prospect Edition, Issue 9









The American Dream Thrives!



There is a group of ambitious entrepreneurs who desire to pursue the American dream. For some of them, buying a franchise is the best way to go about it. These individuals are foreign nationals who have the means to purchase a franchise. The big advantage of investing in a franchise is that it comes with a ready-made proven business model—especially attractive to those without a lot of business experience.

A federal program (called EB-5) launched in 1990 gives certain immigrant applicants a chance to obtain permanent residency by investing in a US business. One of the qualifiers is that the investment must create at least 10 new jobs within two years.

As of September 2013, (according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data) the program has raised about $8.6 billion and created around 57,300 jobs.

Postal Connections is a part of this program with one EB-5 in Tampa and another starting up soon in the same area.

Quick Franchise Fact: A new franchise business opens approximately every 8 minutes, every business day.




Postage Rate Increase



Last month, the postal rates increased from 46 to 49 cents. (Other package category shipping rates went up also). We thought it might be interesting to see what the prices were to mail a domestic letter throughout the decades:

Effective Date Postage in Cents, per Ounce1
July 1, 1885 2
November 2, 1917 3
July 1, 1919 2
July 6, 1932 3
August 1, 1958 4
January 7, 1963 5
January 7, 1968 6
May 16, 1971 8
March 2, 1974 10
December 31, 1975 13
May 29, 1978 15
March 22, 1981 18
November 1, 1981 20
February 17, 1985 22
April 3, 1988 25
February 3, 1991 29
January 1, 1995 32
January 10, 1999 33
January 7, 2001 34
June 30, 2002 37
January 8, 2006 39
May 14, 2007 41
May 12, 2008 42
May 11, 2009 44
January 22, 2012 45
January 27, 2013 46

The latest rate, effective January 26, 2014, is 49 cents.



Five Facts About Spring

  1. Plants begin their growth in the spring because of the ample supplies of water, light, warmth and soil.
  2. March, April and May are considered full spring months. (The winter months are December, January and February.)
  3. The first day of spring is the vernal equinox. In Latin, vernal means spring and equinox means equal night. On this day (around March 20-21) there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.
  4. If you were standing at the equator during the spring or autumn equinox, you would see the sun pass directly overhead. These are the only times of the year when this occurs.
  5. Also, the only times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west are during the two equinoxes.


1653 Lititz Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601

200 E. Verona Ave.
Verona WI 53593

9524 E. 81st. Street, Ste. B 
Tulsa, Ok 74133

3053 W. Craig Rd. Suite E
North Las Vegas, NV 89032

61149 South hwy 97
Bend, OR 97702






The Easy Way to Learn About Postal Connections



Learning what to expect when you own a Postal Connections can be easily understood. John Byron, Postal Connections V.P. of Franchise Development, explains one-on-one what you want to know in a webinar tailored to your questions and available time. With no pressure or obligation, the meeting is done on Web-X without tracking cookies or any invasive files put on your equipment. It is an interactive audio-visual look at our franchise opportunity. Simply contact John with your questions and available time at john@postalconnections.com. Tell him what you want to know. He will customize a webinar for you and schedule a time to join into your live Internet briefing about Postal Connections.

Postal Connections:
Postal Connections, a store in your neighborhood, provides a wide variety of business and administrative services that support on-the-go consumers and business people. We provide the service you want with the technology we know.

Services and products offered include a full spectrum of shipping choices, packaging, mailbox rental, copying/printing, office/shipping supplies, internet services, document preparation, notary services, passport photos, greeting cards and faxing.




2013/2014 Winter Fact About the Great Lakes



As of January 20th, the overall Great Lakes ice cover stood at just under 50% which is the most in 20 years on that date as well as five times more than the past two years.

Data showed that as of January 28 (with a good month of winter remaining), the individual Great Lakes ice covers were as follows: 

  • Lake Ontario (21%)
  • Lake Michigan (35%)
  • Lake Superior (51%)
  • Lake Huron (63%)
  • Lake Erie (92%)



Spring Quotes

She turned to the sunlight
 And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
 "Winter is dead.”

A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

Spring is the time of plans and projects.
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

(Meditations Divine and Moral)  Anne Bradstreet, The Works of Anne Bradstreet