Mentoring

Rise Above - Mark Gordon

Date
Fri, 2013-03-15 12:07

Many in the nationwide network of SCORE Association volunteers, more than 12,000 retired business leaders, like to boast about the long history of companies they helped start and jobs they helped create.

That success, including 20,000 new businesses counseled annually since 1964, doesn’t only stem from helping would-be entrepreneurs with what to do. The group’s volunteers, says CEO W. Kenneth Yancey, also excels at helping clients with what not to do.

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Applications2U, Pittsburgh-Based Cloud Hosting Provider, Turns 10 - Jonathan Kersting

Date
Fri, 2013-03-15 09:54

One of the fastest growing cloud hosting providers in the Pittsburgh region, Applications2U, celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year.

“I remember starting Applications2U on a cold winter day in 2003 on Liberty Avenue. No one was using the term ‘cloud computing’ but we knew companies needed a better way to keep their data secure while receiving support and a high level of availability to manage computer files and applications,” Dan Dillman, Applications2U President and CEO, said.

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Succession: Selling a Bookstore - Judith Rosen

Date
Fri, 2013-03-15 09:47

The New England Independent Booksellers Association couldn’t have chosen better timing for the workshop on “Planning Your Bookstore’s Next Chapter,” just one day after nine-year-old Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Mass., announced that was putting itself up for sale.  Close to 40 booksellers attended the workshop led by Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates at the Biltmore Hotel in Providence, R.I., on March 12.

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Louisville Businessman Joins SCORE - Bill Francis

Date
Wed, 2013-03-13 14:27

Helping small businesses to succeed in the global economy.  That's the mission of SCORE, a national nonprofit organization that works with small businesses to improve their bottom line.

One local business owner, Rob Waite, has joined the organization's national board.  "In any business you need mentors and advisors and people who can help you," says Rob Waite, vice chairman of Drexel Metals.

 

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Got Pro Health LLC

After 5 years of a high-paced life as an NFL running back, Ken Jenkins spent the next 20 years working for others in every industry from banking to IT.  He grew weary of being at the mercy of industry fluctuations that could swiftly change his employment status and realized he had the skills and experience to branch out on his own.  So he took the ball, and ran with it.  Along with his wife, Amy Lewis, the duo combined their experience in alternative medicine to start Got Pro Health, LLC.  Through the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) he was put into contact with the Washington, DC chapter of SCORE and began meeting regularly with his mentors who helped Got Pro Health define its offerings and learn how to broadcast that message to potential clients.

www.gotprohealth.com

Owner/Founder
Ken Jenkins
My Location
Washington DC
United States
Year Company Formed
2011
My Successes

Ken describes his own launch into entrepreneurship as quite similar to his days returning punts in the NFL: “It’s the most frightening, harrowing experience ever but also hugely rewarding.”

Together with his mentors, Joe Clarke and Dee Rogers, Ken developed a business plan for Got Pro Health, LLC that has allowed the business to “prioritize goals” and “create a more focused strategy to grow.”  Just 2 years into his alternative medicine business, Jenkins has already witnessed the improvements these plans have made; Got Pro Health will be adding 2 full time administrative employees by mid-2013 with plans to add 4 more positions by the end of the year.

Got Pro Health was chosen as a winner of the Sam’s Club Holiday Cheer initiative in December 2012, receiving a $1,000 grant and a trip to Dallas to attend a high speed growth marketing workshop hosted by SCORE.  This workshop helped Ken develop a social media strategy for the business and a plan for improving their website.

The current aim of the business is to connect former athletes with alternative care providers but they also have an even greater goal of increasing awareness of the general public about health and wellness.

What's Great About My Mentor?

Once Ken got connected with SCORE, he says he attended a workshop and was immediately hooked.  Since then, he’s met with mentors Joe Clarke and Dee Rogers once a month working to write a business plan, forecast projections, and learn about marketing, messaging and positioning.  Ken says his mentors “gave us a structure for how to prioritize our goals which resulted in a more focused strategy to grow.”  They are still in the process of implementing this strategy but are already beginning to see the results in the form of increased exposure and revenues.

