As a volunteer SCORE counselor, I am often asked why I would give free advice to entrepreneurs that I could easily sell for hundreds of dollars per hour. Let me set the record straight. First of all, I don’t always give my time and advice away for free. My family needs to eat just like yours. However, I am more than happy to give quite a bit of my time and advice as a volunteer for SCORE. Of course, there are many reasons why I do this. Perhaps the best way to sum it up is to share a short success story about a cuddly American company that reveals my true motivation for giving back.
It isn’t unusual for parents to be inspired by their children and such was the case with John Sortino. He noticed that his son only had stuffed animals made in other countries. Why not America? So Sortino decided to create an American made teddy bear. This inspiration led to the creation of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company in the early 1980s.
“Bearcho” became the ancestor of millions of other cuddly, customized teddy bears created by the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, the Shelburne-based business that Sortino founded a few years later. Made famous through its memorable radio ads and wide range of gift options, the company has capitalized on America’s long-standing love affair with the toy by creating customized teddy bears and shipping them to lucky recipients via specially designed “BearGrams.”
But while the Vermont Teddy Bear Company has indeed become one of the nation’s true business success stories, Sortino recalls that he was no different from other entrepreneurs who sometimes need help to turn their vision into reality.
Starting a new business is never easy and Sortino faced no shortage of challenges in trying to get his teddy bear business off the ground. So, Sortino turned to his local SCORE office for business advice. In response to the resistance Sortino faced from local retailers who were initially reluctant to market the hand-crafted toys, he decided to try selling them from a pushcart in Burlington, Vermont’s famous downtown marketplace. Eventually, with help from a volunteer SCORE counselor, Sortino was able to expand his push cart operation; first into a small manufacturing operation that wholesaled the products to small specialty stores and ultimately into a national franchise.
Later, when Sortino planned a new factory to meet the increasing demand, he again called SCORE. Al Huber, an expert in factory operations, helped to engineer the bear-making process, including setting up the various manufacturing stages.
By the early 1990s, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company had become a national phenomenon. Soon after transitioning from a privately held business to a public corporation, the company was ranked 21st on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest growing public companies in 1994. The company has since added Internet shopping and broadened its product offering to include other gift items.
Sortino left the Vermont Teddy Bear Company in 1995 to pursue other interests and is now a highly sought-after business consultant. He also authored the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Successful Entrepreneuring, now in its fifth printing, and he is currently negotiating to write a series of business books for high school students. Sortino says:
“Having a business sounds like a wonderful dream, but it’s really very tough. You’re by yourself, your plans may not be working out and you’re trying to figure out how to solve problems or keep things growing. When possible, people should talk to SCORE counselors and get different perspectives, because they have so much information and experience to share. It’s like the gods of business coming in to help you be successful.”
I realize this is a shameless plug for SCORE. But, it is for a very worthy cause. And although I don’t often endorse products and/or services, I do not apologize for this. I am hoping this short success story motivates others in one of two ways:
- If you have been a successful entrepreneur and/or executive, why not give back to those that follow in your footsteps? I may not have been the counselor that helped John Sortino, but I am counting on some of the entrepreneurs that I am helping to be the next John Sortino. Entrepreneurs are everywhere. Therefore SCORE can use your help wherever you are. To volunteer, simply visit the SCORE website and join our swelling ranks of well over 11,000 counselors in well over 350 offices nationwide. Tell them that Mike Clough from the St. Paul Chapter sent you. In this economy we need you more now than ever!
- If you are an entrepreneur with a start-up or a small business owner that wants to grow your business or turn it around in this economy, a SCORE counselor may be just what you need. These folks have been there and done what you are trying to do before so they can provide valuable assistance to help you success. Simply visit the SCORE website and request “In-Person Mentoring”. Did I mention it was free?
Considering that SCORE has helped well over 8 million entrepreneurs, there is a good chance they have helped some of my readers. If you have benefited from the services of SCORE please comment below as we all would love to here your success story!
You can also connect with SCORE in their LinkedIn Group and on Twitter. More information about SCORE is available by clicking the SCORE ‘tab” above.
DISCLAIMER: “America’s Best Business Practices” is not an official SCORE blog. However, the author (me) is a SCORE counselor and a small business advocate that publishes this blog as a forum for small business news, advice, tips, ideas and an occasional plug for those helping small business across America. Other articles that may be of interest to small business start-ups and turnarounds include:
- Is Now a Good Time to Start a New Business?
- Funding a Business with Credit Cards
- Is a Written Business Plan Really Necessary?
- Branding Is The Key to Differentiation
- The New Small Business Administration (SBA)
- America Runs On Small Business
If you would like to contact me, you can do so by emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org or visiting my LinkedIn page.
Posted by: Mike Clough
