Archive for the 'Entrepreneurship' category

The word "outsourcing" may conjure up images of shipping jobs overseas, but it's actually very important for small-business owners to be willing to outsource tasks, and not expect to do everything themselves. PostNet CEO Steve Greenbaum shared his thoughts on the benefits of outsourcing in an article today on Business News Daily. 

"Outsourcing enables small businesses to benefit from the professional capabilities without the equipment, know-how, software or personnel to complete their work," said Steve Greenbaum, CEO of PostNet, whose firm handles mailing and shipping for it's clients.

You can read the full article at www.businessnewsdaily.com/4280-outsourcing-benefits-small-business.html.

To read the original article, please visit http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2013/jan/16/postnet-business-center-opens-vienna/

Story and Photo by Donna Manz | Connection Newspapers

When James Cudney turned his back on the road warrior life a couple of years ago, he turned inward to the community that his family lived in, loved and supported. If he was going to downshift a speed, he was going to center his professional life in Vienna.

“I went from a road warrior to hometown business owner because I love this town and I want to enjoy watching my three sons grow up,” said Cudney, president of PostNet 128 on Maple Avenue.

Thirty six months ago, Cudney began looking for a business center that had potential to become a vital component of the community, a place that provided much-needed services and one that could give back to the community as it grew.

“What it really boiled down to is this,” said Cudney. “My wife works from home. I worked from home and we never really had a great back-door office company that has all the services we needed as a small business.

“So, I started looking at business center franchises and fell in-love with the concept they have at PostNet.”

Cudney signed a contract with PostNet 24 months ago and opened in December.

CUDNEY EXPLAINS what makes PostNet different from its competition, although, to hear Cudney describe his business, there is nothing else like it in Vienna.

PostNet is your family-run neighborhood business center, said Cudney, but its on-site services and capabilities are exhaustive. James Cudney’s brother Justin moved to Vienna from Washington state to work alongside James as the shop’s operations manager and graphic designer. “I had an opportunity to work with my brother, making use of my skills, out of the rat race,” said Justin Cudney. “Coming here was a no-brainer.”

Justin Cudney is gratified by his relocation to Vienna and hopes to pursue a master’s degree in history from one of Virginia’s universities. While PostNet provides a “vast amount” of training, most of what Justin Cudney learned, he learned by doing, he said. He has a background in art and that helps with his graphic design. If customers would like him to, Justin Cudney gives his professional input into customization.

“A lot of customers come in for shipping, and, when they see all we do, it opens up new opportunities to work with them,” Justin Cudney said.

PostNet franchises house a variety of equipment required by PostNet but each franchised property can offer added services to its business. PostNet Vienna prints letterhead, business cards, invitations, stationary, and brochures, and produces canvas wrapped photos, customized murals and more. On-site is a wide-format printer for use creating signs and banners. The owners offer custom graphic design as well.

James Cudney calls PostNet a business support center.

Unique in the town is PostNet’s conference room available for rent to the public.

PostNet ships all four of the major carriers, FedEX, UPS, DHL and USPS, and maintains a postbox with a Vienna mailing address. It also accepts large shipments.

PostNet has 350 U.S. franchises and 450 international ones. That makes for a lot of buying clout in the industry, Cudney said. When other printers are creating high-quality business cards for hundreds of dollars per thousand, PostNet produces them for $39 per thousand.

“Anything that we cannot do in-house, we send to PostNet for its support to do it,” said Justin Cudney.

In support of the community it is part of, PostNet Vienna has developed a program Cudney calls “52 weeks of giving.” PostNet Vienna will donate up to five percent of the weekly gross sales to Vienna-area organizations, sports teams, civic groups, service clubs and local schools, from Marshall High School out to Oakton High School, and all the schools in between throughout the year. Cudney and staff are compiling their list of eligible nonprofits now.

Before he joined the “I-love-living-in-Vienna-so-I’ll-open-a-shop-here” club, Cudney owned a private research and development consulting company focusing on homeland defense technologies. His work kept him on the road 40 weeks out of the year, away from his young family. He still owns and runs Homeland Tech but he has “shrunk” his geography to stay around Vienna and grow his PostNet business.

THE CUDNEYS moved to Vienna 12 years ago from Paris where his wife held an executive position in an accounting firm.

Cudney’s sons, aged 8, 11 and 17, attend Vienna schools, and his oldest son works part-time in the shop.

James Cudney has been active in the town since his move here. He belongs to local civic clubs and business networks, is on the Town of Vienna Business Liaison Committee and is on the Board of Directors of the Vienna Business Association. He volunteers with Boy Scouts and James Madison High School Boosters.

“We’re focused on building this business in town and becoming a part of the Vienna business community,” James Cudney said. “I really care about this town.”

PostNet 128 is at 320 Maple Avenue West, Vienna. To learn about the resources of the business center or to create an online account, go to http://www.va128.postnet.com/. Call James or Justin Cudney at 703-261-6300.

To read the original article, please visit http://www.franchising.com/news/20130115_postnet_franchise_digital_printing_online_solution.html.

Digital printing and online solutions are opening up new opportunities for small businesses to grow -- and the timing couldn't be better, thanks to a wave of entrepreneurship helping repair America's economy.

The United States has about 27 million small businesses, those with fewer than 100 employees, Census data show. The ranks of the self-employed have been growing since the recession hit in 2007 as professionals have carved out a new living after their old employers cut back. At the same time, digital printing has made polished marketing materials more affordable, which helps startups compete in the marketplace. Web tools are also becoming more accessible.

