Coastal Cremations, Inc., Cheryle Gooldin
We have bid on and received a County Indigent Cremation contract. We've remodelled our small office to include space for a part-time Funeral Director and a part-time bookkeeper. We have grown from serving 13 families in our first year, 231 in our second year, and project to about 400 this year.
I was laid off in September 2009. After several weeks, it became clear that I could not get a job in a local funeral home since my husband was still working for the same company that had laid me off, making competition wary. While we had always wanted to open our own funeral home, we could not afford it, so we decided that I could open a direct disposer establishment (without viewings, visitations, or services).
I found a SCORE pamphlet at the local Career Central (unemployment agency) that I was going to. That's when I found George, my mentor.
I had never even had a lemonade stand... that's how much business knowledge I had. My SCORE mentor told me about so many things that I did not even know about like worker's comp, unemployment taxes, corporations taxes, and payroll taxes. That last one I would not need for a long time! I spoke to my mentor several times, and he guided me in the right direction. He came by my office and helped me in many ways. Even though he did not have a lot of knowledge about the funeral industry, he did know how to start and run a successful business. My paper financial records have all been migrated to QuickBooks. My advertising dollars are being wisely spent. And my business is growing.
George's guidance, knowledge, and patience are the cornerstones on which I have built a solid, stable, successful business. I highly recommend SCORE become every business owner's initial resource for information. If you are ever thinking about starting a business in Pasco County, I suggest you call SCORE first. Second, ask for George. He is the Best!
Providing assistance in Accounting , Finance and Taxes, using Quickbooks as your software to...