User Friendly Maps, LLC
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User Friendly Maps creates interpretive graphics that are used as mapping solutions and greenway signage for clients such as municipal parks and recreation departments. President John Innes started his firm just before the economic crisis began in 2008 and soon his business had dwindled down to only one client. He realized he needed assistance to save and grow his business, so he turned to SCORE.
The company is now executing more contracts than ever which has allowed John to add a geographic information contractor to the firm and hire a full-time bookkeeper. He intends to expand User Friendly Map’s computer graphic business to include more internet and wireless mapping.
Working with SCORE counselor Dana Peterka, John learned skills in negotiation, market segmentation and pricing to grow his business. In 2010, he increased revenue by almost 25 percent and now has clients in five states. He was recently commissioned to create a mapping product for the Partners of Cherokee National Forest which is his first foray into the retail market. The firm’s featured product is a format which received two awards from the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. With assistance from counselor Jerry Carlson, this format has been filed for patent-approval.
John found a combination of attending workshops like “Prospering in Tough Economic Times” and numerous sessions with his mentors to be effective tools for improving his business. He credits SCORE “for many of the strides my company has made. My counselors have become highly valued assets and maintain an objective and professional approach to dealing with my company.”