Helayne and Vinny Celano are a perfect example. The married accountants lost their jobs in 2007, so they decided to start their own firm, VeeCee Bookkeeping in Henderson, Nev. While their accounting skills were sharp, Helayne knew she needed help with marketing.

She turned to PostNet, a digital printing, online marketing and shipping franchise that specializes in helping small businesses raise their profiles.

"We worked from home at first," Helayne said. "When you have the right tools to go in to meet people and your materials are very professional, it really helps."

PostNet franchise owner Irene Fenolio and her team designed a logo, printed business cards and created brochures -- and the partnership grew from there. VeeCee Bookkeeping now has an office with two employees, and the Celanos recently started a second business called Nevada Asset Protection, which also uses PostNet's services.

Amanda Crow, owner of VA127 in Norfolk, VA recently shared her entrepreneurship story and insights on veterans in franchising with The Hampton Roads Show. You can watch the video at www.wavy.com/dpp/hr_show/problem-buying-a-business. 

To educate students about the different challenges and opportunities associated with small-business ownership, PostNet, America’s first Neighborhood Business Center, has strategically partnered with DECA, the international organization dedicated to preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.

Through the partnership, the around 300 PostNet franchise locations across the US will have the opportunity to work with DECA’s local chapters to develop a curriculum to educate high school and college students about what it takes to succeed in an entrepreneurial endeavor, particularly in franchising. PostNet will sponsor and judge competitive events among students and PostNet’s co-founders will also participate in the Executive Mentorship Program.

“Working with DECA to invest in today’s students provides us with a unique opportunity to further our mission of fostering small-business growth in America,” said Steve Greenbaum, CEO of PostNet. “We’re also providing our franchisees with a tremendous opportunity to work with driven, business-minded individuals to problem-solve, reach new customers, and achieve greater business objectives.”  

Greenbaum, along with PostNet co-founder, Brian Spindel, are fully aware of the unique challenges entrepreneurs face when launching and growing a small business – they’ve lived it for nearly 30 years. Greenbaum and Spindel opened their first pack-and-ship store in 1983 when shipping options in the growing market were sparse, and, by 1992, had helped hundreds of entrepreneurs start their own, independent mail and parcel businesses. In 1991 they began the development of the PostNet business and communication center concept and began franchising PostNet in July of 1993.

Today, PostNet has evolved with technology to meet the changing needs of small-business owners and busy consumers as America’s first Neighborhood Business Center. The company attributes its success to constant innovation and working closely with each client to identify their objectives, build upon their ideas, and develop the best solution to meet their needs. This could include anything from designing and printing custom invitations or signage for an important company event, to helping create a brand image for a new or existing business looking to re-invent itself. (PostNet also offers freedom of choice for the customer as a multi-carrier of shipping services including FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service).

“One of the key measurements to our programs success is the ability to connect our teachers and students with businesses and truly provide them with real world knowledge and experiences to achieve college and world readiness,” said John Fistolera, assistant executive director of corporate and external affairs with DECA. “PostNet’s interest in connecting with the schools in the communities where they do business is in direct alignment with our mission and PostNet’s corporate interests.”

In June 2011, Kathryn Morris-Miller of Glass Specialists in Jacksonville, FL was chosen as the winner of PostNet’s national “Boost This Biz” contest. With her win, she received a $15,000 prize from PostNet to help grow her glass repair and replacement company.

PostNet's second-annual Boost This Biz Contest begins May 1, 2012, at www.facebook.com/postnet. Contestants will tell the stories of  their small businesses in photos, video or an essay; describe what they’d do with the grand prize; and then get their friends to vote for them. The top five vote-getters will advance to the judging round, and one will win a $5,000 grant, a $5,000 small-biz makeover, and $5,000 in PostNet services.

Morris-Miller was one of 244 U.S. entrepreneurs who entered Boost This Biz in 2011.  She started her company with her husband after he lost his job, and in only two years, they built a strong customer base.

Can you give us an update on how winning the contest has helped your business grow and where you chose to allocate the prize money?

When we won the contest, we said that we would like to use the cash and services to expand our business, and we’ve certainly done that.  We added screen repair services to our business, which has expanded our client base in addition to opening several new doors.  We were thrilled to win this great contest as it boosted our business and expanded our services while also increasing our visibility.  Business has increased enough for us to add a new vehicle to our fleet, while also hiring a new employee. 

You mentioned that winning this prize would help distinguish yourself from other competitors in the market.  How did the services provided by PostNet help you do that?

With a great need for screen repair down in Florida, we’ve been able to get in front of more people which has certainly helped us in growing the business.  The people at the PostNet of Orange Park are wonderful people to work with as they’ve helped out in many different areas.  One of the first things we did was put our logo on promotional squeegees for shower doors, which boosted our visibility with all of our clients.  It was the first of many promotional items that the people at PostNet helped us design including decals for our vehicles, logo magnets, and business cards.  We also took advantage of the great shipping services at PostNet, which dramatically reduced our bottom line in that area.

In one sentence, sum up what winning this contest has done for your business.

Winning the Boost this Biz contest helped us add a necessary component to our business as windows and screens go hand in hand, and with the promotional products designed by the PostNet of Orange Park we were able to increase our visibility which resulted in several new repeat customers.

PostNet co-founder Brian Spindel was interviewed recently by Mo.com. Watch and listen as he talks about PostNet's story of evolution at www.mo.com/Brian-Spindel-PostNet!

