Last year, when T.J. Griffin got an idea for a new business, he sought some advice on how to set it up.

He met with a SCORE business counselor, telling the counselor about his concept.

The plan, Griffin explained, was to sell voice mail messages recorded by celebrities and personalized with the customer's name.

The counselor cautioned that only young people would be interested in such a thing. But Griffin disagreed, contending it would appeal to all ages.

Griffin suggested that the counselor himself, a retired executive, would buy a personalized "beep" if the right celebrity recorded it.

The counselor thought about it for a moment, then said:

"If you can get Angelina Jolie to answer the phone for me, I'll buy it."

Replied Griffin:

"My point exactly."

Griffin and business partner Paul Billet last year launched Mybeeps LLC, selling the celebrity-customized "beeps" for $3.99 or less apiece.

Portions of each sale go to the celebrity and to a charity of the celebrity's choosing.

The co-founders, who have sold more than 2,000 "beeps" to date, are confident their sales will grow as their roster of sports, rock and hip-hop celebrities does. Seventeen have recorded "beeps" so far.

"I believe there's a beep for everybody," said Griffin.

Griffin, who previously worked in sales, got the idea for specialized "beeps" from noticing how people   have distinctive cell phone ringtones.

He wanted to sell "beeps" via a Web site, but had no idea how to build one.

So he turned to Billet, a Web designer and IT professional who attends the same church as Griffin, First Presbyterian Church.

Billet liked the idea because sales would support charities. Griffin believed that aspect also would make celebrities receptive.

"Lots of people want to make money off of their star power. We're trying to make a difference off of their star power," said Griffin.

At least a fourth of each sale goes to the charity of the celebrity's choosing. Recipients to date include the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Hip-Hop for Humanity.

Local and national celebrities to have recorded greetings so far include football player Kris Wilson of the Philadelphia Eagles; local rockers Shea Quinn and Sam Lugar of the Sharks and Britain Roda and Jimmy Everly of Negative Space; and national hip-hop artists Mr. Cheeks, Royalty, Armageddon and Al Nuke.

Mybeeps' use of celebrity-customized greetings and charitable donations makes it unique among voice mail message providers, said Griffin.

Mybeeps' immediate objective is to add to its roster of celebrities. A bigger roster means bigger sales, since participating celebrities note on their Web pages that they're involved with Mybeeps.

Griffin said a number have signed agreements to record greetings but have yet to do so.

The recording process works like this. The celebrity says he's answering the phone for "John" (or some other name), explains that "John" can't come to the phone, and gives a fun reason why.

For instance, a rock musician might say "John can't come to the phone because he's out dancing with the band."

Separately, the celebrity also records a list of 200 first names (100 male and 100 female).

Assuming the customer who's ordering a "beep" has a first name that's on the list, Mybeeps inserts the correct first name into the greeting, and provides the completed greeting to the customer to put on his phone.

Griffin, 29, of North Water Street, works full-time as a staffer at Manos House. He previously worked in new home sales. Billet, also 29, of Blacksmith Way, works full-time as a project specialist at Manheim Auto Auction.

Staff writer Tim Mekeel can be reached at tmekeel@LNPnews.com or 481-6030.