- April 25, 2024
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After having been laid off repeatedly from temporary jobs, Christopher Haynes was searching for any way he could to support his family in the B-section. He started scrapping: He drove around town on garbage nights and checked free listings online for discarded appliances, from which he would strip and sell the aluminum and copper.
One day, Haynes, 27, found an old riding lawnmower. Rather than scrap it, though, he fixed it, adding a battery and a carburetor. And thus, Beach Boys Lawn Care was born.
“I didn’t invest too much money,” Haynes said. “I know how to make small change stretch.”
Haynes is not alone in his strategy. According to data on the Palm Coast website, there is an increase in similar activity.
New businesses in Palm Coast are required to register with the city and apply for a business tax receipt. Haynes said he spent a total of about $150 on the full process, including registering the name of his company.
Nine months in the past 12, the city has issued 40 or more receipts, which represents a dramatic increase over the previous 12 months, when 40 or more receipts were issued in two months. From September 2010 to August 2011, the city has issued 553 business tax receipts. That’s a 67% increase over the previous 12-month total of 332.
Business Assistance Center Director Joe Roy said the explanation for the increase will likely be more clear after more time has passed, but those involved in new businesses at the city seem to agree on one potential trend starting to surface: home-based businesses.
In particular, Senior Economic Planner Beau Falgout pointed to anecdotal evidence of an increase in workers from the residential building industry starting on their own.
“Since the housing downturn,” Falgout said, “the business-tax-receipt folks have seen an increase in the number of handymen and landscapers, and a lot of them (used to be) in the building industry.”
Business Tax Receipt Supervisor Jay Maher agreed. “People who were at one time working for contractors are now handymen,” he said. “People are going back to what they know, but without an employer.”
Roy has also seen graphic designers and cleaning services that have started from their homes. He noted that people can manage many of their business tasks from home via the Internet.
From Jan. 1, 2010, to July 31, 2010, Palm Coast issued 146 business tax receipts to home-based businesses. In the same period in 2011, the city issued 234, a 60% increase.
Still, it’s slow going.
Haynes said he has about 15 clients. “It’s coming along,” he said. “I see the potential in it. It’s not something I want to do forever (but) I have a family to take care of. I can live with the minimum, but I need a roof over my head; I need a car with gas in it.”
He said his work provides enough to pay to store his equipment, to pay his phone bill and a few other bills. Family helps to make up the difference.
What surprises Haynes is how his modest success is attracting attention.
“I don’t have that many clients, and I have so many people asking if they can work with me, saying they’ll do anything,” he said. “There are so many people willing to work, but nobody’s willing to hire.”