Transcript

Mike: Hey everyone, I’m Mike Sullivan. Thanks for joining me today on MO.com. I’m talking with Brian Spindel today of PostNet. Brian and his partner have done some pretty incredible things with running their own business, consulting with others to open similar types of business, and then ultimately franchising their business. Brian, thanks for joining me today and let’s talk a little bit about how you met your partner and how things got rolling in developing PostNet.

Brian: Yeah, absolutely. Steve and I have been in business together for about 28 years. We met each other in the early ’80s when we were introduced by our fathers who were actually both in the same business, in the water purification business. No connection to what we ended up doing.

Steve and I opened a shop, a very simple basic retail packaging and mailing business, a shipping business back in 1983. That was in the Las Vegas area. It was not calledPost Net. The PostNet franchise came in the early ’90s, nearly a decade after that. But our first shop was a very simple, independent pack and ship business. We did well. Because we were in Las Vegas, a lot of people who were visiting their relatives would come in to our shop to ship stuff back. Because that industry was just starting, they were from places like Pennsylvania and Florida, and they would look around our shop and go, “My gosh. What is this place? Is this a post office? What exactly is this?”

We would explain to them that we designed the shop. We found our location, negotiated our lease. It didn’t take too long before somebody asked us to help them into business on the East Coast.

In 1986, we formalized that. We started the predecessor company, the franchise, helping other into this new retail shipping business independently. People would choose their own names and have their own shop designs. That’s where we really grew our expertise in helping consult people with respect to locations, constructing centers, training people, and helping them into business.

At the same time we were doing this, the rest of the industry was growing. It was becoming more complex and more sophisticated. Services like fax were coming online. Of course, the PC was starting to become popular in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Internet wasn’t popular yet.

So we started incorporating other products and services into these centers. Also, these independent shops that we had developed started saying, “Listen, I’m competing with Mailboxes Etc, and they have 1000 stores now and they have special deals with the suppliers and vendors.” So it really got us to thinking that we needed to change our structure. That’s why, in the early ’90s, we started putting everything in place to start franchising. We came up with the brand PostNet, and we started franchising in July of 1993, which was 18 or 19 years ago now.

Since then, we’ve developed about 700 PostNet franchises. About half of them are in the US and half of them are operated outside of the US through mastered licensees.

Mike: Tell me about the decision to shift from running your business and then consulting to moving into a franchise model. How has that experience been different for you?

Brian: That’s a good question. In essence, that’s what drove the decision. We were looking at these independent shops, and we realized that because the business wasn’t as simple as it was when we started it, there was more sophistication that was necessary with respect to operations, systems, branding, marketing. So that drove the decision into franchising.

The other thing that has been really interesting and exciting for us, we started obviously when we were much younger. In essence, the business was primarily a B2C business in the ’80s when we started. In other words, the people that would come to us would be Grandma shipping a package for a birthday, or the holidays were really big.

In the ’90s, we were still B2C, but we started offering some convenience services, things like black and white and color copies. Of course, we started the fax services, the computer services. So we started bleeding over a little bit to home-based businesses and small office, home office. But it was really the early 2000s when we started putting the pieces in place to really take advantage of B2B. So we were serving the B2C market. We’re in retail locations. We then developed this whole suite of digital printing services. We wouldn’t have been able to do that earlier because, quite frankly, the technology didn’t exist to connect a high-end, high-speed, quality printer to you computer and print originals instead of making copies off the glass.

So our centers today, our neighborhood business centers offer a full line of not just digital printing, but any printing you could ever need in your business, as well as wide format, large format printing, posters, banners, signs, tradeshow booths, advertising specialties. So right now we serve more business to business than we do business to consumer. This year, we’re also incorporating new Web services, marketing services, and financial services to further expand what we’re offering small businesses. Post Net’s neighborhood business center wants to be the business behind America’s business. There are a lot of small businesses that are having a hard time keeping up with everything they need to do. PostNet can be a resource to help them do that.

Mike: So you picked up the whole operation and moved from Las Vegas to Denver. Can you tell me a little bit about what prompted the move and what experiences or bumps you hit along the way?

Brian: That was an interesting time for us. Steve Greenbaum, my co-founder and my business partner, we had been in the Las Vegas area. That’s where we had met. As I mentioned, our first shop was there. We had been through three commercial five year leases by the time 2004/2005 rolled around. We were needing more space because of our expansion. We said, “Listen I think we’re done paying landlords now. We’ve been in business long enough now where we’d like to own our own property.” That got us really thinking about rather than in five year chunks of time, to 10, 15, 20 year chunks of time. Vegas was great to us. It was a good place to be. People didn’t mind coming there, but we were ready for a change.

So the fact that we were ready for a change, the fact that we were ready for a different lifestyle, the fact that we were ready to go into a market with a very educated workforce, we wanted to be more central in the country. There were a lot of things that drove us to Denver. Also, the fact that we found an outstanding opportunity to acquire a building in lower downtown Denver, right over by Coors Field in the ballpark neighborhood. It has really been a great move for us. It certainly came with challenges. Out of a 30 person staff at the time, there were only six of us that ended up coming. We had to reconstitute our entire company in a matter of months during the transition from Las Vegas to Denver in early 2005. But now that the dust has settled and we’ve been here for six years, I can tell you that we’re the best version of PostNet ever. We’ve got a really great engaged group of people that are really committed to helping our franchisees succeed.

