Long hours.   It's a fact of the entrepreneurial life that Jennifer and Rob Wimberly know well. For Jennifer (BSFCS '98 Consumer Economics), the hours are spent at the Garden Gate, a home-and-garden shop in Athens that she purchased two years ago.

And, until just recently, Rob (BSFCS '98 Consumer Economics) was burning the midnight oil at a local garbage collection company he helped start at about the same time Jennifer had taken over the Garden Gate. In January, he began a new job at Waste Pro, another Athens-based garbage hauler, which is expanding into additional territories.

"I've always wanted to have my own business, but I didn't think it would happen this quickly," Jennifer says.

After graduating with a consumer economics degree in March 1998, Jennifer concentrated her efforts on her upcoming marriage to Rob in July 1998 and looking for career opportunities.

"For a while I worked part-time at Bulldog Sporting Goods, where Rob was working full-time," she explains. "Then, I was offered a job with a real estate company."

But her dream has always been to own her own business, and during the fall of 1999 that opportunity materialized when Jennifer discovered the Garden Gate was for sale. After a few false starts, Jennifer closed the deal to buy the shop on December 1, the same day she started working in it.

"It was so busy," Jennifer says of that first day. "I didn't know where anything was. I didn't know how to wrap presents, which everyone wanted since they were buying gifts for the holidays. It took me about a week just to learn my way around."
That busy December was followed by Jennifer's first buying trip in January.

"They have great things at the Atlanta Mart," she says. "They have things from all over the world. I had done some work to prepare. I knew I wanted things that were unique and a little more feminine than the previous owners stocked. I'd looked through the catalogs and had some ideas, but I still ordered way too much and spent way too much money. Once we got back to Athens and I started really looking at what all I had bought, I cancelled a lot of orders."

Now, Jennifer feels much more settled as a small business owner, although there are still surprises.

"There are always unexpected expenses," she says. "The former house where we're located was built in 1919. We've had to re-do the heating ducts and replace the plaster ceilings with sheetrock. We had to buy new office equipment, and there are always the property taxes and sales and use taxes, rent and utility bills."

Jennifer currently has two part-time employees, including FACS interior design student Mary Pullious Switzer, but she still works most days, even if it's just a short time on her day off.

"I'm 28 years old. I would love to grow old with this shop," Jennifer says. "This is my life. I really miss not being here."

Although Rob isn't an owner of Waste Pro, the skills and responsibilities he had in his former job are enhancing his new career.

"Waste Pro is an Athens company that started at about the same time as my former company," he explains. "It's currently buying up some smaller companies and already has sites in Florida and South Carolina. This is an opportunity to be a bigger part of a bigger company."

Although he hadn't thought of going into the garbage business as a college student, being in the waste disposal business is a good fit for a family and consumer sciences graduate. Consumers in the United States generate about 220 million tons of household waste annually, or about 4½ pounds per person daily.

And, Rob says, his work with Waste Pro, is exciting.

"There are long hours, but I like to work hard," he says. "I use my economics background every day. I calculate the cost of every gallon of fuel we use and determine whether we can save money by driving a route one way verses another. I run numbers and formulas every day to determine how we can best be profitable."

While they don't know what their future will hold in terms of entrepreneurial opportunities, Jennifer and Rob agree that owning businesses at such young ages have helped them mature rapidly.

"You don't hesitate to take on a task because you know it's all going to fall back on you anyway," Jennifer says. "But when I unlock that door in the morning or lock it at night after we close, there's a great sense of satisfaction in knowing it's mine."

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