National Reconnaissance Office's move to Wright-Patt a chance for jobs - Dayton Daily News

By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 3:46 PM Saturday, January 21, 2012

The National Reconnaissance Office’s decision to establish a permanent presence on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base offers a potential new opportunity for companies hoping to start or expand business serving the base.

The 51-year-old reconnaissance agency, based in Chantilly, Va., is responsible for designing, building, launching, maintaining and operating the nation’s spy satellites to inform U.S. officials about the military and offensive capabilities of adversary countries.

The permanent, on-site association with Wright-Patterson, a hub of Air Force acquisition, design, testing and research, is a natural marriage for the reconnaissance agency and the Air Force, officials said. The agencies have long been partners in designing satellites, and the Air Force launches them and provides for their defense in orbit.

“The bottom line is this really enables a highly efficient acquisition process,” said Joe Zeis, a retired Air Force officer who is chief strategist for the Dayton Development Coalition, a supporter of Wright-Patterson and its programs. “That offers a lot of buying power and intellectual power to the U.S. government in having those operations here.”

Since September, Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher Boring has been assigned to Wright-Patterson as the National Reconnaissance Office’s field representative in the agency’s first-ever permanent representation on the base. He is housed in the Air Force Materiel Command’s headquarters.

His primary focus is on communicating with Wright-Patterson agencies about their needs and those of the reconnaissance office.

Included in those talks are training, education and design matters and monitoring performance of reconnaissance systems, Boring wrote in email to the Dayton Daily News.

The intent is to ensure that the reconnaissance agency’s products keep pace with the needs of users, Boring wrote.

Though the agency’s satellites keep watch on other countries around the clock, the agency itself doesn’t evaluate the gathered data, Keith Hall, a former NRO director, said during a Dayton appearance last week. Evaluating and interpreting the data falls to organizations including the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson.

Having access to Boring gives Dayton region companies a direct opportunity to ask how they might serve the reconnaissance agency, said Scott Coale, a retired Air Force officer from Wright-Patterson who is president of DaytonDefense, the regional association of defense contracting companies. Boring’s presence also should improve collaboration between the Air Force and the reconnaissance agency, Coale said.

Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson, suggested having an NRO field office at the base. Bruce Carlson, a retired Air Force general and former AFMC commander who now heads the reconnaissance agency, made it happen.

The National Reconnaissance Office doesn’t disclose its annual budget. But, the government as a whole has said it spent $80.1 billion on intelligence gathering during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2010. That amounted to 12 percent of the nation’s $664 billion defense budget.

Contacting the reconnaissance agency

The Acquisition Research Center in Chantilly, Va., is the portal for business opportunities for acquisition across the intelligence community, including the National Reconnaissance Office. Its website is https://arc.westfields.net.

Lt. Col. Christopher Boring, the NRO’s representative at Wright-Patterson, can be reached at (937) 656-7611 or at christopher.boring@wpafb.af.mil.

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Taking chance on franchise opportunities - Chicago Sun-Times

By David Sharos For The Sun January 10, 2012 12:40PM

Marcelo Alvarez owns The Entrepreneur’s Source, which helps would-be entrepreneurs identify interests as well as explore possible franchise opportunities. | Submitted

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Updated: January 10, 2012 3:11PM

The history of American business was founded on the backs of entrepreneurs. Today’s economy is influencing some to consider whether working for themselves might be better than leaving their future in the hands of someone else.

That’s the thought process of Phil Trabaris, 54, a Naperville resident who plans to open a new Sports Clips franchise in nearby Wheaton by mid-January. Trabaris worked with Marcelo Alvarez, a franchise coach who runs The Entrepreneur’s Source — also a franchise. Alvarez’s business helps would-be entrepreneurs identify interests as well as explore possible franchise opportunities.

“We try to give people ideas about things they could do that they haven’t thought of as well as provide assessments of their interests — you could sort of look at us as a ‘matchmaker,’” Alvarez said. “We’ve placed people in a wide range of businesses from document shredding to teaching kids to draw.”

Trabaris works as a contract worker and project manager for BP setting up IT systems. But the work isn’t as steady as he would like, and Trabaris and his wife, Julie, “are looking for something more long term for their future.”

“I want something to do as well as have a source of income once I retire, and I feel the ‘Sports Clips’ franchise is a good, wholesome model,” he said. “I mean, it’s all about guys going in and watching sports and getting their hair cut. It’s not a technology-driven sort of thing, and the basic process has remained the same for hundreds of years.”

Trabaris said he hopes to eventually open three franchises, including one in Naperville, although the market here is fairly saturated, he said.

Alvarez, whose franchise is in Downers Grove, opened his business in 2006. During the past five years, he said, he has worked with “25 to 30 individuals living in Naperville.”

“Not all of them have gone on to open franchises, but my territory has mainly been in the Naperville market,” he said. “People want to use our service either because they have lost work or they aren’t as happy as they’d like to be in their current job.”

Another local entrepreneur is Scott Brady, 48, who operates a Naperville franchise of CertaPro Painters, which he bought in 2010. A former CFO and finance consultant, Brady said FranChoice in Naperville helped him find the franchise opportunity. It’s a service similar to the one Alvarez runs. Brady said he underwent some “psychological testing” to determine his interests and was allowed to shadow certain individuals already involved with franchise businesses to see if he liked them.

“I would never have known about painting as I’m a businessman, but I’ve actually employed as many as 12 to 15 crews and had 60 painters working for me in the busy season,” he said. “I still do some financial consulting and tax work, but I wanted to build something as a retirement vehicle and be my own boss.”

Another Naperville resident who has established himself in a start-up business is Atul Akhand, 46, who said Alvarez and The Entrepreneur’s Source were critical in launching Captivating Signs, at 670 W. 5th Ave. in Naperville. Akhand said he voluntarily left an IT management and consulting business, and started working in signs “to control his future.”

“I was provided with a number of possible work opportunities from The Entrepreneur’s Source as well as given background on the potential of various businesses and whether owners had to be passive or active,” Akhand said. “I wanted a business that had no geographic restrictions, and my sign business does not. I received some training and materials and access to suppliers. From this point on, the business and its success is mine.”

Akhand admits he launched his business “during the beginning and height of the current depression” but said “providing good customer service and quality products” always makes for a successful business.

“I’ve been doing this now for three years and my clients are very satisfied,” he said.

For those who are considering taking the entrepreneurial leap, Brady offers a few bits of advice.

“When you start, you want to tread slowly and learn as much about the job or business as you can,” he said. “If you should hire sales people, you need to know the business and the product well. And if you do buy into a franchise, don’t try and change things and reinvent the wheel. There’s a reason why that franchise is there, and it’s because the model works. You need to follow it.”

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