If you are thinking about buying or starting a business, there are mentors to help you. They are part of SCORE, a non-profit organization that has branches all over the country. They will also provide business help for existing companies.
My wife and I have done well with our online business, but we want to diversify. More specifically we want to buy a business that is already successful. And though we have started a few small businesses, we have never bought one. It really is a different process, to say the least. So we made an appointment with a local SCORE volunteer this week.
By the way, there are 13,000 of these volunteers offering confidential business counseling services in most parts of the country. The cost to you? Zero. That’s right, no cost. SCORE is what’s called a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), so they can be especially helpful if you are looking to get an SBA loan for your business. They also are commonly associated with the various chambers of commerce.
You can look for the closest office online, using the website at www.score.org, or you can cal the closest chamber of commerce. SCORE does local workshops and events as well. They educate entrepreneurs, help you make connections, and help you start, grow, and maintain your businesses in other ways.
We had a productive meeting with the SCORE counselor. The area we live in does not have many businesses for sale, unfortunately, but when we do find one we will be better prepared. We also now have one more person looking out for us, and she will call if she hears of a business for sale which meets our criteria.
If you haven’t turned to SCORE for business help before, give these helpful people a try. And no I was not paid to promote the organization. I just think they offer a great service.
