Valley Briefs Hahn Commissioners Resign Four prominent city leaders have tendered their resignations: city commissioners Lisa Specht, Doug Ring, Dennis O’ Sullivan, and Victor Sampson. The former commissioners said they plan to throw their support behind the mayoral race of former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg. Specht was a recreation and parks commissioner; Ring served on the community redevelopment commission; Sampson chaired the universal access to preschool advisory board of the Los Angeles First 5 commission; and O’Sullivan served on the Los Angeles homeless service authority. Specht maintained in a statement that Mayor James Hahn had not supplied adequate leadership or a cogent vision and claimed that Hertzberg offered a new vision better equipped to bring communities and neighborhoods together. Diodes Gets Accolades Diodes Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of semiconductors, announced that it has been included in Business 2.0 Magazine’s “B2 100” ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies for 2004. The B2 100 list is featured in the June 2004 issue of the magazine. This is the magazine’s third annual listing and Westlake Village-based Diodes has been included in every listing. More than half of the companies included in this year’s ranking were new to the list. To make the B2 100, which was selected from a group of 2,000 publicly-traded tech firms, companies cleared a series of demanding financial hurdles. Criteria for making the final list included at least three years of trading on a major U.S. stock exchange, a minimum of $50 million in annual revenue, and positive cash flow during the most recently reported 12 months. Cherokee’s Target Sales Slow Van Nuys-based Cherokee Inc. a global licensor and brand management company, reported net earnings increased to $5.5 million or $0.64 per share on revenues of $12.2 million in the first quarter ended May 1, 2004. That compares with earnings of $5.3 million or $0.63 per share and revenues of $12.0 million in the comparable period a year ago. Selling, general, and administrative expenses for three months ended May 1, 2004 were $3.0 million, up slightly from $2.9 million in the comparable In a statement, Howard Siegel, president of Cherokee, noted that revenues from the company’s long time client, Target declined in the quarter while international revenues increased. “Our overall revenues from Cherokee branded products worldwide grew by over 4.6% during our first quarter as compared to last year,” Siegel said. “On a mature base, our Cherokee brand revenues from Target were down approximately 6.5% from the first quarter of last year, while our international revenues grew in excess of 50%, which does not yet include any revenues from our new licensee in Mexico, Grupo Aviara. IHOP Corp. Adds Franchises Glendale-based IHOP Corp. announced that it has signed development agreements with four of its existing franchisees to develop a total of 28 new IHOP restaurants over the next 10 years. These agreements provide for the development of new IHOP restaurants in Indiana, Georgia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Since announcing the decision to shift to franchisee-financed development in early 2003, IHOP has signed agreements for the development of a total of 233 new IHOP restaurants. Sport Chalet Gets New Board Member La Canada Flintridge-based Sport Chalet appointed Donald Howard to serve on the company’s board of directors. He will also serve on the compensation committee. The 58-year-old Howard is currently partner and senior vice president of development with Marketplace Properties, a full service shopping center development company that has completed projects throughout Southern California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. He had previously served as senior vice president of development with Donahue Schriber, a privately held real estate investment trust. Valley Bar Holds Reception The San Fernando Valley Bar Association held its 24th Annual Stanley Lintz Award and Volunteer Recognition Reception on June 8 at the Woodland Hills Country Club. Betty Fisher, executive director of Haven Hills, Inc. was presented with the Stanley M. Lintz Award, which recognizes community service. Pegi Matsuda, publisher of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal was the recipient of the media award. Additionally, special recognition was given to Russell Bankes (in memoriam), Sandra Davisson, Michael Hernandez, Harcourt Hervey III, Martha Stulman, Russell Thaw, and Irma Zahid for their contributions to the association’s legal services program.

