Berks County may feel like a small corner of the world, but it’s home to some big ideas. With more than 30,000 small businesses registered locally, we are always surrounded by some very exciting entrepreneurs. We’ve talked to just a few of them to find out how they got started, and what they’re up to next.
Photo by John A. Secoges, Secoges Photographics
Alan Shuman
Shuman Development Group
Alan Shuman found his entrepreneurial spirit early, out of a need to help some friends. Since that time, he has created a development force that is renovating and restoring downtown Reading one building at a time.
An Early Start
Alan’s entrepreneurial experiments started at a very young age, working alongside his cousin to sell cookware for his uncle, mow lawns and clean pools. They may have even ventured into the illegal fireworks business for a short time. Throughout high school he spent his summers in construction jobs, renovating apartments and even doing some work on the Bucknell University Stadium.
During his sophomore year at Penn State, Alan was presented with an opportunity that would launch a lifetime career. Several of his friends were having trouble finding housing on campus: “At that time there were more students than there were places to live. Students were literally living in their cars in the parking lots.” So, when he came across a townhouse for sale, he saw an opportunity. “At the time, interest rates were through the roof and he was asking $60,000, which is a whole lot of money for a 19-year-old,” Alan says. “But the U.S. Army Reserves was giving $6,000 enlistment bonuses, so I signed up, got my bonus, put it down on the property and rented beds out to the guys from my high school.”
Renovating Reading
After completing his time in the Reserves, Alan joined his wife in Berks County. “My first time in Reading I couldn’t believe how beautiful the buildings were. I grew up in little old Selinsgrove with little two- and three-story buildings. Reading has some amazing historic structures. I just fell in love with these buildings, so my wife pushed me to get into real estate.”
The couple bought their first apartment building, a four-unit complex on Perkiomen Avenue, in 1994. They renovated, and lived in, the property and soon enough, Shuman Development Group was born. “We bought another building in 1995, two in 1996 and three in 1997. We just kept going from there.”
Today, Shuman Development Group focuses on ongoing property management and building redevelopment and restoration, with their efforts focused in downtown Reading. “The grandest historical buildings are all consolidated right downtown. I’m talking about the kind of architecture that you could not recreate these days without the kind of money that very few people have,” Alan says. They are responsible for some of the area’s biggest renovations, including all 10 buildings of the former Reading Outlet Center, culminating in the Big Mill Apartments. When Alan took over the building, you could see the sky from the second floor. Today, it is home to must-see modern industrial apartments with a mile-long waiting list.
The Future Is…Under Construction
When opportunity strikes, Alan is ready. “There is no time when I don’t have at least 10 or 12 projects of all kinds simmering,” he says. In addition to the many future projects he is pursuing, there are also several in progress. Renovations are under way to upgrade the Medical Arts Building on 5th Street to residential space by 2021. Alan also just purchased 35 N. 6th St., a building he has been chasing since 1999. “It’s a fabulous building right next to the courthouse and is the only one on the block not owned by the county. The plan is to put a big food court in the old bank branch and convert the upper floors to upscale office space.”
Construction also just started on his latest endeavor: recreating the former A.W. Golden Cadillac dealership on Lancaster Avenue into a neighborhood shopping center. He is in talks with several tenants for the space, including Fine Fare Grocery Stores, a beauty school and salon, upscale cigar lounge and many other local businesses. Stay tuned!
Photo by Tina Louise Photography
Stephanie Rado Taormina
Have Some Fun Today
After attending fashion school and spending more than 10 years honing her craft in New York City, Stephanie Rado Taormina brought her talents back to Berks, and has since launched Have Some Fun Today, a lifestyle brand and movement that has swept across the country.
Getting Started
“Since I was a young girl, I have always loved art, design, fashion and beauty.” Stephanie’s mother owned a hair salon, so she grew up around women trying to make the most of their looks. She strived to be a successful entrepreneur like her mother and grandmother and knew as a teenager that she wanted a career in design. After graduating from Penn State, she moved to New York to attend Parsons School of Design. After a few years in manufacturing, she was ready to step out on her own. “Once I gathered the courage and got my feet wet, even with no money behind me, I started to just go for it,” she says.
Stephanie’s first foray into business ownership was in soft home furnishings. Through Rado, Ltd. she sold designer bedding and loungewear to home stores all over the country. She closed the business when she started her family, but quickly moved on to her next endeavor - an interior design firm, Stephanie Taormina Interiors & Art. For a short time, she transitioned exclusively into fine art until five years ago when all of her worlds finally merged with the birth of Have Some Fun Today.
