Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 12, 1990 TAG: 9004130504
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Linda Wagner, of 1430 Blackwood Drive, Salem, is the owner of Wagner Editorial Services. The firm works for individuals and small and medium-size firms in the production of employee training manuals, direct mail, ghost writing and video scripts. At present, she is working with FiberCom Inc. on the production of a training manual.
Wagner, her husband, Ken, and two small children moved to the Roanoke Valley four years ago after visiting family members here and deciding they liked the area. They tired of the hustle and bustle of commuting to work on the New Jersey Turnpike and living in a third-floor apartment.
"We made an offer on a house and decided we were moving here," Linda Wagner said.
Her husband "pounded the pavement" looking for a job. He contributed free-lance articles to the Salem Times-Register before joining Home Shopping Network as a training supervisor for 1,200 customer-service representatives. After that HSN division closed, he joined Orvis as manager of distribution.
Graduates of Glassboro State College, the couple met while students at the New Jersey school, where they were majoring in communications and journalism. While a student, Linda Wagner took a job with a radio station as a news announcer.
Later, she worked as a special correspondent for The Associated Press. Her big story was the opening of the casinos at Atlantic City when she was "too young to gamble."
Because of her AP work while in college, Wagner was given the opportunity to cover the Miss America Pageant her senior year. She turned down the assignment only to find out later that her professors would have excused her from classes for the on-the-job training.
By age 21, the couple had opened their own newspaper - The Lower Township Post - in Cape May, N.J. The weekly "was exhausting work," she said, and was closed in January 1980 after operating for about 18 months.
Linda Wagner said that because of this experience she understood the challenges and pitfalls of operating a business and took a cautious approach before going into business for herself in Salem.
"You can't be a starry-eyed kid and make a go of it," Wagner said. "You have to understand the profit motive, start slow and watch your dimes. As you get more business you can expand."
Although Wagner has been working for about three years, she did not buy a computer and word processor until about a year ago. The purchase became necessary because of the volume of business, which included research on a recently published book by John Wiley Publishers titled "How to Buy Into A Franchise."
"Before you go into business for yourself, you better line things up," Wagner said. "Most businesses are spin-offs of employment. I was lucky because my husband was working and we were not starving."
by CNB