NAME: Barbara S. Davis, 51, Atlantic Highlands

OCCUPATION: President of Barbara Davis Employment Services, Red Bank and Freehold

WHAT SHE DOES: “I’ve had my own company for 13 years. We find people jobs in the areas of professional office staffing, which means anything from a receptionist to a comptroller.  We specialize in support staff.  We do some temp placements, but most of our work is in full-time regular placement in accounting, human resources, programming and marketing.

“Now that we have a second office, we share a database between the two offices. Anyone who comes into Freehold has an opportunity to list jobs in the Red Bank area and vice versa. That’s good for employers because they have a broader base from which to fill their openings.   Most companies only have a database for the immediate area they recruit in.”

“I think we’re unique internally in that even though we’re customer-service oriented, we’re also very goal-oriented.  All of my employees meet on a weekly basis to discuss our goals – where we’re at, what we need to do to get where we want to go. As a rule, everyone knows each week where we are in terms of revenues and sales.  And each employee, whether they’re a receptionist or bookkeeper is on a bonus plan so, if we make our plans, there’s a bonus every month.”

GETTING STARTED: “My first job out of college was in teaching. I stopped working once we started having a family.  When I was looking to re-enter the work force, I saw an ad for Katherine Gibbs’ business schools. The position was to train the secretaries and I thought it sounded like a teaching job in a business environment so I pursued it.  The job really turned out to be a sales position – getting more clients and making contacts. But I loved it, and it was really fun going out to the companies, working with the candidates; I was really successful at making matches.” “They promoted me to their Manhattan office.  At the time, I was a single parent and the 12-hour days, the commute and job were more than what I felt was good for our family. I thought I would take the risk to build a business in New Jersey and spend those 12 hours working on my own business instead of making the commute.”

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “There are two.  When we first started we were only doing full-time regular placements.  In the late ‘80s, we had major recessions and most companies were so inundated with applications that they didn’t need services like mine.  I had to either start doing temporary placements or go out of business. We started doing temporary placements.”

“Getting into temporary placements meant getting a line of credit to pay the employees, since they technically work for me and I send them to wherever they’re needed. It meant learning a new business because it is really separate from full-time placement.

“My second challenge was to always remember the reason why I set up my business.  I did it to spend time with my girls.  Once you get so involved in the business and networking, you spend more time away from home than you had originally intended.”

“I made sure I planned vacations, took the girls away and included them in decisions so they understood why I was doing things.   They’re both grown now – 24 and 21.   But I still make sure I make time for them and for myself.”

GOALS FOR THE BUSINESS: “I opened our Freehold office three years ago so my goal is to really make that office as successful as Red Bank has been.  That office needs to grow. Our name isn’t as well known as it is in the Red Bank area.  So, we’re working to expand.  At the same time. We don’t want to lose our wonderful contacts in the Red Bank area either.”

BALANCING ACT: “It’s easier now that the girls are grown. You don’t have the worry about having to get home at night to make sure they’ve had their dinner and that they did their homework.  You have much more flexibility with your life style.  I have a significant other but he doesn’t get home until 8 p.m. so, I don’t have to rush home for dinner.”

“I do try to make time for myself outside of work.   When my girls were younger, I tried to make time to expose them to things like skiing and traveling.  Now, even though they’re grown, I still remind myself that the point of owning my own business was to be able to have a healthier and more enjoyable lifestyle, and I don’t like to lose track of that.   I have a wonderful office manager, and in order to make it all work, you have to have employees you can trust and depend upon. I’ve been fortunate in that way.”

MOTTO: “What comes around, goes around.  It’s a saying I learned from my office manager.  I mean it in a positive sense, though.  I believe if you’re good to people – candidates, employers, family, friends – good will come back to you.”

-- Karyn Collins, Staff Writer