Since opening her store in July 2003, Singer has continued to use SCORE’s counseling. “I meet with my current SCORE counselor, John Edwards, on a monthly basis to discuss operational issues,” Singer states. “John has helped me become a better manager. "

 “My SCORE counselors have always given me helpful advice and have been very encouraging and supportive right from the beginning,” says Karen Choy Singer, Owner of The UPS Store in the Midtown Shopping Center in Palo Alto. “For instance, during the build out phase of my store, Charlie Askanas, the first Score counselor who I met at the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, gave me really practical advice on how to pre-market the store,” she adds.

Singer spent 18 years with high tech companies as a sales engineer, and in management and marketing before being laid off in November 2001. This was during the heart of the downturn when there weren’t many other opportunities available. Those that were required a lot of travel and Singer says, “Been there, done that. A travel job would’ve been a sure trip to the marriage counselor instead of a SCORE counselor!”

In 2002, as she contemplated what to do, Singer says she “stumbled across a website that discussed opportunities to become a franchisee”, and she decided to investigate franchising a little more. “I know what I enjoy doing, and which skills are my strong suits: customer relations and creative problem solving,” she explains. “I also know what kind of work would be a chore for me: food service and anything that doesn’t involve a lot of people contact. By process of elimination, I found myself exploring retail mail and ship services.”

Singer researched the industry extensively and found that Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) was by far the franchise leader. (MBE was acquired by UPS in 2004. The two companies introduced The UPS Store brand in 2003.)  “I visited just about every MBE center in the Bay Area,” Singer says. “The franchisees that I met were very generous with their time and gave me a lot of good advice.”

Initially, Singer intended to buy an existing store, but after a frustrating six months of negotiating, she decided to open a new store on her own. After signing a franchise agreement with MBE, she proceeded. “This business really is about location, location, location,” she explains. “I spent a long time looking for a place with a lot of foot traffic such as next to a supermarket or major drug store.” She finally found the ideal spot in the Midtown Shopping Center in Palo Alto. Unfortunately, however, the tenant in the location that she wanted had just extended his lease for the summer of 2003. “My husband suggested that I offer the tenant, whose business was struggling, a cash incentive to vacate early, and to my pleasant surprise, he accepted.”

Since opening her store in July 2003, Singer has continued to use SCORE’s counseling. “I meet with my current SCORE counselor, John Edwards, on a monthly basis to discuss operational issues,” Singer states. “John has helped me become a better manager. He’s impressed on me how important it is to train, develop and motivate my employees. He’s worked with me on setting objectives and advised me on how to deal with sensitive personnel issues. Because of his help, I believe I have one of the best teams of associates in The UPS Store system,” she adds.

Singer is very proud that her store achieved cash break-even the first full month in business. The business became profitable within the first six months of operation. “When the Store became profitable, I stopped asking my husband for an allowance,” she quips.  Singer’s Store has won the Bronze Award from MBE/UPS for the past three years for reaching gross revenues over $375,000 per year. Singer hopes to earn a Silver Award in 2007 for gross revenues over $425,000. “Best of all,” she proudly proclaims, “in December 2006, I paid off the remainder of the $250,000 loan I had taken out to open the Store.”

For the first couple of years, Singer worked over 70 hours per week at her Store. Now, because of the employee training and development that she has implemented with SCORE’s guidance, she averages about 40 hours per week. She’s even been able to take a couple of vacations with her husband. Singer’s goals for her Store are to increase revenues to over $500,000 per year while maintaining profitability levels. Her personal goal is to achieve these business results while reducing her own time commitment to around 30 hours per week. “I will continue to take advantage of the expertise and support from SCORE in order to achieve these goals. SCORE is a well-kept secret but I tell all my business associates about them because I really admire their selfless desire to help small business owners succeed,” Singer concludes.