Small Businesses: Having the Freedom to Make It Big FROM THE NEWSROOM By Jason Schaff For some murky reason, I have a copy of “Small Business for Dummies” on a bookshelf at home. I have no intention of starting a business , I guess I got the book somewhere in my travels as a business reporter and editor. I opened it up the other night as I was preparing for this column which is part of our special report on small business. Obviously, it’s a simple book. But its simplicity makes it easy to see how difficult it is to start and maintain a small business and how it takes a special person to do it. From a fairly swift look at the book, I gleaned a few things. Some of the benefits of owning a small business are: -Self sufficiency. -Flexibility. You can set your own hours as needed. -Establishing your own culture at a business. -An opportunity to become successful and make a lot of money. Some of the drawbacks: -Responsibility. You not only have the duties of owning your own business, you are responsible for your employees’ livelihoods and their families. -Change. It’s important to keep up with changes in any given industry , and if you don’t as a small businessperson, you’ll be left in the dust. -The possibility of failure. And you don’t get a golden parachute like you get in the corporate world. That’s about as simple as you can make the pros and cons of owning a small business. But small business is not simple. Nor is it a small task. It’s a huge undertaking , and I admire anyone who attempts to run such a company. I couldn’t do it. It’s too comfortable to only put your talents on the line as I do here as Business Journal editor. I don’t ever have a financial investment in our company. I only have to do my particular job. I don’t worry about advertising, marketing or circulation of our paper. I often wonder what it would be like to start my own small business. You know, I guess I’d know where to start but I would be too scared to do anything about it. Not only are all your talents on the line, a lot of your money is too. You’ve got to be very sure that your judgment is correct and be sure that your “vision” for the business is vital and will make the company work. Another thing that scares me is actually my fortitude. Will I have the strength to tirelessly make the business work despite many, many setbacks? Will I know the right people to associate myself with to help me out and the right resources out in the community to seek to help me make my business work? There are lots of resources available, but you gotta know you need help in order to seek it. Will I know enough to hire the right people to run my business if I don’t know how to do it myself? So many times, a small business owner doesn’t focus on the overall strategy of the business and simply continues to do a particular task at the company while letting overall management falter. You need good management. Isn’t it just easier to work for someone else than trying to start your own business? Just go in, punch the time clock, do your job, go home , and let the owner of the business make the really good money. Why not make the money yourself? Why not obtain the great satisfaction of building your own company and be in control of your own destiny? These are some of the questions that when answered make it obvious that being a small business owner is perhaps the most important goal of many Americans , after owning their own home. There’s a freedom in owning a small business that can’t be matched, Valley small business owners tell me. You don’t ever watch the clock. And what you make is yours, not some absentee owner’s. I admire all the small business owners and executives that we are profiling in this issue. They all have done something special. Here’s just a few. Take Dandy Don Whittemore of Dandy Don’s Homemade Ice Cream (Best Community Partner). This guy left the glamorous entertainment world to make ice cream , and while doing that he helps the community. Don and his firm give to lots of good causes. He probably could make a lot more money by not doing that. But he does. The main thing to remember is that his business works well enough to be able to do the charitable giving. Congratulations to Don and his team. Take Marx Acosta-Rubio, the owner of One Stop Shop, seller of toner and other computer peripherals. This guy has a vision and energy that is unbelievable. (He ran to the podium to receive his Business Journal award the other night). But it’s not all show with this guy. He has grown his company at an incredible pace and claims it will grow even faster than it has in the past. I visited his offices one day and got a first-hand view of what is going on there. He envelops his staff members with his vision of selling his product. Yes, it’s high energy, but it doesn’t appear that it is all flash. His top producers sell a lot of his product and his clients like how he runs his business. He has gone from a guy who has an idea to a guy who makes his business work really well. Take Marcelo “Mike” Quiroga. He’s invested in his employees. These are the people who make his business work. And he knows it. His Mike’s Roofing Service roofs houses. Not an incredibly complicated task. But he has paid for community college classes for his employees to make them better communicators. Any business needs workers who know the score ,how to communicate with not only their bosses, but their customers. How many times do you buy a service where the people executing that service don’t exactly meet your expectations for customer service , simply because they can’t relate to you properly. Each of the 75 business nominated for our small business awards have something special. They wouldn’t get this far if they didn’t. Each of them have done enough for their clients or achieved enough notoriety in the community for people to want us to take notice of them. And we have. Congratulations for a job well done. VICA Awards The Valley Industry and Commerce Association held its big annual gala on June 17 and handed out its Excellence in Business Advocacy Awards. The winners: -Achievement Award for VICA Volunteer: Fred Gaines -Achievement Award for Not for Profit Organization: ONEGeneration -Achievement Award for Small Business: Win-Win Workplace Solutions. -Achievement Award for Large Business: Precision Dynamics Corp. -Achievement Award for Outstanding New VICA Company: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].

