Business Plan

HAGERSTOWN -- Washington County Health System's senior management has recommended closing a child care and education center serving about 130 children. The Learning Center, near Hagerstown City Park, could shut down Aug. 20, according to a letter sent Monday to families that use the center. About 35 center employees would lose their jobs, said Mike Zampelli, the health system's vice president for Antietam Health Services. Zampelli said the closure would cut costs as the health system prepares its budget for fiscal year 2011, which starts July 1. Senior management recommended the cut to the health system's board of directors, which is scheduled to meet next week.

FORT LOUDON, PA. -- A love of history is driving Dawn Gogin to restore what is left of the Fort Loudon Inn after a fire 11 months ago. Gogin and her husband, Dick, have rehabilitated two motel rooms and three apartments since the blaze gutted their late 18th-century building. They want to start creating a bed and breakfast on the other side of the structure, where only exterior walls remain. While doing that, the couple hopes to maintain a historical feel and reincorporate their antiques.

Q. Most of what I read about SCORE has to do with small business startups. We are a small, five-employee company in business a little more than two years. Can SCORE help us weather this current recession? A. Absolutely. Call us at 301-739-2015 to register for a free counseling session with one of our small-business counselors. Help us understand the nature of the assistance you seek for the company. Our volunteer counselors are available to evaluate needs and provide guidance to assist with your specific business needs.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. -- The Franklin County Fire Training Center has seen a slow decline in local support, worrying officials that if the center cannot soon tap into steady funding, its coffers could be dry within the year. After a major financial outpouring to open the center, the only money trickling into the fire training center budget these days flows from fees to train at the facility, said Jim Picking, president of the center's board of directors. "Funding?" he said. "We don't have any. " The 5-acre fire training center, which is off U.S. 11 just south of Chambersburg, offers firefighters access to a burn building, classrooms and a storage garage to learn the skills of their job. With a monthly operating cost of $1,835, the nominal training fees cannot keep the lights on without help from the organization's savings, he said.

HAGERSTOWN -- A proposed landscaping business along Md. 34 about a half-mile west of Boonsboro was a topic of discussion during Monday night's Washington County Planning Commission meeting. Despite concerns that the land lies in the "gateway" to Antietam National Battlefield, planning commission members approved a site plan for Custom Landscaping. The site near Monroe Road has been partially developed, including establishment of a pet crematory, said Ed Schreiber of Frederick Seibert and Associates, a civil engineering firm in Hagerstown.

By BOB POOR Local SCORE education coordinator Q: My partner and I are planning a startup small business and we would really like to focus on a "niche market. " Are there guidelines on just how to do that? A: A market in its entirety is usually too broad in scope for any but the largest companies to tackle. The best strategy for a smaller business is to divide demand into manageable market niches. Here are some suggestions on developing niches from our friends at the Small Business Administration.

EXIT Preferred Realty CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - With offices in Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro, EXIT Preferred Realty is celebrating three years in business. Franchise owners Jeffrey George, Tim Smith, Tina Long and Michelle Cordell aim to help customers realize their dreams of homeownership by building relationships and maintaining a customer-focused strategy. EXIT Preferred Realty is licensed for real estate sales in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.

Orrstown Bank Ed Hose recently joined the staff of Orrstown Bank as a business banking officer. Hose will be responsible for meeting the commercial services needs of the bank's business customers at Orrstown's newest office at 1020 Professional Court in Hagerstown. Hose has more than 30 years of banking experience, having most recently worked at Sovereign Bank as an assistant vice president and branch manager. Hose, a graduate of Williamsport High School, has completed programs with the Maryland Banking School, Leadership Hagerstown and the National School for Bank Security.

Some small businesses are still scratching their heads over whether to allow customers to pay with credit, while other companies insist that credit sales bring more revenue. A retail merchant account might sound like a fancy business term, but it's simply an account set up by the merchant with a bank, credit card agency or processing company. This allows the business to accept and process credit card transactions. All kinds of businesses use merchant accounts, from retail stores to online sellers.

HAGERSTOWN -- Since she came on board in August, Abigail Elliott has been busy as the event and program specialist with the City of Hagerstown. And that's the way she likes it. "There were about 116 events in 2007 ... from grand openings to the Blues Fest," Elliott said. Elliott, 25, said she enjoyed a recent activity that involved helping to organize and then accompanying a busload of veterans to the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. - her first out-of-town event.