work at home

Michele Baratta is the designer and founder of the high-end fashion keepsake jewelry company called Michele Baratta atHome. Baratta was only 22 years old, still in college, and living at home when she started her jewelry company in 1988.          In the living room of Baratta’s mom, Michele Baratta Studios was born. Since then, Baratta’s jewelry has been sold in stores like Nordstrom and Macys and catalogs like Jjill and Sundance. She has been seen in magazines and television, most recently ABC’s The View. And her jewelry has been seen on some celebrities. Felicity Huffman recently wrote Baratta, thanking her for her Portrait of Love Necklace.

For years, women would tell Baratta how lucky she was to be able to work from home and how much they wished they could, too! They wanted to be with their kids and hated leaving them off at daycare while they went to work. Baratta had to find a way to offer this same great opportunity to other women.

Only a few short years ago in the fall of 2004, Baratta left her very lucrative wholesale business and created Michele Baratta atHome — a home-based business. Baratta now sells exclusively through Independent Sales consultants via home parties. She had finally found her purpose empowering women.

Baratta’s husband Andrew, with a business and creative background, joined forces with her to help develop the business model. “Women get excited and passionate about a find, and want to share it with others,” says Andrew. “We provide that opportunity with support from a home office with a multitude of marketing tools and training. It’s like hundreds of little franchises that rely on the home office for support. We’ve built a ‘home-based franchise business.’”

Fortunately, Michele Baratta atHome has doubled each year since its conception. We consistently advertise in well-known magazines that focus on our niche,” says Baratta. “We rely a lot on word of mouth, via our consultants, and of course our customers.”

In any case for Baratta, time is spent with family. She and her husband have built a business that allows them to be with the ones they love! Per the Barattas, if they can share this opportunity with others, then they’ve accomplished their dream. For more information, visit www.ShopMichele.com. HBM