Mike: Talk about, from your experience, the benefit of franchising your business and, from an entrepreneur’s perspective, buying into a franchise.

Brian: Certainly. You mentioned two things there. One is to become a franchisor. A lot of people who start their own businesses from the ground up and have a concept that they feel is scalable, but maybe don’t have the capital to scale it, or want to scale faster than their own capital would allow, franchising is a great vehicle for that. It is costly to start franchising. It’s difficult. There’s a lot of regulation around it. You have to have audited financials, a disclosure document, and a number of other things.

Also, the thing for anybody out there thinking about starting their own franchise, is that franchising is much different than your own business itself. So maybe you make the best pizza on the block and maybe you’ve been very successful as a pizza maker. That doesn’t mean you’ll be a good franchisor. So you have to realize that you’re getting into a whole other business when you decide to franchise. I’ve seen a lot of people with really great concepts, that are really great operators of a concept, they get into franchising, and they have no idea what they’re doing. So it’s important that you do your homework. We were lucky to have that transition period where we owned and operated a business, and then we consulted others on getting into the business, and then we got into franchising. So we had some natural transitions over a number of years that allowed us to grow our experience and our knowledge and doing the things that a franchise organization does, which are completely different from running and operating a center or a store.

So, on the franchising side, that’s what I would say. As far as the franchisee is concerned, it’s a great way to get into business if you’ve never been in your own business before. You’ve got somebody who has an experience base. They have a knowledge, they have systems, they have technologies. Franchisees that come into our system, for example, they don’t have to build their own website. They don’t have to worry about email infrastructure. They don’t have to worry about marketing collateral and programs. We have an advertising agency that does all the creative concepts for them. So, in essence, you’re not only getting the not re-inventing the wheel, you’re getting a wheel that’s been perfected and will be perfected as you move forward in the future.

It’s hard being in your own small business and to wear a lot of hats. You have to worry about research and development, customer acquisition and retention, running the business day to day. It’s just very difficult. So being a franchisee, you do pay for that, but the concept of the franchise is that ultimately all the value and benefits that you’ll receive in return are well worth the fees that you pay.

Mike: You mentioned some of the new services that you’re going to be offering in one of the previous questions. What’s on the horizon for you?

Brian: Well, I don’t know if you can sense it, but we’re very excited about these new services and products we’re piloting in our centers this year. It’s going to really take us from offering a complete suite of logistics services, shipping services, mailing services, direct mail for small businesses. The digital printing backbone that I mentioned, as well as the full service printing in the wide format, the large printing, the signage. But also, a whole suite of web based services. We can help businesses get into their own websites. I was actually surprised. I was at the International Franchise Association Conference this last weekend. Google had a representative speaking. I was shocked to hear from somebody from Google stated that businesses less than 50 employees, nearly half of the businesses don’t have a website, which is pretty shocking. That was pretty shocking. But I wasn’t shocked to hear that over 95% of those businesses, if they do have a website, are not optimized for mobile.

So there’s a lot of opportunity to help small businesses. I know any small business operator out there, you have to worry about social media. You have to worry about search engine optimization. You have to worry about all this stuff now and if you don’t have a good consultant, company, or partner that can help you, you’re in trouble. You’re going to be behind the curve. In essence, PostNet is bringing all these services to marketplace with a fellow entrepreneur in the neighborhood that can consult with small businesses, not just on the web services, but also on marketing services, and ultimately also with financial services. So these three suites of services that we’re developing will really, truly differentiate PostNet in the marketplace and will also make us America’s neighborhood business center, which is our mandate.

Denver, CO (February 23, 2012) – In an effort to make business ownership more attainable for U.S. veterans, PostNet, America’s first Neighborhood Business Center, is participating in a new fundraising initiative launched by Sprigster, the nation’s only donation-based crowdfunding platform focused exclusively on franchising. The “Boost a Hero” program features profiles of veterans, like PostNet’s Amanda Crow, seeking contributions from the “crowd” to help fund their business endeavors.

Crow, a 27-year-old Navy veteran, opened her first PostNet franchise in November 2011, and is looking to raise $90,000 in start-up capital towards the purchase of a second store in Virginia where she will continue to employ veterans and military spouses. Prior to launching her PostNet business, Crow served as the only female specials ops parachute rigger in the U.S. Navy for nine years. She and her husband first considered opening a ship and pack business after waiting in long lines at their naval base to send out Christmas cards. Amanda’s husband was killed in February 2010 while deployed at war, and she went on to realize the dream they shared.

“I’m honored to be a part of the “Boost a Hero” program and I’m humbled by the generous donations we’ve received thus far,” said Crow, who raised more than $2,000 towards her goal in less than a week. “Business ownership among veterans will contribute greatly to the revitalization of our economy, and Sprigster has developed a groundbreaking platform that allows the masses to support this important cause.”

Sprigster is currently working with franchisors like PostNet to qualify veterans for the “Boost a Hero” program. Sprigster also provides resources and coaching to assist the featured veterans in promoting their projects to friends, family, and the general population using social media tools.

“We are excited that PostNet is one of the first to join the ‘Boost a Hero’ program and embark on this effort to make franchise ownership possible for the brave men and women who’ve served honorably in our nation’s Armed Forces,” said Sprigster CEO Mark Mohler. “It’s an honor to offer a platform that will help someone as dedicated and deserving as Amanda Crow expand her business and achieve her business goals. We look forward to assisting even more veterans as they pursue franchise business ownership.”

