With Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) just a few days away, everyone will be supporting small businesses by patronizing those local merchants and shops, but I wanted to bring attention to a couple of organizations that work behind the scenes to support those same businesses every day of the year.
When you consider that roughly two out of every three net new jobs is created in these small businesses and roughly half of our friends and neighbors work there, supporting local business owners makes a lot of sense at many levels.
In addition to consumers supporting small businesses at the cash register, there are two excellent organizations that do a tremendous job of helping small businesses behind the scenes. SCORE is a group of volunteers who provide mentoring and education to small business owners all across the country. This cadre of volunteer business people speaks from real-world experience when they offer advice to the business owners in their community.
“If you know the names Vera Bradley, Jelly Belly, Allen Edmonds shoes, or Raising Cain’s, you know some of the great American companies that got their start working with a SCORE mentor, “ says David R. Bobbitt, president of The SCORE Foundation.
It doesn’t matter if your business is a startup, or you have a few years under your belt, SCORE volunteers can help you with anything from building a marketing plan, navigating the ins-and-outs of working with government contractors, or preparing for a small business loan. OnDeck’s national support of SCORE has allowed me to see first hand the dedication and willingness of these business leaders to give back to their communities, as well as for me to hear about many of their success stories.
Arturo Guillen of Arturo’s Mexican Restaurant in New Bern, North Carolina is one of the many small businesses helped by SCORE mentors. He started the restaurant in 1999, but as the community attracted more residents and beach-bound tourists, his restaurant attracted more patrons—and with growth came growing pains.
Like many small business owners, it was a passion for something he loved, rather than an MBA that prompted Arturo to open his restaurant. When he recognized the need for some experience and mentoring to more efficiently deal with growth and run his restaurant, he turned to the team at SCORE for the advice.
“Les [Les Babcock, his personal mentor] and other SCORE counselors really cared about me and my business,” he said. “They provided lots of valuable feedback about my financials and operation. I went in thinking they would just look at the financials, but they’ve been able to help me with everything I’ve needed. Les is more than a mentor; now, he’s my friend.”
In addition to assisting Arturo by helping him update his bookkeeping practices, SCORE also advised him on his marketing strategy, insurance, and business strategy. “SCORE helped me improve my staff organization, which allows me to have more time to spend with my family,” said Arturo.
Another great resource for small business owners is their local SBDC. These are non-profits, hosted by local universities, community colleges, or state economic development agencies that provide assistance to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Like the volunteers at SCORE, these advisors offer free business consulting and low-cost training services on things like managing a business’ financials, developing a business plan, marketing, operations, and market research, to name just a few.
“Many people don’t start a business because they’re really excited about the financial side of running a company, but to be successful, they need to be more engaged and have an understanding in that part of the business,” said Lucretia Freeman-Buster, a former commercial banker and now Acting Executive Director at the Washington D.C. SBDC. “It’s every bit as important, sometimes even more important, to have a complete understanding of the business financials—particularly when you need capital and are sitting down in front of a loan officer looking for a loan.”
Freeman-Buster suggests many of the businesses they see are trying to take their companies to the next level. They want to grow and are looking for advice and knowledge they recognize they might not have to do it. Fortunately, many of the advisers are like Freeman-Buster and come from backgrounds and experience that can be very valuable to an entrepreneur.
“While most business owners expect their businesses to grow, it doesn’t just happen,” says Freeman-Buster. America’s SBDC reports that small business owners that work with an SBDC experience 14% job growth compared to the national average of only 1.6% and average four times the average sales than those that don’t. To me, that sounds like a pretty positive economic impact and a great tool small business owners should be leveraging to help their businesses grow.
Organizations like SCORE and your local SBDC are valuable resources available to business owners all across the country to help build businesses that are growing and thriving. As we get ready to participate in another Small Business Saturday, I wanted to applaud two organizations I believe are actively engaged in helping business owners 365 days a year. If you own a small business, visit your local SCORE chapter or the local SBDC in your area to see what type of resources are available to help you.
