Donna Balser, after being a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, wanted to reenter the workforce and decided to do something challenging and rewarding which would make a difference in the lives of families. The result was the formation of College Nannies and Tutors in 2007 which provides short and long term child care needs through experienced nannies and tutors to guide children through all stages of development from cradle to college.

      Their business model is unique in that it takes an inclusive approach to doing what is right for families. After interviewing families and learning about their needs, personalities and their children, a “role model match” is made with a nanny or tutor that will work the best with the family situation.

     This approach has been successful and the business now employs approximately 100 nannies and tutors plus 5 full time staff. Donna recently opened a third learning center in Austin and is celebrating her 5 year anniversary.

    Donna has been working with SCORE since prior to the opening of the first learning center and continues to use the resources of SCORE as she expands her business.

"I will be forever grateful for the
guidance of my SCORE mentor.”

- Donna Balser -

Austin TX (3 locations)

 Business:

   College Nannies and Tutors

   Started: 2007

    www.collegenanniesandtutors.com

     Butch and Maria Aggen own and operate The Goddard School, a private pre-school franchise, which specializes in early childhood development for children from six weeks to six years. The school operates on the premise that each child has a special and individual learning style. Goddard Developmental Guidelines, a core component of The Goddard School FLEX learning Program, form the basis of unique lesson plans brought to life for each child in fun and imaginative ways. They are committed to achieving excellence in all areas of the school’s operation

    The Aggens’ have owned the business since 2007 and although successful, they turned to SCORE for help in planning for growth and expansion, improved customer satisfaction, profitability, employee retention and other areas. A recent customer survey showed an outstanding level of service provided by the faculty and word-of-mouth referrals have tripled.

     SCORE has helped them to develop a strategic plan which included construction of an annex to expand capacity, consolidation of loans and the development of metrics to measure progress.

“Score has helped develop strategic
initiatives to take us from “very good”
 to excelling in key areas.”

 Butch and Maria Aggen - Cedar Park, TX

Business: The Goddard School

Started: 2007

www.goddardschool.com

SCORE counselors worked with Jeff on many aspects of his expansion into Bluffton including marketing and the leasing of state of the art manufacturing equipment.  Even after the successful expansion into Bluffton, Jeff continued to meet with one of the SCORE counselors several times a year to “bounce off ideas” regarding ongoing business operations..

In July 1996, Closet Specialist was named the “Small Business of the Year’ by the Small Business Chamber of Savannah.  In addition, for each of the years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Closet Specialist has been recognized by the Savannah Magazine’s Best of Homes issue as the “Best Closet Company”.  This recognition is based on the votes on the magazine’s readers.

Jeff has also served as President of the Association of Closet and Storage Professionals (www.closets.org) for 2010 – 2012 and presently sits on their Board of Directors.  Closet Specialist has been featured in many local and national magazines and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and CLOSETS Magazine