Main Street Monday – Mentoring Services Help Small Businesses Succeed
January 27, 2020
By Mary Miller
Contributing Editor, Main Street Monday
Main Street Monday – Mentoring Services Help Small Businesses Succeed
January is National Mentoring Month. The expertise of a mentor is invaluable for a successful launch. According to recent statistics, 87% of entrepreneurs who take advantage of SBA mentoring services are still in business after one year, as compared to 75% of entrepreneurs who choose to go it alone. Mentors can help by lending a hand in making decisions from finalizing a company logo to developing a solid business plan and securing capital.
This is the perfect time to take advantage of another SBA-powered asset, a SCORE mentor. SCORE mentors work as an SBA resource partner offering the services of volunteers throughout the U.S. to provide guidance, insight, and training.
SCORE has many success stories. When Rose Morris, owner of Abram’s Nation, invented a fort-like structure designed to help special needs kids with sleeping issues (known as the Safety Sleeper), she leaned on her SCORE mentor for help with marketing the new product.
“The education I received from my SCORE mentor was invaluable in growing Abram’s Nation to become a million-dollar company,” says Morris. With her mentor’s help, Morris went on to be named the SBA Exporter of the Year in 2017.
SBA resource partners like SCORE help thousands of small businesses, such as Abram’s Nation, to launch new business, raise start-up funds, secure growth capital and successfully sell their products and services globally.
SCORE and Business Centers have helped hundreds of thousands of small businesses get started:
- SCORE has assisted nearly 200,000 entrepreneurs with starting and running small businesses.
- Small Business Development Centers throughout the country have mentored and trained 250,000+ clients.
- Women’s Business Centers have counseled and trained approximately 70,000 clients.
As National Mentoring Month winds down, entrepreneurs should be reminded to take advantage of the success strategies and training provided by one of the SBA’s mentoring programs.
Mentoring Resources:
SCORE
Small Business Development Centers
Women’s Business Centers
Veterans’ Business Outreach Centers