| New business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs don’t have to face the challenges of building a business alone. The Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, is a national, non-profit association that provides educational resources and free business counseling to small business owners across the nation. Supported by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), SCORE has been serving small businesses since 1964.
Despite the organization’s size — there are more than 380 chapters operating nationwide, and around 11,000 SCORE volunteers — and longevity, SCORE often operates under the radar of many business owners.
“A lot of people don’t know what SCORE is,” said Harry Martin, SCORE counselor and past chairman of SCORE’s Seattle chapter.
SCORE is run on the volunteer power of both working and retired members with significant business experience and expertise. Member volunteers range from business owners and executives to educators and other professionals who donate their expertise as counselors, mentors and workshop presenters.
The award-winning Seattle chapter has 109 volunteers, one in only five chapters with more than 100 volunteers.
“We have a bunch of dedicated guys,” said Martin.
In addition to free business counseling for any start-up or existing small business, SCORE offers a number of reasonably priced seminars and workshops on a regular basis, including “Starting a New Business,” “Building a Business Plan,” and “Financing Your Business.”
“There are workshops going on every day in Seattle,” said Martin.
Martin, who has been with SCORE for a number of years, was involved in forming the Peninsula branch of the Seattle chapter and there are now 16 SCORE counselors focused on providing counseling to business owners on this side of Puget Sound. SCORE was also heavily involved in the formation of the Kitsap Business Assistance Center (KBAC) at Olympic College, and Martin hopes they will have a permanent presence in KBAC’s Norm Dicks Government Center office soon.
Although SCORE counselors are volunteers, they are still required to take a thorough training course that usually takes several months to complete, and includes attending at least one chapter meeting in Seattle. The organization’s code of ethics requires that all counselors sign an agreement each year stipulating that they will not accept gifts or pay for the SOCRE counseling services that they provide.
Business experts who are interested in becoming SCORE counselors are encouraged to contact the Seattle SCORE office at (206) 553-7320 or to call Martin at (360) 275-3454.
“I’m always recruiting,” said Martin.
In Kitsap County SCORE counseling is available free of charge, by appointment, at the Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, Bremerton and Silverdale Chamber of Commerce offices, as well as at the Kitsap Business Assistance Center. | 