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Do You Work in Your Robe?
Good News:  The first annual Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day is here.

Do You Work in Your Robe?

Good news: The first annual Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day is here.
February 04, 2003
By Devlin Smith URL: http://www.Entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,306363,00.html

The carefree life of a homebased entrepreneur--making your own hours, not fighting traffic, working in your bathrobe. Wait a minute--you don't work in your bathrobe? That's about to change, at least if Kristie Rimmele has her way.

Tamsevicius is the co-founder of WebMomz, a Gurnee, Illinois, organization that aims to empower work-at-home parents, and the co-creator with partner Michelle Floyd of Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day. The new holiday, being held for the first time February 10, is designed to call attention to the more than 25 million homebased business owners in the United States. "As an entrepreneur, you really get no recognition or high fives," Tamsevicius says. "Corporate businesspeople are constantly getting press about their big promotions. We felt it was high time to recognize the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs."

To do that, Tamsevicius took advantage of a common misconception about at-home workers. "While people joke about [homebased] entrepreneurs eating bon-bons, wearing pajamas and watching soap operas all day, it's simply not true," she says. "People who work from home do not wear their pajamas every day."

But so what if they did? "The cool point of this holiday is that entrepreneurs do it because they can," Tamsevicius explains. "I don't think you would ever see a stock trader driving to work in his Mercedes wearing a bathrobe."

This holiday, which Tamsevicius hopes will become an annual event celebrated the second Monday of February, isn't just about getting entrepreneurs to dress in their sloppy best, however. It's about recognizing the hard work and dedication it takes to be an entrepreneur. In addition to wearing bathrobes, Tamsevicius also wants participants to use the day to draw some attention to themselves. Tamsevicius is doing her part with a press release she created--entrepreneurs can enter their information into it and send it off to local media. "We have received notes from hundreds of small-business owners who have gotten an article about themselves in their local paper by doing this," she says.

To further the cause of homebased entrepreneurs, WebMomz is also hosting the Home Business Success Summit in Chicago on March 14 and 15. The event will include speakers on topics like money management, publicity and branding as well as an opportunity expo. Entrepreneurs can also enter to win prizes: First prize is a free ticket to the conference, second prize is a $100 gift certificate for office supplies, and third prize is a $75 gift certificate for--what else?--a new bathrobe.

Though her holiday has yet to take place, Tamsevicius is confident this new observance will be a success: "Before you know it, Hallmark will have 'Happy Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day' cards, I just know it."

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