Small businesses SCORE relief: Retired business executives pass along their expertise

BRADENTON, Jun 06, 2009 (The Bradenton Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- UK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Ron Neri has played a lot of golf since retiring as president of Union Carbide.

But he found that after being a part of the business world for so many years he wanted to stay connected. So in 2004 he became a counselor at SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives.

"It's fun to be retired and do a lot of stuff like golf, but it's also fun to keep your head in the game," Neri said.

The local SCORE chapter made up of 55 volunteer counselors, all former business executives, lend their expertise for free through one-on-one counseling and workshops to help small business owners with the myriad issues they face.

"It's all over the place the needs these businesses come in for," said Jeannette Watling-Mills, chairwoman of Manasota SCORE. "People are trying to figure out how to generate some more business, how to cut their costs."

The Manatee/Sarasota chapter is part of the national, nonprofit organization headquartered in Herndon, Va., and Washington, D.C., and founded in 1964. It has 370 chapters throughout the United States with 11,200 volunteers nationwide.

When entrepreneurs call the chapter, they get assigned a volunteer counselor like Neri who acts as a mentor, an adviser, someone to bounce ideas off of and has a shoulder to lean on in these tough economic times.

Since January, Manasota SCORE has seen 500 new clients and has had 800 counseling sessions with ongoing clients.

Advantage Trim & Lumber in Lakewood Ranch is one of the companies that turned to SCORE this year to get assistance on how to pursue exporting.

The high-end outdoor decking company has been concentrated on importing but saw room for growth if it could export.

The business was paired up with Neri, who provided the company with international contacts who could provide further guidance on exporting. He also discussed financial assistance and ways to pursue banks and the Small Business Administration for loans.

"It was important that we talk with someone who had years of experience because if you're just getting started in something in a particular field, it's almost mandatory you research it before you invest time and money," said Rosi Lehr, executive assistant for Advantage Trim & Lumber.

The company has since been awarded a grant through the Sarasota Economic Development Center to attend the International Trade Gold Key Service, a trade show that gives U.S. firms a chance to meet potential oversea agents, distributors and sales representatives.

"Part of my plan for them is to help them understand the market they're going after, who their competitors are, how they can differentiate themselves and what will make them successful versus the competition," Neri said. "After that point, we work with them on the financial forecasting to make sure they understand what they need to do to make money. Most people don't come with an understanding on how much it takes to start and run a business. A lot of times, after that first meeting, we don't see them again."

Laura Dessauer sought out Manasota SCORE when she was starting her art therapy business, Creativity Queen.

"I had been working as an art therapist with other professionals who owned their own businesses and knew I was ready to step into developing my own business but didn't quite know how to make the transition," Dessauer said.

SCORE helped her create a business model that fit her area of expertise, then write a business plan and explore programs and products she would offer. Counselors also helped explain regulations such as business licenses and sales tax.

"Since I received assistance from SCORE in the initial stages of setting up my business, I was able to create a strong foundation to grow upon," Dessauer said. "With a clear vision and action plan, I was able to create a profit in the first year of business."

Since opening in November 2006, Creativity Queen launched a book and audio CD promoting creative possibilities for those seeking art therapy. The company added two part-time consultants to run children's groups, started a training program teaching creative solutions methods to other professionals and was named 2007 Small Business of the Year by SCORE.

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