As hours race by, time capturers aim to save clients a few precious minutes

Time. It’s one thing we seem to never have a enough of. Last I checked, there were still 24 hours in a day, 168 in a week and 8,760 in a year.

Helping people make good use of those hours is the job of Stephanie Esbin and Mary Powers, two 20-year-old entrepreneurs who carry the title of "time capturer."

Their company, TimeNetrix (www.timenetrix.com) will tackle just about anything for anyone, and has a client list of more than 1,000, mostly in Las Vegas, but also scattered from Los Angeles to New York.

"Americans are some of the hardest working, longest working people in the world," Esbin said. "There are long commutes, setting up kids for dinner and relationship issues. At the end of the day, all they want to do is veg out, yet they have a whole to-do list. Anyone who thinks they’re too busy will want this service. We’ll help them plug back into what they love," she said.

Esbin started the company when she was 13 years old and saw her parents struggling to get the chores of daily living done. She was so good at running errands and knocking items off to-do lists, that word-of-mouth quickly grew her client list. Powers teamed up with Esbin when the pair were just 15, and today they pride themselves in providing unequaled customer service. The company generated more than $1 million in revenue in 2006, Esbin said.

You wouldn’t use TimeNetrix to walk your dog, but you would ask them to find a dog-walking service in your neighborhood. Instead of having your fingers do the busy work, Esbin, Powers and their staff of a dozen "time capturing specialists" will tackle it.

"We use TCS for short," Esbin joked. "It doesn’t take as long to say."

They receive between 7,000 and 12,000 requests monthly, with bank errands, travel bookings and restaurant reservations among the most common. Landing a rare bottle of $6,000 balsamic vinegar is one of the stranger requests the company has filled, Powers said. They recently found a pair of vintage Air Jordan Nike shoes for a customer.

Each request is logged into a database that is referenced frequently. Their contact list is their Holy Grail, and the partners are tight-lipped about trade secrets and expansion plans.

Customer Jody Ricks said TimeNetrix "helped me out when there are not enough hours in the day. I think it is beneficial and sooner or later it will be indispensable to me like my cell phone."

TimeNetrix fees start at $59 per month for five requests, with 10 requests costing $89 and unlimited requests cost $199. The flat fee covers all members of a household. Travel expenses and actual costs are added to monthly charges.

The company’s Web site launched in October. It includes prices and benefits.

"(There’s) not a lot to read," Esbin said. "Because people don’t have time."

Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.