Vintage Surcees Offers Unique, Classic Looks and Handmade Gifts - Ettie Newlands

Date
Mon, 2013-03-11 11:02

Surcees is a distinctly Southern word that means “wonderful surprise.”  And that’s exactly what Surcees Vintage Clothing and Handmade Gifts in Surfside Beach is.  Owner Erin Adams says the vintage clothes “have lived and loved” and now need to be passed on to the next person who’ll treasure them.

Her natural gift for merchandising and marketing helps. So does the SCORE workshop she took to hone those skills.

 

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Cabinet Company Uses Smart Strategies to Survive Recession - Rolf Boone

Date
Mon, 2013-03-11 10:23

Ross Irwin, 65, and Trivonna Irwin, 61, owners of Cabinets by Trivonna in Lacey, are living proof that learning takes place at any age.

After opening their business on the eve of the recession, the Irwins have sought the advice of SCORE and the Small Business Development Center, both providing key advice that helped them weather the recession.

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Peg’s Salt Has Savory Prospects - Kathy Johnson

Date
Mon, 2013-03-11 10:16

Cass Cannon is an entrepreneur. She’s followed her heart—plus gone into a lot of research and training—to start her own new business, “Peg’s Salt.”

She learned about what she was getting into before jumping off the new business cliff. “A year ago I went to SCORE,” a nonprofit association of volunteer business counselors throughout the U.S. with offices in Waynesboro and Charlottesville. Then she filled out the incorporation papers online. “Doing Peg’s Salt was like a no brainer,” Cannon said.

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Needles & Notions - Kathaleen Roberts

Date
Mon, 2013-03-11 09:57

Step into the skylightflooded fiber room at Yarn & Coffee and it's nearly impossible not to pet the product.

When California transplant Deborah Grossman got laid off from her Santa Fe IT job, she knew exactly what to do. The dream of owning a yarn shop had been festering inside her for a good 10 years.

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ChristyAl Plaques & Engraving

After 20 years of service in the Navy and an accident while serving that left him 100% disabled, Al Kroell found it extremely difficult to find employment.  His wife, Christy, was disabled too and the pair struggled to earn income to support themselves. Luckily Al’s hobby of woodworking, combined with new state-of-the-art technology turned out to be a lucrative business opportunity.  ChristyAl Plaques now creates custom laser cut, etched and engraved plaques and gifts.

www.caplaques.com

Owner/Founder
Christy and Al Kroell
My Location
Squaw Valley CA
United States
Year Company Formed
2012
My Successes

ChristyAl Plaques has found a niche market of creating “going away” plaques for military members who are transferred off-base.  With 62 bases in the state of California alone and nearly 3,000 transfers at each base every year, it is a sizable target market.

The business turned a profit within its first month.  The business was chosen as a winner of the Sam’s Club Holiday Cheer initiative in December 2012, receiving a $1,000 grant and a trip to Dallas to attend a high speed growth marketing workshop hosted by SCORE.  Of the workshop, Al said, “It was like winning the jackpot for small business.”  Through the session they learned about specifying a target market, trying it out for a period of time and then modifying that target.

What's Great About My Mentor?

Al speaks highly of mentor Peter Fong who worked with the team for over 2 years; “He pushed me along, got me on the ball and told me what I needed to do.  The military doesn’t teach you about marketing or running a business but my SCORE mentor did.”

How SCORE Helped

Starting out, Christy and Al found it nearly impossible to secure a loan due to their lack of current income.  Their mentor, Peter Fong, helped them to write a business plan that was so professional, clear and convincing that a bank finally approved their application.  The loan allowed them to purchase the machinery necessary to creating such a beautiful, high-quality product.  Al says he tried other programs aimed at helping veterans transition into civilian life but none were as helpful as SCORE.  He says, “SCORE has been there for us.  If it wasn’t for SCORE I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

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