Volunteer to grow America’s economy

BY MATT VARILEK

SCORE and the U.S. Smal l Business Administration Region VIII have launched an initiative to attract more volunteer mentors with business experience to expand small business counseling and t r aining throug hout the upp er Midwest region

For 50 years, SCORE volunteers have shared their expertise with up-and-coming small business people across the country In partnership with the SBA, these volunteers have contributed to a stronger economy and small business successes in industries from retailing to manufacturing and everything in between. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, SCORE assisted clients that started 38,630 new businesses and created more than 67,000 jobs in our national economy in the past year – a remarkable achievement for an organization comprised almost entirely of volunteers

Becoming a SCORE mentor means joining an active national community of 11,000 volunteers who are committed to helping small business owners succeed SCORE volunteers come from sectors and professions including small and large businesses, the military and higher education

Often our clients ask finance-related questions, such as: How can I improve my cash flow? How can I boost my chances of obtaining a SBA loan? How do I best prepare financial statements?

John Postovit, one of our leading SCORE members in Fargo says, “Go to the local lender that partners with SBA. The lender will decide on how best to proceed with an SBA loan application ” To help determine which lenders to approach, SCORE provides a listing of banks and credit unions who have participated with SBA along with the number of loans they serviced in the last fiscal year

John indicated that one of the first questions many clients ask is, “My credit is not that good. How do I improve my situation to get the funding I need for my business?”

I asked him how he responded and he said that it depended on how ambitious the financing proposal was “If they do not need much money, they can generally shore up their equity position through gifts or loans from family or friends,” he says. “Nontraditional funding sources such as micro loans or crowd funding may be another alternative ”

SCORE mentors also help them to organize their strategy in “preparing to access capital ” They offer a guide that focuses around the 5 Cs of credit capital, collateral, capacity, character and conditions. Clients are offered some basics in how to effectively prepare for and meet a lender They also receive a loan proposal outline that provides guidance on alternative funding sources, especially if traditional funding is difficult to secure.

Occasionally new entrepreneurs just need moral support, or introductions to our network of specific industry experts We address these needs with unbiased guidance based on our own experience all on a confidential basis and at no cost to the recipient

Volunteering of any kind provides valuable benefits not only for the recipient, but also for the volunteer. With SCORE, our volunteers take pride in knowing they’re building a stronger economy and creating more opportunity for hard-working families

Maybe you ’ re already an experienced volunteer. Or maybe no one has ever asked you to volunteer before Well, today we ’ re asking: Join SCORE and use your experience to build a stronger community. To mark the 50th anniversary of SCORE, we ’ ve adopted the ambitious goal of helping 1 million new businesses to get started, one at a time, by 2017 You can help us get there.

For more information on how to become a SCORE mentor, please visit www score org/volunteer or call the local SBA office in your state. PB

Matt Varilek SBA Regional Administrator, Region VIII Matthew.varilek@sba.gov