Aided by computers and other communication wonders of the information age, Jerry has parlayed his 20 plus years of experience in the seal and gasket business into a company called EPM, Inc., specializing in hard-to-find seals and gaskets.

Jerry founded EPM two years ago, "downsizing," one might say, from his former seal manufacturing company AAA Seals & Packing, with its 67 locations and 300 employees, to a nice house in Stockbridge, Georgia, a computer, a fax machine, some telephones and two employees - himself and his wife. "I was going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark, putting in 12-14 hours a day and working most weekends," he recalls. "I had a great business and was making good money, but I didn't have a life."

EPM is purely a marketing and service company. It makes nothing and stocks nothing, but rather concentrates on knowing how to find the unusual, high-end hard-to-find seals that go into very expensive, mission critical machines. When such a seal or gasket needs replacing, the customer needs it NOW. The urgency level can be extreme. It can be stressful, but on the other hand, there is seldom much discussion about what the seal costs. The important thing is to find one and get it installed. "Good service justifies high prices and high mark-ups," Jerry feels.

During all his years in the seal business, Jerry kept - and still keeps - copious records and notes on strange and difficult to find seals and gaskets. Today when he gets a call for a particular seal or gasket, he can usually locate it and have it shipped to his customer in a matter of days ...sometimes hours.

The marketing side of Whitlock's business involves staying in touch with known customers and uncovering ones.

For staying in touch, he maintains a database of more than 10,000 end users to whom he sends direct mail, catalogs, and mass fax promotions. While definitely a creature of the electronic age, Jerry knows that nothing beats the human touch, and still enjoys hand-delivering a seal and spending time trading seal industry war stories.

To make sure the unknown companies can find him, Jerry employs a Thomas Register program that includes 10 ads in the Products & Services Section, a quarter page ad in Company Profiles, a four-page catalog in the Catalog File as well as 20 catalog pages in Thomas Register on the Internet. Jerry also maintains an impressive company web site outside the Thomas Register domain which is hotlinked to the Thomas site.

Jerry's experience with Thomas has been positive from the very beginning....

...Currently, he estimates that about half of his new business comes directly from TR in print, and the other half comes from the Internet, either from his own web site of his Thomas Register web site.

Working from home may not be for everyone, but for those who dream of it, Jerry offers three tips:

1. Get plugged in. Utilize e-mail, the Internet, faxes, cell phones ... whatever it takes to stay in touch constantly.

2. Automate. Use technology to control the flow of information.

3. Overwhelm your customer with service. It keeps the customer happy and justifies high prices and high margins.