(Photo courtesy of SCORE)
It just might be! And it is available to anyone free of charge. That might sound exaggerated, but read on.
Our SCORE chapter, headquartered in Central Oregon, has about 50 volunteer business mentors on our team. All are people who have either run their own businesses or been in management/leadership situations in business organizations, including both men and women, and most are retired or semi-retired and thus have extensive experience. The average career is over 20 years, so considering that our team has a thousand years of collective experience is real and probably a conservative estimate.
How might this translate to helping you?
Are you starting a business venture, or have an already up-and-running small business and want to grow it and improve profitability and efficiency?
Starting and growing a business can be daunting. What do you work on first? What are the priorities? Got a business up and running but need to hone the marketing to increase sales? Got a good plan in place to grow? Are you clearly aware of the “SWOT” elements (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) that would pertain to your business?
These are some of the areas for which the support and engagement of a mentor can be a very valuable asset to you as an entrepreneur. They can “overlay” their experience onto your business situation and use that to assist you, along with using the many educational tools that are part of the SCORE program. The common thread among all mentors is the interest and desire to share their knowledge and help entrepreneurs.
Mentors help point you in the right direction, asking pertinent questions and steering you to the best resources to help you move forward. Unlike a “consultant,” a mentor won’t tell you what decisions to make but present the facts as they are and guide you to come to your own conclusions.
Chances are you have friends and/or family who have ideas and input regarding your business. While that can be useful, the difference with a mentor is there can be much more “objectivity,” and that can be very helpful. Mentors working with SCORE are also bound by a strict code of ethics that includes complete confidentiality. Besides all that, SCORE mentoring is always completely free of charge.
In the last year, our local chapter has fulfilled well over 500 mentoring requests. Statistics show that aspiring or established entrepreneurs who work with SCORE mentors start businesses, create jobs, and increase revenue. Working with a mentor has been shown to significantly increase the rate of success in businesses, as opposed to “going it alone.”
Of course, the core outcome results from the help provided.
Here are a few of the many comments and feedback we receive from those who have received mentoring:
“My mentor is so knowledgeable and encouraging, but also with common sense recommendations that I appreciate.”
“As I continue to build the foundation of my business, I know my mentor will be able to guide me with solid advice. I believe this is critical to my success.”
“My mentor is very knowledgeable, personable and supportive. I felt like I had a successful future ahead and that it was attainable. I haven’t felt this optimistic in ages.”
“She listened to my needs, gave tangible action-oriented advice, was very personable and knowledgeable, and was just generally enjoyable to connect with.”
The local SCORE chapter is holding an open house “Move Your Business Forward” event on October 21 at the Deschutes Central Library starting at 5:30pm. There will be an opportunity to get a further overview of how mentoring works and learn more about the extensive free SCORE business education opportunities. Members of our mentor team will be there to meet with you personally and answer questions as well. See the ad in this edition of CBN to get registration information.
To take advantage of this support available to you as an entrepreneur — either with a startup business or one already up and running — mentoring can be requested by going to the SCORE website. In addition, if you have the extensive business experience noted above and would like to join our team and “give back” as a volunteer, you can also learn about that opportunity on our website.
