SCORE aims to help Sarasota-Manatee small business entrepreneurs

Patricia McKnight, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·4 min read
Ramin Hashemi, left, is a mentor and marketing director and Nabil Freij serves as co-chair for the Manasota Chapter of SCORE. The organization provides free or low-cost business education and mentoring for small business owners.
Ramin Hashemi, left, is a mentor and marketing director and Nabil Freij serves as co-chair for the Manasota Chapter of SCORE. The organization provides free or low-cost business education and mentoring for small business owners.

An area nonprofit that provides business mentoring for local entrepreneurs has helped hundreds of companies launch in recent months, resulting in thousands of new jobs.

Service Corps of Retired Executives, better known as SCORE, is a national nonprofit partner of the Small Business Administration that helps entrepreneurs succeed. The Manasota Chapter has been helping small businesses in the area since 1964.

SCORE Manasota has more than 75 volunteers, all with business backgrounds, that serve as mentors. According to SCORE Manasota, the organization helped 262 new businesses get started in the 2020 fiscal year and aided in creating over 1,700 jobs.

SCORE Manasota co-chair Nabil Freij said the organization helps entrepreneurs at all stages of their business, from conceptualization to finding employees or analyzing cash flow.

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“The large majority of the people approaching us are either seeking advice on creating a business plan, organizing a business, or dealing with marketing issues,” Freij said. “What they're seeking usually is help in figuring out how to get financing so they can fund their business.”

SCORE hosts webinars, workshops, and other information sessions for clients. Mentors then offer one-on-one sessions, tailored to the specific business they're helping.

Co-founders of Kivity.com Nikki Taylor And Skye Fischer.
Co-founders of Kivity.com Nikki Taylor And Skye Fischer.

SCORE Manasota client Kivity reached out to get information on how to communicate with partners more effectively. Kivity is a website and soon-to-be app that helps parents in the Sarasota area find after-school and extracurricular activities for children. Parents can choose programs and sign up the kids all on the website in a one-stop-shop.

Kivity co-founder Nikki Taylor said people recommended SCORE to her and her business partner. Taylor said they were looking for a business mentor who would provide helpful information without costing them thousands of dollars. SCORE was the resource they needed.

Taylor said SCORE especially helped with community outreach. Kivity helps parents connect with activities, but also works with the organizations that provide them. At one point, Taylor said her emails to organizations weren't getting through; they'd end up in a spam folder or she never heard back.

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That was until Taylor's mentor introduced her to SendGrid, an email marketing platform that provides real-time analytics to its users. SCORE mentors not only give advice, but they provide clients with tools and technology to help their business flourish.

“It's been a great system for us,” Taylor said. “Since we started using that platform, our communication and our numbers doubled immediately.”

Kivity has worked with SCORE for a little over a year and has been happy with the mentoring leadership.

Bia Antunes started a candle company, Bia Candle Co. in 2019. She hand pours her wax, which is a soy/paraffin blend, and hand mixes them in with her pre-ordered high-end fragrances.
Bia Antunes started a candle company, Bia Candle Co. in 2019. She hand pours her wax, which is a soy/paraffin blend, and hand mixes them in with her pre-ordered high-end fragrances.

But it isn't that simple for every entrepreneur.

Bia Antunes, the owner of Bia Candle Co., already was in the middle of creating her business when she contacted SCORE. She filled out the introductory questionnaire and was paired with a mentor whose background was in finance. After a few months, both realized it wasn't the finances she needed help with – it was marketing.

At the time, she needed help launching the business and getting people excited about her products, not help with revenue and costs. Antunes now has a new mentor who is more in tune with her business needs.

“Now I'm more concentrated with my mentor who's helping me with more of digital marketing and advertising,” said Antunes. “He's helped me with a lot of things like setting up my business online and selling my products online. It's been great.”

Both Antunes and Taylor agree that it's the mentors that make the SCORE program so helpful. Most of the mentors are retired business professionals who still have valuable information to share. It's their willingness to help others that keep the program thriving.

“The mentors guide you with good advice or they can point you in the right direction,” Antunes said. “They're all kind of specialists at what they do, and they're very open to bringing in other mentors to help you with your specific issues. That's what's been most valuable.”

Nabil Freij, left, serves as co-chair and Ramin Hashemi is a mentor and marketing director for the Manasota Chapter of SCORE. The organization provides free or low-cost business education and mentoring for small business owners.
Nabil Freij, left, serves as co-chair and Ramin Hashemi is a mentor and marketing director for the Manasota Chapter of SCORE. The organization provides free or low-cost business education and mentoring for small business owners.

SCORE Manasota mentor Ramin Hashemi, a business professional, says even though he's technically retired, he still works a full-time job with the program, helping entrepreneurs see their dreams come to reality.

“There's something about sharing knowledge that you have with someone else, and having them use that knowledge for their own positive forward movement, it's just very heartwarming,” Hashemi said.

He said SCORE is always looking for more mentors to expand the team.

“From a mentor perspective when I came into the organization I was very impressed by how dedicated, these volunteers are how passionate they are,” said Hashemi. “It's sort of like a tight-knit club of people that are dedicated to helping small business, and I have really, really enjoyed that.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: SCORE in Sarasota-Manatee aims to help small businesses, companies

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