Business Plan

A Tredyffrin Township mail-processing center that employs 733 will be closed and its operations consolidated in Philadelphia, but a second center in Horsham was spared in this nationwide round of cutbacks announced by the U.S. Postal Service, which faces billions of dollars in losses. One hundred forty postal facilities are slated for closure, according to a list released Thursday night by the Postal Service. An additional 89 are expected to be announced in the future. The 229 closings will eliminate 28,000 jobs and are expected to save the Postal Service $2.1 billion a year.

The realities are ugly, leaders said Tuesday - the Philadelphia School District is nearly insolvent, lags behind most other urban districts in academics, and loses students to charters because parents believe it does not keep their children safe. "What we do know through lots of history and evidence and practice is that the current structure doesn't work," School Reform Commission Chairman Pedro Ramos said. "It's not fiscally sustainable and it doesn't produce high-quality schools for all kids.

When many entrepreneurs set up shop, they do so with a good idea and a passion for their work but without a business plan or a blueprint for growth. For those who have gotten off the ground but now need direction, the Women's Business Development Center in Philadelphia is offering an 11-week business course this fall. The Fasttrac II program boasts graduates from throughout the suburbs, including Janis von Culin, founder of Von Culin Associates in Blue Bell. "In some ways, I act as an on-call vice president of human resources," she said.

Eighteen residents who live near 1001 Fayette St. attended a Conshohocken Zoning Hearing Board meeting to voice their opposition to a variance sought by Charles J. Stein and Steven W. Jackman. The two men, business partners, have an agreement of sale on a house that they want to convert into an office and design studio for their graphic arts business, Type Masters Inc. The house is in a residential zone. The company is currently in Ardmore, but the two want to relocate to Conshohocken because the borough is close to King of Prussia and Philadelphia.

Two months to the day before the contract with its Transport Workers Union employees expires, SEPTA yesterday unveiled a five-year business plan it admits can't succeed without radical TWU work-rule concessions in any pact negotiated with the union. "We want to change the way we do business, change the work rules. Work rules now are economic issues," SEPTA general manager John K. Leary Jr. said. Thirty minutes after Leary made his remarks at the SEPTA board room, TWU Local 234 president Steve Brookens told the same group of reporters during a Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel press conference there's no way this will happen.

So you want to start a business? Among other things - like an idea, money and a whole lot of moxie - you should have a business plan. The plan is a formal document that fleshes out the details of a business idea. Lenders often require one before making a loan. And prospective employees might be enticed into a new venture by what they read in the plan. "You can start a business without a business plan, and a lot of people do so successfully, but the business plan is a great tool to be sure you dot all the i's and cross all the t's," said Elizabeth McCrea, who teaches courses on new ventures in the graduate school at Pennsylvania State University's Great Valley campus.

If there is never an economic renaissance here, it won't be for a lack of official involvement. The latest discussion of revitalization in the borough drew federal, state and local officials, as well as merchants, developers, planners and civic association representatives, all saying the same thing: Jenkintown needs a concrete plan that can be put into action. "Everybody was on the same page," said U.S. Rep. Jon D. Fox (R., Pa.), who headlined the political lineup at the session, also attended by State Rep. Lawrence H. Curry (D., Montgomery)

In a city rife with government agencies that specialize in patronage, waste, and inefficiency, the Philadelphia Parking Authority has long stood out among the crowd. It would be hard to find anyone among its 1,000 employees who wasn't hired because of his political connections rather than professional qualifications. With a workforce and organizational chart built mainly on political agendas, it's easy to see why the day-to-day mission is obscured. So it comes as no surprise that a recent audit by City Controller Alan Butkovitz's office found that the Parking Authority is top-heavy with managers, lacks cost controls, operates without a long-range business plan, and has apparently evaded state law on bidding out large contracts.

A high school sophomore who wants to help youth, a young man seeking to promote braid stylists, and a would-be force in fashion each have been named Youth Entrepreneur of the Year by a national group. The area teenagers, Damaris Y. Walker, Michael Green, and Erica Lynn Quigley, will be honored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel on Tuesday. In addition to an awards dinner, they will be treated to two nights at the hotel, and receive plaques and $1,500 each in award money.

The president of J&J Snack Foods Corp., the Pennsauken maker of soft pretzels and other snacks, yesterday predicted a strong 1993 despite a 36 percent drop in earnings for the first quarter, ended Dec. 26. "We're looking for each successive quarter from this point on to be better than last year's," said Gerald B. Shreiber, speaking to several dozen shareholders at the annual stockholders' meeting in Cherry Hill. He said the drop in first-quarter earnings "was in accord with our business plan.

