces
special challenges
OMAR DILLARD
Financial
Focus
A recent cartoon shows a fortune
teller and her customer consulting a
^ crystal ball. “I see you getting Social
Security when you retire,* the for-
jtune teller says. Thinks'tHe' cus
tomer, “Now I know she’s a fake.”
Obviously, concerns over the
future solvency of Social Security
^are growing, fueled by media reports
spelling out the impending demise of oiu nation’s retirement trust
fund. Workers currently paying into the system wonder if there will be
any money left by the time they retire, while the 33 million retirees
and 10 million disabled workers, survivors and dependent children
who are already drawing benefits wonder how long those checks will
keep coming.
Before any of us start losing sleep over the future of Social Security,
See SOCIAL on page 9A
Money
Management
Smooth
out your
mortgage
By Amanda S. Danchi
SPECIAL TO THE POST
I)
Applying for a mortgage can be
a complex, expensive and emo
tionally charged experience. But
there are some steps you can
take ahead of time to make the
process go more smoothly. Here
are some suggestions from the_
North Carolina As.saciation of
CPAs.
Check your credit report
When you apply for a. mort
gage, one of the first things the
bank will request is a credit*^
report.
Good credit is critical to secur-?
ing a mortgage, and lenders’'
place a great deal of credence on^i
the information they find in your
credit report. That’s why youL
should make every effort to beL
sure that the information ino
your credit report is correct.^
Often, consumers assume that !
their fiscal responsibility hasa
resulted in a clean credit report^
and are surprised to learn that/
mistakes on credit reports areg
all too common. Occasionally,
Incorrect entries are caused by
miss-postings due to similar’
names. You should be particu-^
larly wary if you have a common
surname such as Jones or
Smith, or if you are a “junior” or1
“senior.” Other times, a dispute^
with a merchant over a hilfing.^
error or returned or damaged,
merchandise may remain onj
your credit report long after the.',
problem has been resolved. ^
By getting a copy of your credit /
report before applying for a
mortgage, you'll know what^
creditors have reported, be pro-j
pEued to explain any discrepan- ,
cies, and have- time to correct/
any errors. To request a copy ofy
yoim credit report, contact one or^j
more of the major credit bureaus
for instructions: 'TRW (800-392-"
1122); Equifax (800-685- 1111);^
and TYansUnion Corp. (312-408/
1050). You’ll be charged a nomi-,
nal fee (unless you've been,
denied credit in the last 60 days. ^
Close inactive credit accounts'
'The lender who reviews your.,
mortgage application will be’
looking not only at how much
you owe, but also at the poten-,
tial amount of credit available to ;
you. In fact, for the purpose of^
calculating your debt, some^
lenders consider the minimumj-
monthly payment that would be,,
due on each outstanding credit.,
accoimt, regardless of whether^,
or not the account is active. The ,
lender's rationale is that it is.,
possible that, at some point after ‘
you obtain your mortgage loan,,;
you could potentially use these,-
accounts to run up debt that.,
could affect your ability to make^,
your mortgage payment.
The best way to avoid the risk^
of having too much credit avail-^
See GET on page 9A