CEDAR FALLS - In one day, Amy Miller may get the oil changed, water the plants, let the carpet cleaners in and pick up dinner.

All this, and she still has her own life to worry about.

Miller began At Your Service, a home-based errand business, in January. Her job is to make other people's lives easier by doing the things they sometimes don't have time for. Included in Miller's list of services are home waiting (for the cable company, carpet cleaners, etc), house- and pet-sitting, gathering information, delivery, household chores and projects. Miller is currently house-sitting for her former employer, Sue Stedman.

"I make sure the pilot light is still lit … I water plants once a week, twice if they need it, I let the cleaning person in," says Miller, adding that she can do as little or as much a client needs.

"In the winter, I make sure the pipes haven't broken, I flush the toilets, I water the plants. That way they don't have to ask a neighbor to do it. People are busy in their own lives. Some don't have family in town. This service is something no one else is doing in the area that I know of."

After working in the restaurant industry for more than a decade, Miller decided she loved customer service but needed a career change. She started looking into home-based businesses and found a woman in Minneapolis who was providing the same type of services Miller now provides. She researched other Midwest businesses as well, seeking services she could apply to the Cedar Valley.

Miller's first job came out of her Minneapolis contact. A company decided to buy three hours of Miller's services for each of its employees located in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

"I did a lot of traveling the first part of the year back and forth between those places. It got my name out there," says Miller. Now, she does a variety of tasks for people, limiting her travel mostly to the Cedar Valley.

Allen Gudgeon has used Miller's services for about five months. In the half-dozen or so times Gudgeon has called At Your Service, Miller has made herself available to pick up Gudgeon's dry cleaning and get the oil changed in his car while he works.

"I work in Cedar Falls and I live in Manchester … and I also travel a lot for business throughout the Midwest, so I'm not in the office that often," says Gudgeon. "It's nice to be able to bring stuff in or call and have her pick up the vehicle at work and get maintenance done."

The biggest advantage Miller gives her customers is time, and in today's culture where time is of the essence, it is well worth paying for, says Gudgeon.

"It seems pretty good, almost too good," he says of At Your Service's rates. "For the amount of time it takes to take the car or wait for the oil to be changed, it's tough to beat when I can still be at work and be productive."

By October, Miller hopes to add staff to At Your Service. Business picks up during the winter months. She has already had requests for additional services she doesn't currently provide, but is waiting to incorporate more until she knows she can do it well. She also hopes to expand her Web site, which she strived to make as functional as possible for her customers. Users can even fill out a grocery list online.

"I am ecstatic," says Miller about her business. "To hear a customer say 'Thank you,' or know they can go see a soccer game when they wouldn't have been able to before … I give time back to people."

Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com.

NEED TO KNOW

Amy Miller, owner of At Your Service, can be reached by phone at 277-7211 or by e-mail at amy@theerrandservice.com. Miller's hours are Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. She is also available beyond those hours for emergency services, which are charged at a higher rate. Rates and a complete listing of services are available on the At Your Service Web site at www.theerrandservice.com.