TRENTON — The Assembly on Thursday approved a bill that would increase the state's minimum hourly wage to $8.50 on July 1. If passed by the Senate, the measure would go to Gov. Christie, who has not said whether he would sign it. The 46-33 vote came down largely along party lines, with only one Democrat, Assemblyman Matthew Milam (Cumberland), voting against it. Democrats control both chambers in Trenton. Republican lawmakers argued that the state's economy is too fragile to handle a rise in business labor costs.

A Tredyffrin Township mail-processing center that employs 733 will be closed and its operations consolidated in Philadelphia, but a second center in Horsham was spared in this nationwide round of cutbacks announced by the U.S. Postal Service, which faces billions of dollars in losses. One hundred forty postal facilities are slated for closure, according to a list released Thursday night by the Postal Service. An additional 89 are expected to be announced in the future. The 229 closings will eliminate 28,000 jobs and are expected to save the Postal Service $2.1 billion a year.

A coalition led by parent groups and Philadelphia school employee unions Wednesday blasted the district's proposal to make drastic cuts and structural changes to balance its budget, saying they were shortsighted financial decisions that would ultimately hurt students. "Nowhere does it speak about improving the education of youngsters," said Delores Solomon, president of the Philadelphia Home and School Council. "It's a business plan. " The Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, pastor of Mother Bethel A.M.E.

The realities are ugly, leaders said Tuesday - the Philadelphia School District is nearly insolvent, lags behind most other urban districts in academics, and loses students to charters because parents believe it does not keep their children safe. "What we do know through lots of history and evidence and practice is that the current structure doesn't work," School Reform Commission Chairman Pedro Ramos said. "It's not fiscally sustainable and it doesn't produce high-quality schools for all kids.

3-month and 6-month bills , Feb. 27; 1-year bills , Mar. 6; 2-year notes , Mar. 27; 3-year notes , Mar. 12; 10-year notes , Mar. 13; 30-year bonds , Mar. 14; 5-year TIPS , April 19; 10-year TIPS , Mar. 22; 30-year TIPS , Jun. 21. Business Referral Luncheon presented by BNI, King of Prussia chapter. Peppers Italian Restaurant, 236 Town Center Rd., King of Prussia; 610-792-2105. Reservations required. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Networking Meeting presented by BNI, Fort Washington chapter.

The founder of I'm Shmacked, the enterprise that posted a controversial video online of Lower Merion teens partying, says he wants to "hash it out" on live TV with school district officials who objected to the post. Arya Toufanian, 19, of Potomac, Md., defended his business Thursday, saying he "was not at all upset about Lower Merion complaining. " School spokesman Doug Young declined to be drawn into any debate with Toufanian. "Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our students," Young said, "and that's the bottom line.

The founder of I'm Shmacked, the firm that posted video of local teens drinking and partying online, says he wants to "hash it out" on live TV with Lower Merion School District officials who objected to the post. Arya Toufanian, 19, of Potomac, Md., defended his business today, saying he "was not at all upset about Lower Merion complaining. " Asked to comment on the situation, Lower Merion schools spokesman Doug Young declined to be drawn into a debate with Toufanian. "Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our students, and that's the bottom line," Young said.

Palma "Rosie" Sorbello was an Italian-immigrant "farm wife" 51 years ago when she opened a summer produce market on busy Route 322 bordering her family's 60-acre spread in Mullica Hill. For staff, she relied on her peach-farmer husband, Michael, seven children, siblings, and in-laws. After Sorbello died of breast cancer in 1992, Michael added running Rosie's Farm Market - by then a popular Gloucester County stop among Shore-bound tourists - to his long list of chores. His death at 78 a little more than a year ago dropped those duties into the laps of the couple's children - especially daughter Lisa Westermann, 50, who took over as manager of the farm, which grows fruit and vegetables on several hundred acres in the county.

  With a bit of life in the economy, this could be the time to start that business you've been considering. There's more to it than meets the eye, so check out these sites for practical advice. Take it to SXSW. Entrepreneur.com serves a buffet of tips for anyone thinking about starting a business, including how to make a splash with your interactive business at the sprawling South by Southwest (otherwise known as SXSW), an annual cultural event set for March in Austin, Texas.

From afar, Burlington Island appears uninviting. There is no easy access to the uninhabited Delaware River island. A bridge connecting it to nearby Burlington City was planned but never built. There are no docks. But for 400 years, the island has been a tantalizing prize, according to historians. It was seized during a conflict between the English and the Dutch in the 1600s, settled by people of several nations, battled over in courts, and targeted for a number of failed ambitious projects.