By Jack Bernard, guest columnist
“Joining SCORE and helping small businesses to grow and succeed has been a rewarding experience for me. I think I get as much out of this as our clients,” — Jim Strauss, Atlanta Score Chapter Chair and Fayette County resident
After several decades in the business world, I retired as a corporate senior vice president. Along the way, I helped two small companies to grow into successful NASDAQ entities today. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I know that it is not easy to succeed as a small business. Even with hard work and the best of intentions, four out of five still fail.
So, I looked around to see where I could volunteer by helping Georgia’s small businesses to grow and succeed. I found SCORE and have been an active member ever since.
SCORE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Score is celebrating 60 years of service. Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow or successfully exit a business.
SCORE’s 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories, including in Peachtree City and Fayette County. All volunteers are unpaid, and all mentoring sessions are 100 percent free.
Score has been assisting small businesses to grow and prosper via free confidential mentoring and professional workshops. If you interested in learning how to start a small business or to grow an existing business, SCORE is the organization that can help you to succeed.
The ideal mentor is empathetic, flexible, and loves connecting people to the resources that will best help them to achieve their aims. SCORE mentors have a wide range of skills. SCORE will attempt to match a budding entrepreneur with someone who knows the industry he or she is interested in.
Georgia mentors have assisted people to either enter or increase profitability in the following industries: restaurants and hospitality; nonprofit, public and professional organizations; retail and wholesale trade; international trade, imports; marketing, advertising and creative services; technology and web-based services; government contracting; personal services and wellness; consulting, research and business services; arts and entertainment; health care and life services; manufacturing and mining; media and communications; real estate, rental services and leasing; agriculture and farming; construction, industrials and utilities; banking, financial services and insurance; educational services; homeowner services/home improvement; car repair and maintenance; environmental services; forestry, fishing and hunting; recreation and travel; transportation and warehousing; and waste management.
Visit www.atlanta.score.org to ask for a free mentoring session. The website also contains a wealth of additional information about the organization’s services, including on-line workshops. Workshops are taught by volunteers and offered by SCORE in a multitude of programmatic areas, including how to start a business; how to do a business plan; social media; marketing; import/export; accounting; as well as many other subjects.
In conclusion, SCORE Atlanta is also looking for part-time mentors to add to our Fayette County team! Join our roster of volunteers and share your talents and expertise with the small business community, mentoring a few hours a week by phone, email or video conference. For more information concerning volunteering, contact jim.strauss@scorevolunteer.org .
