Heidi Baker bought a home in San Diego six years ago and set out to fix up her new place.
Baker said she was “house rich and cash poor” so she couldn’t afford to hire a company to renovate her condo. And she found that when she ventured into the home improvement community as a single woman, she was shunned.
“I was treated like there was no way I could do it on my own,” she said.
But Baker did just that. And the experience of renovating her home led her to co-found Be Jane Inc., which creates Web-based content aimed at the female do-it-yourself community.
Formed in 2003 by Baker, Eden Jarrin and Phil Breman, the Burbank-based company runs BeJane.com, a Web site with improvement tips and an online community aimed at the 17 million women homeowners in the United States.
“There are plenty of how-to sites, but they didn’t reflect on things that made sense to us,” Baker said. “(With Be Jane) we started to think, how is it going to change the way I live in my home? Do I have a bedroom that makes me want to be romantic? Do I have a kitchen that makes me want to cook?”
The company launched its preliminary Web site in fall 2005, at first focusing on the how-to aspect of home improvement. It also sold a signature pink tool belt. But successive updates, including a significant redesign in July 2006, have redirected the site toward the lifestyle of home improvement and the female community of do-it-yourselfers.
“I think if you look at us as a basic (do-it-yourself) site, it’s very different,” said Jarrin, noting the company is derived from a play on the “Jack of all trades” catchphrase.
Be Jane brand
If its founders have their druthers, one day Be Jane will be a Martha Stewart-like brand.
The Be Jane Web site, which features images of Jarrin and Baker in home improvement mode, has allowed the duo to explore other media opportunities a variety of local and national television appearances, magazine columns, a partnership with Microsoft Corp.’s MSN.com and a book, called “Be Jane’s Guide to Home Empowerment: Projects to Change the Way You Live,” which was released in December.
“We create something that is entertaining to watch but the key thing is empowering the woman at home so she can do it herself,” Jarrin said.
The company does not release revenues, but it is generating equal streams of revenue from advertising, content licensing and sponsorship, said Jarrin, who added products such as the tool belt are only a “small play.”
Be Jane got off the ground after a chance meeting at a party in 2003. Baker, a former dental hygienist for the U.S. Marine Corps., and Breman, a former television writer whose credits include the sitcom “For Your Love,” were longtime friends who were introduced to Jarrin through mutual acquaintances. The two women quickly became friends, bonding over similar experiences of trying to fix up their homes on their own.
“Heidi would always tell me about her home improvement travails,” Breman said. “I happened to see a television show concept there and the more we talked about it, the more we realized this is more than a show. Eden saw the business behind it.”
That’s not surprising, given that Jarrin had a business background as a founding member of Onvia Inc., a Web-based company that provides companies and the government with database information to help foster public-private business relationships. The three co-founders pooled their personal savings to get the new company off the ground.
More recently the company has attracted a “handful” of “angel investors” who provided the seed money necessary to expand the Be Jane Web site and brand. In January 2006, the company also secured funding from Eric Meyer, a co-founder of Netflix Inc., who has since joined Be Jane as its chief operating officer.
The Be Jane partnership with MSN began last year with the launch of a Be Jane MSN Web portal in July. Be Jane was the first of several companies to partner with MSN to create video content for MSN Originals.
Joe Michaels, senior director of business development for MSN, said that the duo came to MSN with the idea for the video programming, but had no content.
“We liked the idea that we could work very closely with the Janes from the beginning and develop content that is customized for the Internet,” Michaels said. “They are not a huge media conglomerate that only likes to do things a certain way. It felt like they’d be very flexible.”
Just Entertainment?
The Be Jane MSN videos include guides on building custom closets and making a kitchen island, among other topics. Michaels said MSN does not share data on Web traffic but Be Jane has had success selling advertising.
“Advertisers figured out really quickly who this content reaches,” he said. “I hadn’t realized how important it was to choose programming that really nails the target audience.”
Susan Lewis is a Camarillo customer who plans to use the Be Jane site to guide her in re-doing her kitchen countertops. She said that she first came across the Be Jane site when looking for an online home improvement resource.
“I liked that it was women,” said Lewis, who was interviewed about her home improvement experiences in the company’s recently released book. “It seemed to empower the women that they could do it. It is not just a man’s job.”
But for design and home improvement guru Christopher Lowell, who hosts a weekly syndicated radio program on home improvement and design, the Be Jane site is little more than entertainment.
“The actual instruction is unrealistic,” wrote Lowell in an e-mail interview. Lowell also has written home improvement books and has a Web site that features design and home improvement ideas. “There was not enough information to actually do the job. The time involvement and expertise needed was grossly underestimated.”
But Jarrin and Baker said that they’ve been well received by the male-dominated home improvement industry. They say that on countless radio interviews, they’ve been pleasantly surprised by the support from others in the industry.
“I can’t think of anybody who hasn’t been less than welcome,” Baker said.
And it’s those signature tool belts that seem to get the ball rolling.
“They see us coming in with our pink tool belts and they raise an eyebrow with the traditional guys,” Jarrin said.
Be Jane Inc.
Core Business:
A multimedia Web company that provides home improvement advice to women
Employees in 2005:
3
Employees in 2006:
15
Goal:
To become a household brand name
Driving Force:
Women’s desire for home improvement advice that’s sensitive to their female perspective