50+ Entrepreneurs

Judith’s Dessert Boutique

Owner/Founder
Judith Smith Parrott
Year Company Formed
2012
How SCORE Helped


After retiring as an educator, Judith Smith Parrott turned her love of baking into a business...Judith’s Dessert Boutique.

Judith made the decision to start her business the smart way by enrolling in the Princeton SCORE five-part  StartSMART™ workshop series. She was also recently selected as one of the small businesses to receive $1,000 from the Sam’s Club Giving Program in addition to attending a two day entrepreneurial program hosted by SCORE in 2013.

“Working with SCORE has provided a foundation to help my business grow,” said Judith Smith Parrott, owner of Judith’s Dessert Boutique. “The access to tools for my business from Sam’s Club and the additional training will really help me take my business to the next level.”

STARTUP She Sticks to Her Knitting - Susan Smigielski Acker

Date
Fri, 2013-02-01 15:54

When family and friends would see the amount of yarn stored in Roz Klein's extra bedroom, their response was always the same, "You should open a yarn store."  After 35 years as an educator, retiring as director at Norfolk Collegiate's Middle School in June, Klein opened Baa Baa Sheep in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood in August.

Klein received help with the business side of her store from her brother-in-law, Carlisle Wroton, who was active in the Hampton Roads Chapter of SCORE.

 

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Published Jan. 28, 2013 application/pdf icon

This paper will outline ways to stay ahead on your business accounting and financial paperwork. These simple weekly steps will save you major at tax preparation time as well as providing useful ongoing operational financial information to guide your business decisions.

Download

About the Author

30+ years of retail experience with two Big Box corporations, managing numerous multi million retail outlets within New Hampshire. Experience included meeting or exceeding operational goals, profit, expense control, and customer experience.

Life of Back Pain Inspires Hanover Man's Invention - Brittany Wilson

Date
Tue, 2013-01-22 09:54

John Rutty, 80, of Hanover has a long history of back problems.  In 2002, he built the first prototype of the Backjack, a lightweight, portable device that helps alleviate back pain and discomfort. The device can be strapped to a car seat or office chair and looks similar to a padded chair back with arm rests and an adjustable lumbar support made from memory foam. 

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Off Broadway Dance Company

Owners Pat Balderas and Geri Messer created Off Broadway by purchasing the Manhattan Dance Company in 2011, and they have been growing steadily ever since. They maintain their studio in the Common Space in order to keep costs down and fees low. Many of their students are working women, who attend class on evenings and Saturdays.

Owner/Founder
Geri Messer & Pat Balderas
My Location
Common Space 1700 N Reynolds Rd Rm 207
Toledo OH 43615
United States
How SCORE Helped

The adults taking tap dance lessons at this studio located in the Common Space are often also the stars in performances given throughout the community.  Their big event is the Annual Showcase staged each year at the Maumee High School Performing Art Center.  

These folks are serious about tap dancing; most of them attend two or three lessons each week, and progress from “beginner” to “advanced” under the guidance of the area’s finest teachers.   This makes Off Broadway unique in the Toledo area.

Pat and Geri had the help of SCORE mentors Dennis Snell and Alan Messer, who have guided them in their growth and in planning for the future.  Space will soon become an issue; there were two classes each week when they started (with 30 students), and the walls are now bulging with eight classes (and 55 students).

Adults range in age from 22 to 72, and most look forward to participating in the Company’s performances. They have an extensive community outreach program, going to nursing homes and the like.  But they also are becoming well known as performers at various functions in the area.  And that Annual Showcase attracted 700 paid attendees last year!

Pat and Geri emphasize that we are “all adults taught by adults; this is not an exercise class; we don’t dumb it down; this is really a professional operation.” But they are quick to say that not everyone wants to be a performer, and others who are interested in learning the skills of tap dancing are certainly welcome!

Go to their excellent web site: www.offbroadwaydancecompany.com for more information. 

SCORE is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and may be reached at 419.259.7598 and www.nwoscore.org

Moats Kennedy Inc.

Marilyn Moats Kennedy, a former journalist and Glamour columnist as well a DePaul professor, had a successful and profitable business giving keynote speeches and workshops on changing workforce demographics. Towards the end of 2008, business slowed and by 2009 it was at a standstill.  At the advice of a friend, she sought assistance from a SCORE mentor who helped her launch the business into the digital age.

www.MoatsKennedy.com

Owner/Founder
Marilyn Moats Kennedy
My Location
Chicago IL
United States
Year Company Formed
1975
My Successes

Marilyn began blogging to showcase her expertise. “Blogging has been tremendously helpful, because unlike traditional journalism, people give immediate feedback,” she says.

In the past, Marilyn had only gotten work from those who had heard her speak. Now the blogging campaign “extended my reach beyond those whom I had already worked for. Speaking and workshop leads come from the website and blog as well.”

How SCORE Helped

Marilyn had spent $3,000 on a website to revive her business, but the developer was unresponsive and the project unsatisfactory. Then Erica Levin, a SCORE client, referred her to SCORE mentor Peg Corwin for help with online marketing.  Together she and her mentor revised the moatskennedy.com website, which she can now access and edit herself. Peg advised on appropriate copy, search engine optimization, and blogging. She helped her find a developer by providing names of three from whom to get quotes.

Peg also advised Marilyn on her social media presence, helping her fill in her LinkedIn profile and organize and network with target clients through it.

Marilyn concludes, “Peg Corwin has helped me with the social media, my website, SEO, and marketing more than I even knew I needed. I am 200% ahead of where I was before she worked with me.”

10 Tips for Boomers to Become Entrepreneurs - Andrea Coombes

Date
Mon, 2013-01-14 09:49

Nancy Strojny, chairwoman of the Portland, Maine, chapter of SCORE, shares tips for achieving success as an entrepreneur starting out later in life.

Find people who can act as advisers. “Someone who will tell you the truth—not what you want to hear,” said Strojny.  People are “so in love with their idea” that they’re often blind to the facts, she said. An advisory team can offer a sense of perspective and reality.

 

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At 72, A New Recipe for Success - Matthew Ferreira

Date
Fri, 2013-01-11 09:49

While many 72-year-olds are either in retirement or beginning to think about wrapping up their life's work, Middleboro resident and recent small business grant recipient Joe Gulino is starting a new chapter of his. With a new cookbook "Let's Eat with Joe Gulino" for sale and a second book waiting to be published, the former hairdresser continues to keep his plate full.

 

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Preparing For Life’s Second Act - James A. Fitts and John Weeks

Date
Thu, 2013-01-03 12:42

It’s a situation that every family business owner will eventually face: What will I do when I no longer own and run my business?

Becoming a mentor, angel investor, SCORE volunteer, board member, or advisor to another business can provide new meaning to a person whose life was previously defined by their business accomplishments.

 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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