Business Tax Panel Sets Agenda for Pushing Reform By SLAV KANDYBA Staff Reporter The Business Tax Advisory Committee, the group of business leaders that was assembled to develop a plan for business tax reform in the City of Los Angeles, was expected to stay together past its disbandment date as reform efforts head toward possible completion in the fall. With Mayor James Hahn and several council members speaking recently in favor of separate business tax reform measures, it will be up to the committee’s job to advocate business interests. BTAC was created five years ago by a motion of the City Council, and was supposed to be disbanded at the end of June. But at presstime its “sunset,” as committee members call it, was expected to be extended soon by a vote of the council. The committee’s role will be redefined, however. Its existence will be largely to act as a watchdog, and “shepherd” the business tax reform process to conclusion, said Mel Kohn, a partner in the Encino-based Kirsch, Kohn and Bridge CPA firm and president of BTAC. Having submitted several recommendations to the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Business Tax Reform, which consists of Councilmembers Tony Cardenas, Wendy Greuel and Greig Smith, the committee has done what the council asked it to do five years ago. But that wasn’t enough, committee members felt. “Just because you have a five-year term doesn’t mean you leave the job at just a recommendation,” said Mel Kohn, “If we don’t follow through, we’re concerned (whether) anyone is going to watch it.” Kohn added that because there is $11 million set aside in a trust fund, business tax reform could actually begin in 2005, based upon what city officials do. “That’s why we believe BTAC should (be involved) on the continuing basis,” Kohn said. Jack Walker, BTAC vice president, echoed Kohn: “Our job will essentially be one of lobbying (and) to represent the business side in pushing this thing through,” he said. Walker added that BTAC would spend most of its summer meetings doing “number crunching” and “writing ordinance language,” to submit to the ad hoc committee. According to the agenda for BTAC’s next meeting, scheduled for June 24 at L.A. City Hall from 2 to 5 p.m., committee members will hear a summary of their efforts over the past five years and an update from the city council about the extension. A representative of the ad hoc committee on business tax reform is scheduled to update BTAC about its plans on what recommendations to make to the council’s budget committee. After that committee, tax reform would be voted on by the entire City Council, and then submitted to the mayor for approval. Recommendations to council BTAC will also vote on several important motions, Kohn said. One of them would recommend that various BTAC proposals to the ad hoc committee, including the phase-out of business tax and elimination of taxes on creative talent, are treated “as a package rather than piecemeal” when they are presented to the City Council. “We want them to look at the totality of the tax reform package,” Kohn said. “The package itself is important.” Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, who drew the ire of BTAC for proposing to use funds from the trust fund to balance his budget, has expressed his support for business tax reform recently. At a press conference at From the Ground Up, a North Hollywood shop, Hahn proposed that businesses with less than $100,000 in annual gross receipts not be charged taxes. Fifty six percent of businesses in L.A. would fall under this category, and the city would take in $5 million less in taxes as result, Hahn said. “We think this is something we can absorb,” Hahn said. “It’ll cost $5 million. We think it’s a reasonable amount of money, (which) will help businesses grow and get into taxable level. “Our goal is to have businesses grow,” he said. “We want to add jobs here.” Addressing BTAC’s Kohn, who stood by his side during the press conference, Hahn said “We do want to indicate we’re extending your sentence We ain’t done yet!” Kohn appreciated Hahn’s announcement, and said “this is a clear message from the mayor that L.A. is business friendly.” He underscored that it would be “a very significant step for the entertainment industry,” as it would “help to bring small production shops (to L.A.) from Glendale and Burbank.” The Valley Industry and Commerce Association took less than a week after Hahn’s announcement to put even more pressure on city officials to implement tax reform. VICA backs deadline On June 15, VICA issued a strongly worded statement calling for implementation of reform by Oct. 31. Stating that “after seven years of discussion, studies, community forms and press conferences, there’s nothing more to research,” the organization called for a business tax package to be passed. The date was chosen to ensure necessary changes were made to the tax systems by Jan. 1, 2005. VICA’s top executive also sent a message that VICA had support behind its call for a deadline. “To better communicate our desire to bring this long-standing discussion to a vote and successful conclusion by the Oct. 31 deadline, VICA is assembling a coalition of business organizations, labor unions and other interested individuals and organizations to champion this effort,” said Martin M. Cooper, VICA chairman. BTAC’s Kohn was pleased at VICA’s statement, saying it added to the momentum for business tax reform implementation. “I personally feel there is a climate to get something done now,” Kohn said.

