Group of volunteers in Lexington helps small businesses get started, solve problems
Tom Martin speaks with Vincent Smith, chair of the Lexington chapter of SCORE, an organization of volunteer businesspeople helping small business owners solve problems.
Q: SCORE. What does that stand for?
A: The original meaning was Service Corps of Retired Executives. The reason they’re trying to get away from the acronym is there are a lot of volunteers now that may not be retired. We’re reaching out to get certain expertise in social media and in items where the younger crowd has a better handle on it.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your own background and what kind of expertise you bring to the table.
A: I graduated from college, started working in a training program in department stores. I’ve always been in leadership positions in merchandise. I have a sales and marketing background in retail. That’s half of my career. The other half was in wholesale and manufacturing. So, I have seen the conversation from both sides of the desk. You know, my strengths throughout my career have been highly analytical and strategic.
Q: And what brought you to SCORE?
A: When I moved to Lexington in 2010 I was searching out some networks of executive-level individuals and the group that I found had several members that were with SCORE. They were talking about it and I thought, well, let me go down and see what they’re offering and what they do. When I was in New Jersey, which is where I lived before I moved here, I was a volunteer at Big Brothers Big Sisters. So, that’s my true indoctrination in being a volunteer for a nonprofit organization.
Q: You’re the chair of the Lexington chapter of SCORE. And these chapters can be found all over the country?
A: All over the country. There are over 300 chapters. Kentucky itself has three chapters: Lexington, Louisville and Paducah.
Q: And there’s a relationship with the Small Business Administration?
A: SCORE is a nonprofit volunteer-based outreach of the Small Business Administration that offers free mentoring and counseling to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups. Also includes nonprofits.
Q: What kind of services do you offer?
A: Number one is the opportunity for free face-to-face mentoring. We have a variety of previous business owners plus business executives with a variety of different expertise, whether it’s financial, operations, manufacturing, or sales and marketing. We match people with the expertise they need right then. One of the beauties I think of it is once you’ve established a relationship and you understand someone’s business, you really have access to all of this expertise.
Q: Does SCORE offer consultation in the startup phase? Do you help people get off the ground with a business?
A: Absolutely. And just because you’ve had one business doesn’t necessarily mean that you know everything about a new venture that you’re trying to do. Plus, I kind of see mentoring fits two channels. One channel is, say, the specific needs. And the other channel is a sounding board. One of the examples that I like to use with some of my clients is: you’re in the brownie business, you know? But if you take your brownies to go see your mother, she thinks they’re great. But that’s not really what you’re looking for and that’s not really helping you.
Q: Financing; do you offer any kind of advice in that area?
A: We do. To start with, you need a business plan. A business plan is going to cover how you’re going to start your business and who is the competition. But somewhere in there are financial projections. Before you get into business you have to start saying to yourself, ‘How am I going to make business; how am I going to get to that first rung? What am I going to need?’
Q: Do you have volunteers who actually help put together a business plan?
A: We’re not there to do people’s business plans. There are three or four ways to do a business plan and different types of business plans. You can get software not dissimilar to tax software that walks you through it and creates it for you. SCORE has templates. There are other templates online, or you can just sort of go at it freestyle and create your own business plan.
Q: Let’s say somebody is thinking of starting a small business and they’re making plans to come to SCORE. What do they need to think about before they come and sit down with a mentor?
A: I think the best way to utilize our services is to think of it as a process and not a “one hit” type of scenario. In the initial consultation the primary focus has to be on what the business is, what they want to accomplish, what their feelings are and what they feel the challenges are to their business.
Q: How many businesses is the Lexington chapter working with at any given time?
A: I would say that probably overall clienteles that we’ve worked with is in the 400 range. We have an audited report from 2014 done by Price Waterhouse that shows that we helped create just over 200 businesses.
Q: What do you look for in a prospective mentor?
A: We’re looking for a certain amount of expertise and a willingness to volunteer. A lot of the conversation is about understanding what “volunteer” means.
Q: How much demand is there on a person’s time?
A: It’s not really that great. You’re looking at a minimum of maybe 10 hours a month. So, that’s two, maybe three hours a week of mentoring. We’re always recruiting for clients and more mentors.
Q: How would somebody who might be interested in volunteering to become a SCORE member get in touch?
A: We have a website: Lexington.score.org. You can call the office, 859-231-9902. Our office is at 389 Waller Avenue, Suite 130.
Tom Martin’s Q&A appears every two weeks in the Herald-Leader’s Business Monday section. This is an edited version of the interview. To listen to the interview, find the podcast on Kentucky.com. The interview also will air on WEKU-88.9 FM on Mondays at 7:35 a.m. during Morning Edition and at 5:45 p.m. during All Things Considered.
This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Group of volunteers in Lexington helps small businesses get started, solve problems."