Finding Inspiration
Although she had considered starting a clothing line several times over the course of her career, Have Some Fun Today came about out of the blue. “It literally came into my head one morning and within five minutes I designed the core pieces of the collection,” she says. Most of those original designs are still selling well in the line five years later.
The inspiration for the brand came from Stephanie’s late father, Joe. “It was his saying. He said it every time I talked to him. Every time anyone talked to him.” Once she had designed the brand’s core pieces and selected materials, she went to New York to recruit manufacturing companies to help her develop her products. Today, with the help of social media, effective public relations and the placement of her pieces in resort-area retail stores, HSFT manufactures and sells products all over the globe.
Ready to start shopping? You can find HSFT products at high-end resort boutiques across the country and online at havesomefuntoday.com.
Growing the Movement
Have Some Fun Today is not just a clothing line; it’s a movement that Stephanie and her “tribe” of customers are always working to spread. “When you’re having fun the smiles and laughter come right from your soul, and there is no better feeling in the world. So, I’ve used this simple yet brilliant mantra my dad believed in to create a brand with cool functioning things you can use every day.”
While HSFT initially focused on women’s styles, Stephanie says, “we can’t ignore the men and kids!” and she is working to expand the line to include more items. She is also gearing up to be picked up by a major retail company in the next six to 12 months. While her goal is to share her mantra with the world, she also says she prefers to grow in small increments and to choose partners who share her vision, but “I still think it would be amazing to have brick and mortar stores in airports and resort communities in addition to the resorts themselves. Have Some Fun Today at Disney World!”
Photo by John A. Secoges, Secoges Photographics
Joey Jurgielewicz III
Joe Jurgielewicz & Son, Ltd.
Some people work their whole lives to become entrepreneurs, and some are born ready. Joey Jurgielewicz III and his three brothers are third-generation entrepreneurs striving to provide America’s tastiest ducks.
Building a Legacy
Joe Sr. started the original Jurgielewicz duck farm in 1933 on Long Island. After nearly 50 years he decided to retire, selling his shares of the farm to his brothers. But his legacy didn’t end there. After graduating from Cornell Veterinary College his son, Dr. Joe, convinced his father to start a new duck business with him.
Today, Joe Jurgielewicz & Son, Ltd. owns three farms: the “home farm” in Hamburg, Indiana and Ontario, Canada. Locally, they process and sell six million ducks per year through online order fulfillment and shipments all over the country. Visitors to some of the country’s top-rated restaurants – like Wolfgang Puck’s, Morimoto, and MGM Resorts – can treat themselves to Jurgielewicz’s ducks. They are even offered at 11 Madison Park in New York City, currently rated top in the world. You can get a taste close to home at local area restaurants including Dans at Green Hills, West Reading Tavern, and Bistro 614.
Growing the Business
Joey III was only six years old when he started working on the farm, picking up eggs over summer vacation. “I don’t want to say I always knew I wanted to join the farm,” he says about his choice to return, “but it was always in the back of my mind. It drew us all back to it.” After graduating with a master’s degree in hospitality marketing from Cornell, Joey now acts as Director of Client Service, handing everything from production planning to order fulfillment, logistics and marketing.
He and his team have also spearheaded the farm’s own trucking program. “Our freight costs were so high, and we didn’t even know when our product was going to be delivered, so we decided to do it ourselves. Now we can control how and when our product will be delivered, and we don’t have to rely on anyone else.” Their fleet includes 10 Penske trucks, which they hope to double next year, and they’ve worked with the local trucking school at Berks Technical Institute (BTI) to hire students to help get their products delivered to their standards.
Spreading Their Roots
The Jurgielewiczs are expanding their operations into the former Ontelaunee Orchards building in Leesport. Construction is under way to renovate it into a packaging plant, as well as to add freezer space for fulfillment of online orders.
Joey’s younger brothers are also returning to the family farm to offer their varied expertise. Jim followed in his father’s footsteps to become the second veterinarian to live on the farm and care for the ducks. Their core belief is that the ducks must be treated humanely, and Dr. Jim is on site to ensure they are getting the best care possible. Michael has just started working with them in sales and will eventually head up business development. Brian, the youngest, is earning his Ph.D. in animal neuroscience at the University of Georgia.
“We’re a vertically integrated farm, so we take care of everything from genetics to hatching our eggs, to raising, growing, processing and distribution,” Joey says. “That’s the neat part about the farming industry. There are so many different opportunities and we can all be involved in the way we want. I think we are so successful, and will continue to be, because we have different interests that all complement each other.”