Top-Notch Service Brings Hotel High-Level Reputation Small Business Customer Service Leader – Westlake Village Inn By JEFF WEISS Contributing Reporter Few local hotels can match the Westlake Village Inn’s lush botanical gardens sprawled out on 17 acres of land. Nor can they top the Inn’s 141 guest rooms and full-service suites complete with fireplaces and Jacuzzis, 12,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, and 10 tennis courts. But ultimately, to succeed in the ever competitive hotel industry, amenities run a distant second to providing good old fashioned customer service. The Westlake Village Inn prides itself on the doting attention it lavishes upon customers, even more than the unique aesthetic experience it offers. Built in 1968 and originally owned by the American Hawaiian Steamship Company, the Inn had been run by Associated Hosts Inc. under a long-term lease the two companies had signed. In 1989, John L. Notter, who had been a co-owner of the hotel, bought out the remaining years of the lease, assembled a new management team, and began refurbishing a property that had grown neglected in recent years. During the next 15 years under the aegis of Notter, general manager Amy Commans, and vice-president Donald V. Farris (Notter’s son-in-law), 66 suites were added including one 1,600-square-foot, two-story presidential suite, as well as a master suite christened in 1996 as the “Ronald Reagan Presidential Suite.” The original restaurant, formerly Sir Chauncey McDuff’s, became the award winning Le Caf & #233;, and a nightclub and bar “Bogie’s” was constructed. Yet through it all, a philosophy extolling the virtues of having good customer service has been one of the trademarks of the Inn. “Our philosophy is to take every customer very, very seriously. We are personalized. We spend a lot of time and energy focusing on our customers. We’re not really a transient hotel, meaning we do not usually cater to people just stopping in from off the road,” President and Sole Proprietor Notter said. “We tend to have repeat customers. It behooves us to make sure that we get the repeat business. I’d say 60 percent of our business is repeat, a great deal of which comes from the many corporations that have settled in the greater Westlake Village area.” Importance of service Competitors of the Inn agree that having superior customer service is the best way to ensure success in the hospitality business. David Lewin, general manager of the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village, affirms this sentiment. “In our industry it really boils down to service. People respond to service. The keys to success are training and hiring the right people,” Lewin said. “The Westlake Village Inn is successful because it’s a beautiful hotel and they take very good care of the customers. We differ from them in that their customer is less interested in the full service aspects of the hotel and more interested in the individual feeling of the hotel. It’s aesthetically a very beautiful hotel, with all kinds of beautiful and different flowers growing everywhere.” With the hotel business dominated by major chains like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt, it can be difficult to gain a foothold for an independent hotel like the Inn. Besides stellar customer service, Notter asserts that having a focus on the individual, having a conscientious management team, and offering a unique product have been essential to the Inn’s longevity. “We have a unique product, with almost 120 acres right on a golf course. That kind of location is very difficult to place. Our management team has been there for many years. Amy (Commans) has been there for 14 years and has been instrumental in our success. We watch our business very carefully, which is very tough for large corporations to do as well,” Notter said. “Our biggest challenge has been a lack of an advertising budget because it’s a single property. We’ve had to build on word of mouth. That’s what we concentrate on and the way to do that is hands-on management. Most customers know the front desk people and the general manager by first name which is a pretty rare thing.”