Earlier this year, PostNet pledged its commitment to helping veterans by adding to the Veteran’s Job Bank – a hiring database led by First Lady Michelle Obama and supported by the International Franchise Association (IFA). Through the technology, PostNet adds a few specific tags to their existing job posting preferences that automatically import the postings into the national Veteran’s Job Bank. Furthermore, PostNet has committed to hiring 100 military veterans with a stretch goal of 150 by 2014, part of a national hiring plan called Operation Enduring Opportunity, which is being backed by the White House Joining Forces Initiative and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Helping veterans find employment and assistance with financing is a mission that is ingrained in our culture,” said Steve Greenbaum, CEO of PostNet. “Amanda is an incredibly inspiring woman who has been an invaluable addition to our franchise family. We’re committed to helping her and other veterans succeed in the entrepreneurial endeavors.”

Read more on Amanda's story:

• The Inspiring Story of a Widowed Veteran Turned Franchise Owner (Amex Open Forum)
• Amanda Needs a Loan (FranchiseKing.com)
• "Keep Amanda Going, Keep America Going" (FranchiseChatter.com)

About PostNet
Founded in 1993, Denver-based PostNet has more than 700 locations worldwide, including several hundred U.S. locations. Each locally owned and operated PostNet Neighborhood Business Center specializes in meeting the design, printing, copying and shipping needs of businesses and busy consumers, with a focus on exceptional, personal customer service. PostNet centers offer full-service digital printing; full- and self-service copying; document binding and finishing; and services like graphic design, computer rental stations, private mailbox rentals and more. They also offer expert packaging services and shipping with UPS, FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service. To learn more, visit www.postnet.com.

About Sprigster
Sprigster is the nation’s only crowdfunding platform focused exclusively on franchising. Sprigster’s initial franchise platform, “Boost a Hero”, was designed to facilitate access to capital for qualifying U.S. veterans. Sprigster was founded by serial entrepreneurs, Mark Mohler and Todd Jones, who have both spent the past 15 years focused on small business formation, with an emphasis on social entrepreneurship-based businesses. For more information about Sprigster, please visit www.sprigster.com. Also, please follow us on Twitter at @Sprigsterllc and check out our Facebook and Google+ pages. Media Contact: Monica Rutkowski, Fishman Public Relations; mrutkowski@fishmanpr.com or (847) 945-1300 ext. 235 ###

Read the original article at http://www.kansas.com/2011/10/06/2050570/five-questions-with-liz-anderson.html#storylink=misearch

BY JERRY SIEBENMARK The Wichita Eagle

When Liz Anderson was growing up in Florida, she told her parents she wanted a career where she would be paid to travel. And her first job was as a Pan Am flight attendant.

Today, Anderson and her husband, Jim — a former airline pilot, including for Pan Am — own a PostNet franchise at 2350 N. Greenwich in northeast Wichita.

By all accounts, the business has been and is successful. About a year after opening in 2008, the Andersons won the company's Great Start award for outstanding achievement in the first months of operation. And last month the store ranked 77th in the company's Top 100 for store performance.

But in the beginning, Anderson said she questioned the wisdom of opening a business as an economic downturn unfolded, nearby businesses closed and building projects under way were halted.

"We were so excited to take this plunge," she said, and then, "We were like, 'Oh my goodness.' "

Why did you pick a PostNet franchise as your business? "We've spent our lives moving and traveling, and (Jim's) career brought us to Wichita. And a couple of years later they wanted to move us again. At that point we had teenagers. Jim looked for a while ... at different opportunities. And we started looking at franchises. We loved the concept of the neighborhood business center, which is what PostNet is all about — opening a business that becomes a part of the community. And I really feel like we've achieved that here."

You said that you haven't seen a lot of foot traffic since opening more than three years ago. How have you managed to bring in customers? "We're known in the franchise as a destination PostNet. We go out, we are part of networking groups, we do a lot of business-to-business marketing and promotion. And most of our business is printing for small businesses. So we feel that we understand their struggles. We're really out there to help them grow business and in turn grow ours."

Did you enjoy working for Pan Am? "I loved every minute of being a Pan Am flight attendant. ... My parents are from Cuba so they came over (to immigrate to the U.S.) on a Pan Am flight. I was based in London the first two years... then I switched to New York. I was based in New York when I met Jim. "It was an awesome job. And I saw the world."

Did that first job teach you anything that stays with you today? "I do think that it prepared you. You had to think on your feet. You had to make do with what you had and you had to make people happy with what you had. A lot of times you had to soothe complaints you had nothing to do with. Our job was to make them relax. It was huge training."

Tell me about your job as training manager at the Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas. "I tell you I had fabulous jobs. We had 500 employees. I managed payroll ... and we were responsible for training carousel attendants, change attendants, floor supervisors. I helped to write training manuals. When Treasure Island opened, I helped to write their manuals."

Read the original article at http://www.hillcountrynews.com/news/business/article_159cdbfa-d970-11e0-89a9-001cc4c002e0.html

Christine Bolaños christine@hillcountrynews.com Hill Country News | 0 comments

CEDAR PARK -- After serving in the military for more than two decades, a local man went from helping develop local communities and small businesses in the Middle East to helping small businesses succeed right in Cedar Park. Michael Rodocker, along with wife Sabine and daughter Victoria, are running the show at the newly opened PostNet which will officially open Thursday. Part of the nation's first and only Neighborhood Business Center franchise, PostNet in Cedar Park offers design, print, copy and shipping services all under one roof, catering to small business owners, employees who work from home, and busy consumers in the area. The business offers a number of digital printing, document finishing and professional packaging services as well as freedom of choice for the customer as an authorized shipping outlet for FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service.

