Erin Triplett wanted to get her own business going, to have more freedom and to be with her newborn daughter, now 16 months old.

"I wanted to go out on my own and when I had my daughter it made sense," the Hanover resident said. "I could help other moms in my position."

With storm clouds gathering over the mortgage industry, the 27-year-old former loan officer started Elite Assist in August to help businesses with projects and tasks that don't require a presence in the office.

Those tasks include bookkeeping, data entry, customer calls, handwritten cards, mailings, marketing, writing, editing, research and going...