Valley Companies Show Off HiDef Pursuits at Event By SLAV KANDYBA Staff Reporter High-definition, HiDef, HD. All of these were buzzwords at CineGear 2004, Hollywood’s annual trade expo featuring the latest in filming equipment gadgets and gizmos. They stand for the same thing: the new emerging technology that is taking over Hollywood by storm. Although HiDef cameras, televisions and other equipment do not have widespread use, because they are still too expensive to most consumers, they are the talk of the town in Hollywood. And Valley companies that are working for Hollywood are changing gears to adjust. For instance, Van Nuys-based Helinet Aviation Services rang in its entry to the HiDef arena with an aerial high definition camera system, which it debuted on the Universal Studios backlot where CineGear was held June 11 and 12. Interest from buyers was high, said Helinet founder and owner Alan Purwin. The camera, which the company began manufacturing in April through its subsidiary CineFlex, costs $400,000 per unit and is billed as the “lightest, most compact fully digital camera platform in the world,” according to Helinet. One of the cameras was used by cable broadcaster TNT for an NBA Finals game in Los Angeles, with live shots of the Staples Center where the Lakers played the Detroit Pistons. Although TNT was broadcasting in HiDef, only TV sets capable of showing HiDef could produce the images. Most households do not have this type of sets but that won’t be for long. “It’s going to go that way,” Purwin said. “Some people say it’s all going to be HiDef in five years.” Helinet, which has recently introduced a new branch at the company called Helinet Cinema Solutions to provide aerial filming services to moviemakers, has added 25 more employees at its Van Nuys office “as result of growth,” Purwin said. “We’ve doubled in about a year and are looking at a couple of acquisitions of other companies to complete our vision,” Purwin said. Still skepticism Meanwhile, Andy Ozols, general manager and associate publisher of Van Nuys-based trade magazine Production Update is skeptical of the advance of HiDef. “It’s still in its infancy,” Ozols said. “There aren’t that many folks that can watch HD (and) only so many markets converting. It could be quite a while.” In the industry, the move from digital to HiDef is often referred to as “migration,” Ozols said. He added that “on the acquisition side it’s fast and heavy” as companies are positioning for the future. Even Panavision, a camera house that has made film cameras, recently made the switch to digital. The Woodland Hills-based debuted The Genesis, a portable digital imaging camera, at CineGear. Based on Sony’s CCD technology and designed jointly by Panavision and Sony, the camera virtually eliminates the need for cables. “In the last three years, they’ve seen the writing on the wall,” Ozols said. “They’re jumping with both feet in the digital end.” One of the first to jump there, however, was Burbank-based BandPro Film & Digital Inc., founded and owned by Amnon Band, who serves as the president of the company. The firm was formed in 1984, a long time before digital technology came about. It has about 50 employees in offices in Burbank, Germany and Israel. Band, who was at CineGear, said his company helped pioneer HiDef, and has grown into one of the largest distributors of HiDef cameras in the world as result. It was about eight years ago that Band chose the course for the company, which at the time was akin to “rolling the dice.” “Eight years ago, everybody thought we were crazy,” Band said. “I was betting customers would go straight to HiDef In 2004, there’s a clear indication that HiDef is not the future anymore it’s the present.” The increase in interest is due to home entertainment systems that are HiDef ready. After the National Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Las Vegas earlier this year, interest has risen even further, Band said. “This year for sure people came to buy,” he said. “Since we came from the show we (have been) in hiring mode because we’ve been too busy.” Switching to HiDef Band explained HiDef is helping to streamline filmmaking and helping to bridge how TV and films are shot. More than 50 hours of TV sitcoms have switched from 35mm to HiDef to reduce “over budgeting” on film, special assistants and tedious transfer of film to digital viewing. BandPro specializes in what Band refers to as “electronic cinematography,” which is basically digital filmmaking with the highest possible picture quality. The company is sought after for advice and training, in addition to sales, Band said. Band said more filmmakers are opting to use HiDef because they do not need a crew to set up and operate the cameras they can do it at their own will. “The writing is on the wall,” Band said. “Just about every film facility in the country either owns HiDef or is contemplating having it it’s daily conversation.” Production Update’s Ozols, meanwhile, said companies that are slow to adapt to HiDef better take heed soon. “Some of the companies, if they’re not careful, may not stick around for long,” Ozols said.