Michael said that if it wasn't for his experience as a military financial manager, he may never have realized his knack for the business world. He spent three of his 22 years as an officer in the military, in Iraq and Afghanistan, helping develop local communities and small businesses surrounding Baghdad and Kandahar. Michael was part of the Community Enhancement and Regeneration Programme which helped developing communities progress through initiatives such as building schools and roads.

The program helped boost production, create jobs and give people "a sense of normalcy," Michael explained. In addition, he realized how people there appreciated things such as electricity, sewage and roads that people in the United States often take for granted. Michael said he spent 15 months in Baghdad and 14 months in Kandahar as financial manager.

Upon his retirement from the military, Michael went to Texas State University where he earned his MBA. After receiving his degree, he was determined to help small businesses in the Austin area and opened up PostNet in Cedar Park.

Michael said he applied the same concept he used in the Middle East to PostNet - help people with their business and in addition, had the resources and knowledge of building relationships with others business as he had done with Bank of America and Federal Credit Union.

Starting a business is a risk in itself and keeping it going takes a lot of work and Michael feels PostNet helps ease the life of business people. While business owners can get some of the same services through competitors, PostNet is unique in that it offers the customer the flexibility to make decisions in the development of their business, he said.

Big name printing companies will complete a printing job as requested by a customer but PostNet takes it further by advising the customer on how a flier for instance, could attract more attention, or finding an original photograph so that a copy of the photograph doesn't show up in poor quality when it's printed out in a larger format. The best part is that PostNet staff finds the original photograph themselves so that the customer doesn't have to worry about finding it if they don't already have it.

If one were to lay PostNet prints right next to a competitor's prints, Michael said the quality is noticeably different.

"We're about being able to provide convenience, service and quality in printing, design and shipping services," he said. "We try to understand exactly how you're using print, that way we can suggest ways to improve it to better reach your market. We excel our competitors in how we work with our customers. We understand what [the customer] is trying to get to and it's our job to get him there."

Michael said their quality printer - a 2,400 dpi printer - ensures their quality beats the competition. In addition, pricing is very competitive, Michael said, and they match competitor pricing.

Another factor that sets PostNet apart from major competitors is the intimacy of the staff-customer relationship. As the face of the company, Sabine learns the names of all the customers and develops lasting relationships with them. Victoria, who began attending ACC this fall, helps her parents out when and how she can. Michael is in charge of marketing.

The PostNet franchise is very supportive among each other, said Michael. "We just rolled out our mobile website. We have marketing campaigns every other month." From offering business tips online, to creating logos for up and coming businesses to offering cash incentives to customers through contests, to doing annual fundraisers for local non-profits, PostNet does it all, he said.

In addition to being a member of the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce, PostNet is also actively involved in BNI, the world's largest business network. To learn more, find PostNet on Twitter, Facebook and visit postnet.com. PostNet is located at 2301 S. Lakeline Bvld., Ste. 800. The other Cedar Park location is at 2800 E. Whitestone Blvd., Ste 120.

Read the original article at http://verona.patch.com/articles/postnet-neighborhood-business-center-comes-to-verona By David Jay, Verona Patch Retired Executive Ed Harrington, formerly in charge of corporate global accounts for MCI, and son Scott Harrington, IT professional in technical project management for large networks, will open a PostNet center in the 7-11 plaza, at 281 Bloomfield Avenue in Verona.  The center is scheduled to open on August 1. PostNet of Verona provides design, copywriting, print, copy and shipping services all under one roof, catering to small business owners, employees who work from home, and busy consumers in the Essex County area. PostNet offers a number of digital printing, document finishing and professional packaging services as well freedom of choice for the customer as an authorized shipping outlet for FedEx, UPS, DHL, and the U.S. Postal Service. According to Ed Harrington, “I knew I couldn’t stay retired for long so over the years, Scott and I did a deep dive into researching franchises. After a detailed analysis, we decided on PostNet. We talked to a lot of owners and no one had any negatives to say about this organization.” Scott Harrington is a resident of Verona, while his father, Ed, who lived in West Caldwell for over 25 years, now lives in Jackson, NJ. “There are over 400 PostNet franchises in the U.S. and 300 more in other parts of the world,” Scott Harrington added. “One thing we were looking for when we made our decision was an organization that was using modern technology, usually reserved for larger corporations, that, with our experience, we could make available to small and medium sized businesses.” In addition to design, print, bind and ship services, Postnet will offer faxing, mailbox rentals, and computer stations. Ed Harrington continued, “We are the neighborhood business center, offering well rounded professional services and years of experience. We’re more than clerks." “If a small business needs to discuss I.T. or social networking, consulting was our background and will continue to be an adjunct to our other services,” explained Scott. “What we also have behind us are 400 specialists at the other locations who have their own expertise to share. If someone walks in with an off-the-wall project, we probably have the resources to do it.” “I came out of retirement for this.” Ed Harrington commented. “Working with my son and making something out of nothing together will be a rewarding feeling I have missed since retiring.” Scott concluded, “We both came out of the corporate world, we know the rules. We’re here to work and to help the nearby business and private community.” For more information on PostNet of Verona, go to www.postnet.com/nj128 or call 973-239-0525.  

