There are people who come up with new ideas for businesses all the time. Sometimes they actually get one off the ground. But then what? Do they have a solid business plan, a bookkeeping system and a way to pay for it all?
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs don’t, and the business withers on the vine. That’s where SCORE could have helped.
“So many of them have great ideas, have sold, fixed or invented something, but don’t know how to apply basic business principles such as accounting and finance,” explained John Darnell, chair of the Lexington Chapter of SCORE. “We spend a great deal of time teaching them how to approach bankers, what materials they’ll need to apply for a loan, how to put the numbers on the page and what to say.”
SCORE is a nonprofit association of business-savvy volunteers and mentors. It used to be called the Service Corp of Retired Executives, but today it is simply known as SCORE.
SCORE provides its expertise and confidential business counseling in-person or by email across 62 industries. It offers business tools, templates and tips online, along with inexpensive or free local business workshops and webinars. There are 364 chapters nationwide, with five in Kentucky. SCORE is headquartered in Herndon, Va.
Carmen Davis, owner of a Nicholasville-based taxi service launched in July called Go Green Taxi, was a pupil of Darnell’s.
“There was so much he contributed to us being able to open. He strongly encouraged us to attend SCORE’s Open for Business seminar, which was useful and covered everything from marketing, business plans and capital procurement to business loans,” said Davis.
Darnell was also Davis’ one-on-one mentor.
“He was instrumental in helping me design our car logo,” Davis said. “Since he used to be a business owner [Caudill’s ClimateMaster Heating and Air Conditioning] with a fleet of vehicles on the road that met customers, he helped us learn how to cover the area efficiently with our taxis.”
“When my wife and I owned our own business, we made plenty of mistakes. We tried to learn from them and now try to impart that to our clients,” said Darnell.
Years ago, a SCORE volunteer brought an entrepreneur to see Caudill about a loan.
“I thought to myself, ‘What a great organization and group of volunteers. I’m going to do this someday to try and pay back,’” he said. “We help a lot of people and enjoy it tremendously.”
Go Green Taxi has just two vehicles, a passenger van and a Toyota Prius. Davis said her biggest obstacle is expansion. She wants to break into the Lexington market.
“But Lexington has a 25-car requirement to get a permit to operate any taxi service,” Davis said. “Because we’re a small business, we can’t come up with funds to purchase 25 vehicles.”
She has petitioned the Urban County Council for an exemption for the required number of vehicles. Her request is under review. Davis said her competition is well established and connected, so she launched a campaign on her website to get the number of required taxis lowered.
As earlier mentioned, SCORE changed its name, in part because there aren’t as many retired executive-volunteers as before.
“We’re getting younger volunteers, and many aren’t even retired,” said Darnell. “Some are current executives who own businesses or who downsized or retired early. They’re great volunteers and valuable business counselors with a wealth of experience.”
Smiley Pete, publisher of Business Lexington, works with SCORE to facilitate information by offering many opportunities for start-up businesses to learn and move forward, according to Robbie Morgan, Smiley Pete’s director of sponsorships and events.
“We want to provide a valuable service to the business community with meaningful seminars, educational opportunities, lunches and networking, tours of small businesses, classes, webinars and these kinds of things. They would help raise the bar for the entire entrepreneurial community,” explained Morgan.
“For me, the reason SCORE is exciting is because it’s a resource that no one knows much about. It has a dedicated following and an incredible list of successful professionals with a wealth of experience to share,” Morgan added.
Morgan comes from a nonprofit background. She said she knows how workshops and classes can benefit a community of entrepreneurs and their new businesses.
“In order to have a successful entrepreneurial environment, whether at the micro office level or the macro city-wide level, there have to be spaces for collaboration and conversation,” Morgan said. “It’s why the best discussions happen around the coffee pot — whether in the kitchen or in Silicon Valley. Everywhere those spaces can be created ... the more benefit to our community.”
The best advice Davis offers other entrepreneurs is to get a mentor “like SCORE,” she urged. “Do as much market research as possible,” Davis added. “That tells you about the demographics in the area. The Bluegrass Small Business Development Center offers that for free. It’s another wonderful tool to use.”