Owner Invests in Worker Loyalty With Education Best Small Business Employer – Mike’s Roofing Service Inc. By SLAV KANDYBA Staff Reporter Marcelo Quiroga, better known to his clients as Mike, sits behind a desk inside a nondescript office on a street tucked in beside the Van Nuys Airport. The walls are covered with at least two dozen certificates of recognition from city council members and state legislators. In the hallway are photos of Quiroga with Tom Bradley, Richard Riordan, Mayor James Hahn and other politicians. Quiroga’s Mike’s Roofing Service Inc. has serviced roofs of hundreds of clients for more than 30 years, since the Bolivian immigrant founded the business. He started it by himself and when he started it, only had one truck. The company is now up to 15 roofing professionals and has several trucks, including a red Chevy Suburban with “Mike’s Roofing Service” emblazoned on the side. In a labor-intensive industry dogged with high worker’s compensation rates, Quiroga realizes his employees mean everything to the company. “My niche is the employees,” Quiroga said. “The best advertisement is well-educated employees.” And he is not just saying that, he is proving it with a financial investment above and beyond what’s called for. He is paying for them to get more education. After meeting a representative of Los Angeles Mission College at an event hosted by the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, Quiroga told that person he wanted to get training for his employees. Mission College then put a curriculum together specifically for Mike’s Roofing in Spanish the language commonly spoken by his employees. Called modules, the training sessions take place twice a week for two-and-a-half hours for eight weeks. They focus on such topics as team building, leadership and conflict resolution, said Allen Aghajainian, program director at Mission College who oversees the contract education department and has worked with Quiroga since December 2003. No absences Employees have responded well, Quiroga said. They have attended the classes regularly, without any absences whatsoever that’s despite the fact that the classes are held at night. Aghajainian said it is “rare” for a small business like Mike’s Roofing to approach his office seeking training, because the $100 to $200 per class hour is not something cash-strapped companies can shell out. “Some of them, to be honest, don’t care,” Aghajainian said. But Quiroga is different: “He is a visionary man (who) wants to invest in his employees,” Aghajainian said. “I think he sees a return in his investment.” Quiroga said he has seen “total improvement” in how employees communicate. Next, he has plans to have his employees train in computers at Mission next. “Many construction people don’t know about computers,” he said. “Now many are going to be able to use their computers in the right way.” Mike’s Roofing employees have been a loyal bunch, so Quiroga isn’t exactly investing in people who are at risk of fleeing the company. Five employees have worked there for more than two decades, while the sales manager has 15 years under his belt with Mike’s Roofing. Quiroga’s compassion to his employees likely comes out of his own start in the business. In the early 1970s, he attended the West Valley Occupational Center and studied accounting. He tried looking for a job as bookkeeper, but didn’t find one. At the time, a friend of his said a roofing company was looking for a driver. Quiroga applied and got the job, and eventually realized that getting a license and starting his own business was the next logical progression. After a rocky five years, he hired his first employee and the business began to flourish. Over the years, Quiroga has been involved in a number of charities and nonprofit organizations. Just a sampling: Van Nuys Rotary Club, Mid Valley YMCA and the Los Angeles Valley College. Jim Tanner, president of the Van Nuys Rotary Club, called Quiroga a “nice, outgoing, sweet man.” About 15 years ago, Quiroga was “one of the driving forces” in the club’s move to build a school in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, Tanner said. Quiroga had served two terms as president. “He’s a very dedicated man, dedicated to the community that I do know,” said Carlos Rivera, the incoming president at the rotary club.

PLUM to Hear Temple Case By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter A long-running neighborhood scuffle involving an Orthodox Jewish synagogue and some local residents and business owners will come back to the front burner this week. The city’s Planning and Land Use Committee on Wednesday will consider a specific plan exception that would limit the number of parking spaces required at a planned new facility for Beith David Educational Center in Tarzana. The center’s request had earlier been approved by the Area Planning Commission over the objections of some community groups who believe that the reduced number of parking spots would pose a hardship the community. Their appeal was denied. The Beith David congregation had requested the exception saying that most of its members walk to the synagogue for services as proscribed by Orthodox Jewish law and, as a result, would not need to make 150 parking spaces available as directed by the specific plan. “We have 37 parking spaces on the site,” said Parviz Hakimi, treasurer for Beith David and a spokesman for the temple. “Eighty five percent of the congregation lives in the Tarzana area around us and they walk.” Hakimi added that the temple has leased an additional 40 parking spaces nearby. Local residents say they are worried about possible spillover from congregants attending services at Beith David because the area already has a shortage of parking. Wayne Avrashow, a Tarzana attorney who represents one of the opponents, building owner, Arnold Dubin, said his client is now agreeing to the a “potential compromise” of 71 spaces, but would like assurance that those additional parking spaces will be available.