Read the original article at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220014

By Jason Daley, Entrepreneur Magazine - August 2011

A retired sailor sheds her sea legs and finds solid ground--and financial freedom--as owner of a franchise.

At Christmastime in 2009, Amanda Crow and her husband, Jeremy, both active-duty members of the Naval Special Warfare Command, headed to the local post office in Ocean View, a suburb of Norfolk, Va., to mail their presents. The line was out the door and wrapped around the block.

"I looked at my husband and said, 'Let's just go to that PostNet in Virginia Beach,'" Crow says. They hopped in their truck and made the 30-minute drive to the national shipping, printing and copying franchise. "We mailed our stuff quickly, and I put my hands on my hips and I looked at the owner, Dennis, and said, 'How do you open one of these?'"

Crow was only half-serious at the time, but she was beginning to think about a post-military career, and opening a business was at the top of her list. She took a PostNet franchising brochure and put it in a drawer.

Two months later, while she was deployed to the relief effort in Haiti following the earthquake there, the 26-year-old was notified that her husband, a Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman, had been killed. It was a devastating blow, made even harder by the fact that Amanda was transferred to a desk job in Norfolk. After seven years of rigging parachutes for Navy SEALs and serving as a jumpmaster, answering phones was driving her crazy. When her enlistment was up, she left the service and used her savings and a loan from Navy Federal Bank to open her Ocean View PostNet location in October 2010. We spoke to Crow about how she made the switch from packing parachutes to posting Christmas presents.

Why did you start your own business?
I can't take orders from anybody else, really. Being a parachute rigger, I thought, "Man, what am I going to do after this?" I enjoyed the really fast pace of specialized warfare. We were constantly moving and our goal was to support SEAL teams. If they wanted to jump at midnight and then go diving afterward, we got boats and the parachutes ready and the aircraft lined up. Setting up and running a business keeps me really busy, too.

What's been the hardest part?
I was a jumpmaster. I'd throw people out of airplanes, so I was used to being in charge. And then, when I started the franchise, I was the person going through training and learning all the copiers and computers. There is so much involved in making copies. It's definitely more involved than you think, especially doing graphic design and fonts.

Any expansion plans?
I'd love to eventually open another PostNet in the area. I'd like to work with the Navy Exchanges on bases and maybe get a spot there, because we have a lot of services to offer. Some single sailors who live in the barracks don't have an address, so mail goes to their command. And then the mail gets lost or is very late. If they had a private mailbox at PostNet, they could get FedEx and UPS packages, and once a week we'd send out all their mail to them on the ship.

How does franchising compare to special warfare?
I think franchising in general, and in particular PostNet, has been awesome. It's really nice to go from the military, where you have rules and manuals to tell you how to do things, to a franchise, where you have that built in--especially coming from specialized warfare, where everything is written in blood. At least that's what we say, because someone got hurt or died if something wasn't done a certain way. It's great to have a little bit of structure, but still get to do your own thing.

Read the original article at http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/may/19/business-owners-seek-to-offer-personal-touch-with/

Story and photo by Edward Fennell, Charleston Post and Courier

For Sharon and R.C. Foster, coming to work every day is a family affair. The Fosters own the West Ashley franchise of PostNet, which provides multiple services including post office boxes; postal, UPS and Fed Ex services; video-to-DVD transfers; computer rentals; printing; greeting cards; and graphic design.

The West Ashley couple opened the franchise more than seven years ago at Ashley Crossing shopping center and have stayed busy even though the shopping center has lost a Walmart and many other stores. Things could get better soon, the Fosters note, with Kohl’s now remodeling the former Walmart space and planning to open this fall.

When the Fosters opened their PostNet outlet, the shopping center was bustling with activity. What’s kept them relevant in a downsized center is their family-friendly atmosphere and their quality service, the couple say.

“Walmart, Dollar Tree and PayLess shoes are all gone, but we managed to stay,” Sharon said. R.C. cited “word of mouth” advertising from PostNet’s clients. “Our customers are the best,” Sharon said.

She said they have many repeat customers, many of whom drop in for a good conversation as well as to do business. “They come in, and they stay. Our customers engage us and share their lives with us,” she said.

The Fosters said they enjoy being together, and they better because they work six days a week and an average of 70 hours each week. The couple’s two daughters and granddaughter, 5-week-old Raegan Collins, often are in the store.

“When grandmother works 70 hours a week, you have to come see her here,” Raegan’s mother, Miranda Collins, said.

Sharon and R.C. met while in high school in Lexington, Ky., and R.C. began a career with Colgate Palmolive Corp. after graduation. Colgate sent the couple to New Jersey, where R.C. worked as a traveling salesman for the corporation’s products. A final transfer brought the couple to the Lowcountry.

“I was transferred to James Island in 1998, and we fell in love with the area,” R.C. said. R.C. said he didn’t know, at first, that his future would be tied to PostNet when he began using the company’s services. “I used PostNet on James Island for a lot of my work,” he said.

He said he was impressed by the quality and variety of PostNet’s services. When Colgate downsized, the couple found themselves looking for other opportunities. PostNet stood out in their minds, the couple said. Sharon describes the outlet as “a solution center.”

R.C. adds it’s “a local hub” where customers know the Fosters will help them with any problem, “or I’ll find somebody to get it done.” The Fosters’ PostNet does all its work in-store, including making banners and printing and assembling booklets, R.C. said.

