![](media/image1.png){width="1.979861111111111in"
height="1.0083333333333333in"} ***News Release***

New York District Office

Release Date: April 10, 2007 Contact: John J. Miller (212) 264-7770

Release Number: 07-15 e-mail: john.miller@sba.gov

***Timing is Everything in Life and Small Business***

**Staten Island, NY**--- The serendipitous timing in Edmund Singer's
life that allowed him to cheat death three times may also be the reason
that he is now a successful small business owner.

Singer's first potential mishap occurred in 1962 when he was serving as
an active-duty naval reservist on an ocean fuel tanker. The aircraft
carrier his ship was refueling accidentally collided with the tanker and
in the ensuing chaos left an officer suspended high above deck in a
boatswain's chair while taut steel lines between vessels were being cut
with hatchets and whipsawing about with life-threatening consequences.
In an effort to save the officer's life one seaman tried unsuccessfully
to pull the chair down to safety, which led to another sailor grabbing
onto that sailor, Singer grabbing onto those two sailors and finally a
fourth seaman grabbing onto the group before they pulled the chair down
to safety and out of the way of the potentially decapitating cables. The
second near-miss occurred when on a business trip in Walnut Creek, CA,
Singer took the advice of his Smith Barney branch manager to beat
rush-hour traffic and drive over to Palo Alto, as opposed to first
having lunch in town. While entering a restaurant for a late lunch in
Palo Alto, the ground under his feet began to shake. He learned soon
thereafter that the Bay Bridge roadway he drove over earlier collapsed;
it was the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. The third brush with tragedy
occurred when he was able to make it down from his office on the 39^th^
floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center immediately before
the South Tower collapsed on 9/11. He escaped the falling debris but was
enveloped just one block away by that now infamous dust cloud.

It may have been fortunate timing again when Singer was the first to
apply for and receive the first UPS Store franchise on Staten Island.
Sound management and hard work have enabled Singer to operate a
successful printing, binding and shipping business with one full-time
and three part-time employees. According to Singer the early going was
tough, but he was able to turn a steady profit after the first two
years. Out of the six original Staten Island UPS franchises awarded,
only three remain. And last year UPS presented Singer with its
top-performer award in the region which included Staten Island, The
Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. "One thing that's distinguished me from my
competition is that I'm not an absentee owner," said Singer. "You don't
want to go into

Page 1 of 2

business, planning on being an absentee owner."

Prior to starting his business in 2004 Singer had a 36-year career,
primarily as a compliance officer or COO with several Wall Street firms.
With the dearth of those jobs after 9/11, he decided that it was as good
a time as any to retire and enjoy spending time with his grandkids. But
his good-natured wife, Rochelle, decided that he was having too much fun
while she was still working and insisted that he go back to work too.

At the recommendation of one of his daughters-in-law, he looked into a
UPS franchise. At the same time he remembered some literature from the
U.S. Small Business Administration he had picked up at one of the city
job fairs that followed 9/11. The literature explained the free business
counseling available from the SBA-funded College of Staten Island Small
Business Development Center and a program know as VetFran, or Veteran
Transition Franchise Program. Under VetFran--- a joint effort of the
International Franchise Association, the Department of Veteran's Affairs
and the SBA--- armed forces veterans receive discounts on franchise fees
from participating franchisors. Singer proceeded to put together a
business plan and loan application with the help of John Bloom, a
counselor at the SBDC. He subsequently landed two SBA-guaranteed loans
for a total of \$150,000 from Commerce Bank and a 25 percent discount on
the franchise fee thanks to VetFran.

Singer knows he has been fortunate in life and in business so he makes
it a point to help others. His store provided half-prices on boxes, free
taping and labor to the non-profit Where To Turn organization which
gathered and shipped disaster relief supplies to Hurricane Katrina
victims. And he regularly provides gratis or deeply discounted design,
binding and printing services to local schools.

Entrepreneurial novices could take some advice from a man with good
timing. "Do your homework, including assessing your market and the
competition and be sure you are well-funded in the beginning," said
Singer. "And if you have a good idea it will all work out."

\###

*All of the SBA's programs and services are provided to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis. For more information about the SBA please
visit [www.sba.gov/ny/ny](http://www.sba.gov/ny/ny).*