After 20 years of doing business as a home based business, Interlace Communications is moving to a corporate setting at the Berks North Professional Building in Shoemakersville.
Owner, Alyse Mitten, shared, “I’m looking forward to the move for many reasons. We have been helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to market themselves through all facets of media from print, online, and outdoor signage. When in a home based business setting, it can be a bit difficult to do some of the marketing ideas we advise to our clients and can’t ‘practice what we preach’. In this new setting, we will be able to not only use ideas that have been successful for our clients but also test others before sharing with our clients.”
Interlace Communications began in 1994 as a virtual assistance company providing association management to the Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association. They ran their day-to-day operations and still do today. It began as a need for both the Association, who had suddenly lost their Executive Director, and Alyse, a mother raising her three young children. Working from a home office afforded Alyse with the ability to focus on the varied projects for the Association while still having the time to attend to the many needs of her children.
At that time and for more than 12 years, Interlace’s client base were agencies and businesses throughout the United States wanting to advertise through classified and display networks in the Mid-Atlantic states. Alyse shared, “Having a home-based business in the 90’s was not like today. In fact there were times when answering calls became a challenge with barking dogs and active children. I recall a phone call where the caller heard my children in the background. He asked, ‘Are you working from home?’ With that I answered, yes, and there was an immediate hang up on the other end. That wouldn’t have happened today.”
Interlace Communications is a family owned, women run business. Alyse and her daughters, Vicki and Kasey, and daughter-in-law, Jackie make up the core of Interlace. They provide marketing services to entrepreneurs and small to mid-sized businesses in the Berks, Lehigh, Schuylkill, and Chester Counties and continue to help businesses nationwide to advertise in a network called MACnet.
“For years, we were a best kept secret to local businesses because our business model was to assist businesses nationwide interested in advertising solely in free circulation publications. These are papers like the Northern Berks Merchandiser and the Greater Reading Merchandiser. When the internet provided a way for businesses to promote their products and services online, it began to influence the revenue of the networks and we began to feel the impact. That’s when our focus shifted to local businesses,” said Alyse. With a background and training in marketing, graphic design and website development, the staff of Interlace began to promote itself to local businesses and expanded their market efforts to include a mix of print advertising and online marketing.
“This move to a new, corporate location provides a way for us to be even more accessible to our clients. The space also provides an opportunity for us to conduct small group trainings on a variety of subjects,” shared Jackie Mitten, Customer Service for Interlace.
The Open House and Ribbon Cutting ceremony will be held on Oct. 30 from 5:to 8 p.m. at the Berks North Professional Building, 10 Zions Church Road, Suite 201, Shoemakersville. It will be an auspicious occasion with officials and representatives from the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce, the Northeast Berks Chamber of Commerce, the Reading SCORE Chapter, Constant Contact, and the Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association on hand for a double ribbon cutting ceremony. In conjunction with the event, Interlace Communications will be hosting the Northeast Berks Chamber October member’s evening networking event. It will be an excellent opportunity for those attending to meet other business owners through Berks, Schuylkill, and Lehigh. Feel free to join us by contacting the Interlace office for your invitation.