As the tight lending market continues to stifle small business growth, PostNet, the nation’s first and only Neighborhood Business Center with more than 700 franchise locations worldwide, is on a mission to inspire entrepreneurs across the country and award one deserving business owner a game-changing $10,000 cash grant and $5,000 towards design, print, copy, and shipping at their nearest PostNet location. In celebration of National Small Business Week, business owners looking to take their business to the next level are encouraged to enter PostNet’s Boost This Biz contest.  Any small business owner can visit PostNet’s Facebook page to share why they are deserving of the grand prize. The five entries with the most votes by June 8, 2011 will move on to the final judging round, where an impartial panel of fellow entrepreneurs will choose one grand prize winner. The remaining four finalists will each receive a $200 American Express gift card. “Every day, PostNet franchise owners work with talented and aspiring entrepreneurs across the country to help them grow their businesses,” said Steve Greenbaum, co-founder and CEO of PostNet. “The Boost This Biz campaign is a way for us to recognize all the hard-working business owners who make our economy tick and inspire those who have been disheartened by market conditions.” PostNet franchise owners and their staffs work closely with business owners to identify their objectives, build upon their ideas, and develop the best solution to meet their needs. This could include anything from designing and printing custom invitations or signage for an important company event, to helping create a brand image for a new or existing business looking to re-invent itself. PostNet also offers freedom of choice for the customer as an authorized shipping outlet for all of the major carriers, including FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. For more information about Boost This Biz, or to enter the contest, please visit www.facebook.com/PostNet.

Original article published on Lower Hudson Online, April 5, 2007. By Alison Bert, the Journal News.

Norman Simmonds was making six figures in the investment banking world. Now, as the owner of a new PostNet franchise in Pelham Manor, he expects it to take up to two years to recoup his investment and make the business profitable.

But for Simmonds, a 39-year-old father of three in Norwalk, Conn., the change is already starting to pay off.

“The goal was having more control over my time,” he said. “The investment-banking world often has 12-, 14-, 18-hour days.”

As a senior compliance officer for Citigroup Asset Management in Stamford, Conn., he would often work from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Now, he has a little more time for his family. Ultimately, he would like to top the $100,000-plus salary he earned in banking while hiring more staff to cut back his hours and gain flexibility.

More than 75 industries operate in the franchising format, according to the International Franchise Association, a trade group based in Washington, D.C. While many people view franchises as less risky than starting an independent business, it’s virtually impossible to quantify and compare the failure rates, said IFA spokesman Terry Hill. A typical franchise contract is for eight to 10 years, after which the owner may have the opportunity to renew the contract or cash in the equity and give the business back to the parent company. Therefore, turnover statistics include successful franchises as well as failures.

“We believe the success rate of a franchise is greater than an independent small business, but statistically we can’t prove it,” Hill said. “You just don’t close up and walk away from a franchise business; you’re not buying the business per se but you’re buying the license to operate that business for X period of time. …

“We caution prospective investors to spend a lot of time and whatever resources you need to investigate a franchise before you buy it,” he added. “It’s just like any other business; it’s subject to the whims, the changes, the trends in the marketplace. It has advantages that an independent small business does not, but it’s still not risk-free, and it takes a lot of time and effort and capital to get these things up and running.”

Simmonds, who grew up in Mount Vernon, used the investigative skills from his banking career of 16 years, when he would do background checks and research regulations. He decided a franchise made more sense than starting a business from scratch.

“You certainly could go out and do it on your own, but you find that you don’t want to reinvent the wheel (if) somebody’s got an excellent formula,” he said. “You also get that network of strength behind you so you can rely on other people if you have any other questions or need information and assistance. And in a start-up business, there’s always tons of questions to ask.”

He also gets advice from fellow members of the Pelham Chamber of Commerce, the African American Chamber of Commerce and the Omega Psi Phi fraternity he joined as a finance major at Iona College in New Rochelle.

Simmonds chose PostNet because of its size and reputation and because of a need he saw in the community. The chain has 900 franchises internationally and about 500 in the United States. Competitors include The UPS Store, PostalAnnex+, Parcel Plus and independent mail and parcel centers, PostNet said.

PostNet caters to business and consumers with digital copy and document services, computer services, domestic and international shipping, packing and office supplies and notary services.

“A lot of small businesses and a lot of people are working from home these days, and it can be difficult to have all the equipment in-house.” Simmonds said. “They just e-mail (a printing job) to us or upload it on our Web site, and by the time they come down, it’s already printed for them and ready to go. If they need to ship it off to their home office or headquarters, we can handle that part of it, too. So it’s kind of like one-stop shopping.”

Other advantages: shorter lines than the post office; shipping options that include DHL, UPS, Federal Express and same-day courier service; and the convenience of having shipments packed for you, he said.

The total investment to own a PostNet franchise ranges from $175,000 to $185,000, including a franchise fee of $29,900 and $40,000 for working capital, the company said. In addition, Simmonds said, franchisees pay royalties equal to 3 percent to 5 percent of sales, and an additional 2 percent for marketing support.

Simmonds, who opened his store on Dec. 13, said he’s been doing about 60 percent of the business he needs to do to break even. Ultimately he’d like to expand his staff of three, which includes Assistant Manager Thomas Aldea of White Plains and Evan Wolf, a Pelham Memorial High School senior who works part-time.

For now, Simmonds comes in Monday through Saturday to do everything from printing and bookkeeping to managing inventory, visiting other businesses to promote his services, and helping customers – his favorite part.

“You’re putting in more hours initially to get things up and running,” he said. “But you … have to look at the long-term picture and the value that it’s going to create.”