Company Puts New Face on Traditional Printing Business Small Business Achievement Award – BizInk By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter The printing industry has been stagnant over the past few years. But don’t tell that to the owners of BizInk, a Chatsworth-based online printing company. Since the two partners opened their doors five years ago, BizInk’s business has doubled and its client list has grown to include a number of national and regional companies. What’s allowed BizInk to wrest its share of business in a no-growth market is an unusual combination of industry and technology that has made the company among the only printers of its kind. BizInk customers can log onto a secure website and not only place printing orders but customize them to different regional and office needs. “They can do everything and they control a lot of it in house and locally,” said Dave Di Tomaso, the owner of 3H Network Inc., which operates 18 Subway restaurants. Di Tomaso sits on the board of a regional franchise group representing 700 Subway restaurants, and after using BizInk for his own business, suggested the board invite the company to pitch the regional assignment, which BizInk won. “The other companies didn’t have the same capacity by any stretch.” BizInk co-owners Tom Pelino, president, and Scot Feinberg, vice president of business development, went to the same high school, but the two didn’t know each other until Feinberg, who owned a printing company, went looking for an investor. Pelino had a software company, eCybersuite, and the partnership soon grew beyond financing. With Pelino’s technology expertise and Feinberg’s printing know-how the two were able to build a menu of services few competitors offer. “It takes an awful lot of work and printers in general are cautious because they have to bring on board a lot of programming staff and the printers don’t know what the programmers are doing,” said Tom Stodola, director of management services at Printing Industries Association of Southern California. “All they can see is all this money going out and they don’t know what the return is.” Even with their in-house expertise, the two partners started out small, initially brokering much of the printing and binding work out to other companies while they worked on setting up a secure website and slowly added the printing equipment they needed. As their capabilities grew, so too did the company. Fulfillment center The partners started out by themselves in a small office in Van Nuys and then expanded to another, larger office in Woodland Hills when the staff started to grow. Then, as they continued to ramp up, they added a fulfillment center, storing printing materials for customers and delivering them as necessary, a move that seemed to change the company overnight. “We took over a large fulfillment program for IHOP,” said Pelino. “In one day, we actually had to have a larger facility to accommodate 100 pallets of merchandise that showed up on our doorstep.” Last July the company moved to its current facility in Chatsworth and BizInk, with 33 employees and annual revenues of $3.7 million counts among its clients Staples, Health Net, Warner Bros. and IHOP. Each company that works with BizInk sets up a master account that includes the range of printed materials it requires anything from stationery to menus and collateral materials. Then, individual units can access a Web site and make modifications to the materials based on their needs. Say, for instance, an IHOP restaurant wants to substitute grits for french fries or a Subway franchise wants to run a special promotion. Those changes can be made with the push of a PC button and submitted along with the order. The process saves time and money compared to working with traditional printers. “It’s given us flexibility,” said Dave Waco, a co-owner and vice president of sales at MOC Products Co. Inc. in Pacoima, which was among BizInk’s first clients. MOC manufactures chemicals and other products used by dealerships to service cars, and each make and model may require a different set of products along with a different schedule of suggested maintenance services. With the help of BizInk, MOC can customize a menu of scheduled services for each individual customer. “So in addition to selling products and services, we are a marketing company for them,” said Waco. “We are in the forefront of our industry and BizInk has been part of that.” In California, printing industry sales have remained level at about $14 billion annually for the past three years, but the number of print shops has declined by almost 1,000 during that time, according to PIASC. BizInk’s hybrid approach has helped it to weather that consolidation. But the company has not relied on its concept alone. Customer contact Feinberg said he still talks directly with his customers several times a week, even though BizInk now has a customer service staff. Customers say the company’s bids consistently come in lower than competitors, and BizInk goes the extra mile, helping to design customers’ Web sites at no additional charge. When Di Tomaso, who sits on the board of the Diabetes Research Institute, needed invitations for a charity event printed, he asked BizInk for help. “They stepped up to the plate and that was probably $3,000 or $4,000 worth of their money,” Di Tomaso said. “Tom Pelino and Scot Feinberg, they’ve taken an attitude that you tell us what you need and we’ll make it happen. They’re an absolute pleasure to work with.”