Progress magazine
Inside story 2
SCORE offers key solutions, mentoring to help small businesses succeed
By Heidi Howell
Do
you own a small business — or would you like to? Current and future
business owners are eligible to receive complimentary consulting
services from veteran business executives through SCORE: the Service
Corps of Retired Executives.
Al Kessler, chapter chair and
assistant district director for SCORE, oversees the six-chapter area
from south of Stockton to Bakersfield. “SCORE is a national organization
funded by congress,” Kessler says. “We provide a number of services to
any small business, as well as monthly, low-cost business basics
workshops for people who want to start a business.” The problem is, he
says, “Most people have no idea how to start their businesses, and no
idea where to go for help. SCORE has people with experience who can
really help.”
Regarding business success, Kessler explains, “If a
business is not making a profit, they need to find out why. There are
all sorts of reasons. A lot of people don’t realize what they’re getting
into when starting a business,” including the workload, hours involved,
etc. “It all boils down to profitability. If you make a lot of money,
you must be profitable, if you don’t, you’re in trouble. If you can’t
make a profit, you should not be in business.” That’s where SCORE comes
in.
Kessler notes that all volunteer counselors are former small
business owners or have business experience as executives of larger
companies. Free, face-to-face counseling sessions are conducted at one
of two local offices. The Modesto branch is located at the Modesto
Chamber of Commerce offices, 1114 J St.; the Merced office, shared with
the Workforce Investment Board, is at 1880 Wardrobe Ave.
“Our
goal is to help people succeed. For a lot of people it doesn’t
necessarily mean they have problems that need to be solved, it may mean
they just need to come in and talk to us about their business,” Kessler
says. “They may be operating successfully, and we can offer some
suggestions to help make them more profitable.” If they do have an
identifiable problem, he says, perhaps a SCORE counselor can help them
solve it.
In addition to individual interviews, counseling via
email is also available. A nationwide network of SCORE volunteers is
accessible with targeted expertise in given areas. That way, if a local
counselor doesn’t have enough answers about a particular field, clients
can find someone in another locale who does.
For example,
Kessler says, “If you wanted to know if you could patent a software
program, our members would have some knowledge about it, but we’re not
experienced in all areas.” He recommends visiting the SCORE Web site at
www.score556.org and clicking on the link on the right, labeled “small
business advice.” From there, you can review counselors’ resumes to find
people with expertise in particular fields.
SCORE can also help
business owners who are experiencing growing pains. “Generally when
people expand a business, their growing pains are related to cash flow.
To grow, you’ve got to spend some money; you’ve got to plan how you’ll
finance your growth,” Kessler says. “Growth has to be controlled.
Companies that are successful don’t take all the business they can
handle, they take all the business they can control.”
Experienced
business people with some extra time to contribute to the community are
encouraged to become SCORE counselors. The time commitment is
approximately one day a week, plus attendance at monthly meetings. Most
counselors are retired or semi-retired, but anyone is welcome to apply.
To learn more about service opportunities with SCORE, contact Al Kessler
at (209) 724-2033. For information about upcoming classes on marketing,
planning, legal matters and more, check the Web site.
No matter
how well your business is doing, time spent with a veteran business
executive could positively impact your future success.
>sidebar, box or separate story
Small business funding through SCEDCO
We
spoke with Susan Martin, president/CEO of non-profit Success Capital
Expansion & Development Corporation (SCEDCO). The company’s mission
is to foster regional economic development by providing financing to
small businesses. Its key focus is to offer SBA 504 low-down payment,
fixed-rate financing for fixed-asset acquisition to small- and
medium-sized companies. SCEDCO customizes financing packages and
approves, funds and services business expansion/development loans.
“The
SBA 504 loan program allows business people to buy facilities for their
own businesses with as little as 10 percent down,” Martin says. “This
gives them access to the national bond market for that financing, so
they get a 20-year fixed, below-market rate on our financing for their
portion of it,” she says. “We did about 40 projects last year, totaling
about $15 million in loans, with projects totaling about $35 million.”
How
does SCEDCO differ from banks? Martin says SCEDCO reviews clients’
applications for profitability, a track record of growth, good credit
and many of the other things the banking industry looks at in approving
loans, “but we can go a step beyond normal banking criteria to address
more unusual requests for special market niches.”
Types of
businesses SCEDCO can assist are firms with a net worth of less than
$7.4 million and less than $2.5 million in profits. “We can lend to some
very large small businesses,” she says.
In addition to the SBA
504, SCEDCO works with another type of loan that is exclusively for
Stanislaus County businesses. “It’s a revolving loan fund used for gap
financing,” she says. “For example, a person is buying a franchise-type
business and has enough money to buy the franchise and do the tentative
improvements, but needs money for equipment.” Martin says the loans are
long-term. “The term depends on the use of the proceeds. We usually make
these loans between $5,000 and $100,000.”
How can small
businesses benefit from such loans? Martin explains that through SCEDCO,
“They get better rates than bank rates, generally with longer loan
terms and much lower down payments.” She notes there are other loans
available to small businesses through the Small Business Administration,
as well as banks. To learn more about SCEDCO, which is located at 1420 F
St. in Modesto, visit www.scedco.org.
Chamber member Heidi
Howell, a business copywriter, specializes in results-oriented Web
content, marketing collateral, press releases, articles and more.
© HHWS for Modesto Chamber of Commerce
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