We strongly encourage active participation by the Company's top management team and/or outside advisors. 

Does the CEO approve prospective Advisory Team members?

The CEO is not directly involved in the selection of prospective Advisory Team members. We work with you to build the Team based on your interests, challenges, and our advisory team experience; its definitely a conversation with you. We meet with you at your physical site (if applicable) to discuss your business history, financials and pain points before we look for Advisory Team members. We then gather a SCORE team that is broad and deep in their experiences/skill sets which can add a great deal of thoughtful commentary to your AT experience.

How will you determine if I qualify for an Advisory Team?

There are four general qualifications for an Advisory Team:

A. Annual revenues of $500K
B. CEO and key personnel are involved in the Advisory Team meetings
C. A demonstrated willingness to be transparent and collaborative
D. SCORE capabilities in matching mentors to the skill sets and expertise
needed to guide you and add business value.

If my business challenges change, can we make changes to the Advisory Team?

 Yes. Changes to the Advisory Team members can occur if there is a business need.

What are the advantages of an Advisory Team versus one-on-one mentoring?

The advantage of adding or moving to an Advisory Team has to do with your business evolution. As businesses grow and become more complex in size and operations, you and your management team would benefit from additional guidance and expertise. You will work with SCORE business experts to address such topics as scaling up, cash flow and squeezed profit margins, developing and executing a marketing plan, financing growth, succession planning/reaching long-term goals, and preparing to sell your business for maximum value. These are just a few topics an Advisory Team can help you with.

What are the backgrounds of Advisory Team members?

SCORE has over 80 mentors in the Orange County Chapter and over 10,000 across the United States. Many of our mentors are entrepreneurs who have started their own business. The SCORE Orange County Chapter has mentors with backgrounds in social media, e-commerce, marketing, law, tax, food, non-profit, media, finance, operations and insurance (this list is not all inclusive). We have the opportunity of working with the other 10,000 nation-wide members when a unique need arises.

How many people normally comprise an Advisory Team?

There will be a lead mentor who will coordinate with an advisory specialist team to help reach your goals.

You said you want to work with the management team. What if I don’t want to share certain information with them?

To achieve maximum benefit from an advisory team, conversations should be direct, open and honest about the direction the CEO wants to take the company. It’s very difficult to achieve strategic goals such as scaling up, selling, or franchising for example without key person resources. If there is information you do not want to share, we suggest that you speak with us about it and then we can make mindful decisions.

I feel uncomfortable having an Advisory Team look over my shoulder and raise questions about how I run my company. What can you say about that?

First, we do not look over your shoulder. It is not our role. We are an objective service team that brings years of collective experience to share with you so that you can make informed choices and see opportunities. We are not a governing body that sets policies for corporate management and oversight. The Advisory Team answers to you, not the other way around. 

My company’s annual revenue is in excess of $20M. Can you work with a company of that size?

Yes we work with companies of all sizes. We generally work with organizations between $500K - $25 million in revenues.

What kind of input can I expect of an Advisory Team - strategic or tactical?

The Advisory Team is here to discuss the challenges you are facing. We provide both strategic and tactical advice, however most of our work is at the strategic big picture level. Most CEO’s of small businesses are mired in the day to day operations of their business. One of the benefits of an Advisory Team is the longer term strategic focus we bring to your business.

Does the Advisory Team consist of peer CEO’s or SCORE volunteers?

The Advisory Team consists exclusively of SCORE mentors. SCORE mentors are business experts in their field; all mentors are unpaid volunteers. For peer to peer CEO mentoring, SCORE has CEO Forum groups where peer CEO’s get together on a regular basis to discuss their business pain points and to learn from each other.

Would it be possible to hold the meetings virtually?

We encourage all Advisory Boards to have at least one in-person meeting. Subsequent meetings can continue in-person or virtual with mutual agreement.

How do SCORE mentors keep up their knowledge base?

SCORE Mentors are experts in their field. They continue to have deep contacts and knowledge in their field through networking and continuing education. Our mentors participate in the same workshops as those offered to its clients and potential clients. SCORE also continually recruits for new volunteers which helps us to build our own internal portfolio of professionals. In addition to mentors, we have Subject Matter Experts from various industries and professions. We make every effort to have expertise that is relevant and diverse.

Is there any cost to this service?

No, there is no cost at this time.