Pinellas County SCORE Chapter 115
Counselors to America's Small Business
email score115@ij.net
A Resource Arm of the Small Business Administration (SBA)
AN OPPORTUNITY T0 SERVE
SCORE - AN ANSWER TO LIFE AFTER RETIREMENT
SCORE is a volunteer, not-for-profit organization counseling small businesses without charge. In Pinellas County SCORE has helped 15,000 companies in the last 30 years.
This is a national organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. But the dynamics of SCORE lie in its local chapters - almost 400 of them nationwide, with more than 12,000 volunteer members. They help 170,000 businesses annually with over one millions hours of counseling. Many of these small businesses could not have survived without their assistance.
To small business owners and executives, both men and women, who have achieved business success before, SCORE offers a second career. Now they can work at their own pace, maintain the skills, which made them successful, enjoy stimulating associations, without the pressures they had before. ”An opportunity to serve“
SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
SCORE provides a wide range of services to small businesses. One-on-one counseling to a business is its primary function. A SCORE counselor is assigned to advise a company based on his or her expertise and background in the field of the client's business and the counselor's knowledge of management, business planning, marketing, financing, engineering, and other related business activities.
In addition SCORE holds periodic workshops/seminars where members serve as moderators, group leaders and speakers. Since SCORE is a recognized business resource of the community, members speak at meetings of business groups, make radio and TV appearances, write articles and are interviewed by the business press.
This Pinellas County SCORE chapter is active in email Cyber Counseling. Through the National SCORE web site a counselor has the opportunity to counsel, worldwide, to American citizens via the Internet at www.score.org.
CHAPTER OPERATIONS
Managing SCORE itself is an important function. The membership comprises about 40 professional and experienced business counselors. Pinellas County SCORE Chapter 115 counsels over 1,000 clients annually.
For the convenience of its clients, the local SCORE chapter has offices in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida. SCORE members manage the organization and staff its committees along with their regular counseling work. All this is on a volunteer part-time basis.
Collectively the experience of SCORE executive’s ranges from owner operated business to positions with Fortune 500 companies, from fashion apparel retailing to computer science, from restaurant management to high technology products and international business. That's why SCORE can most often provide a good match of business experience to its clients needs.
Personal backgrounds and interest of members are equally varied. Chapter counselors include retired and active, retail/wholesale merchants, insurance agents, engineers, attorneys, accountants, building contractors, hotel and restaurant executives, marketing executives and career military officers. Some take on teaching assignments at various colleges. Others serve as consultants to other business groups and civic organizations.
AN ORGANIZATION OF VOLUNTEERS
SCORE members receive no compensation except for reimbursement for local travel expenses. Yet they have strong motivations for giving their time to this work: the satisfaction of passing on their experience and helping others to succeed, using the skills acquired in a lifetime of business, associating with interesting, stimulating people like themselves.
A SUMMARY OF WHAT SCORE IS
SCORE was established by the U.S. Congress in 1964 to function under the auspices of the Small Business Administration by helping individuals establish small businesses and assist on-going businesses with their problems and issues.
It is a National Organization of Select Volunteers who have personally pledged their interest, time and valuable experience to the counseling of small business and to sustaining and participating in the chapter activities to that end. They enjoy what they are doing and are ready, willing and able to make the commitment necessary to carry out that pledge.
Email Pinellas County SCORE 115 at score115@ij.net to volunteer or for more information or Phone: (727) 532-680
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