Free Guidance for Entrepreneurs
Arnold Schott walked into the cramped offices of the E. J. Evans Co. in Venice, eyeing the stacks of Comfy-Back foam cushions piled high on every surface.
“I asked Jack Evans, the owner, if he had a business plan,” recalled Schott, a volunteer counselor for the Small Business Administration’s Service Corps of Retired Executives. “He didn’t know what that was.”
No wonder the seat cushion company was losing money every month.
“Our sales were growing each month, but we were still short of cash because we were underpricing the cushions,” said Evans.
A year and a half after his first meeting with Schott, Evans had a detailed business plan, a new accountant, cost controls, a toll-free 800 number for customers and several major retail clients.
“We have increased sales by five times since we started working with Mr. Schott,” said Evans, who openly credits Schott for revitalizing his ailing company. “When he first got here, we had no internal controls, no cash-flow information--and we didn’t know if we were making or losing money.”
Schott modestly accepts Evans’ praise.
“If people would come to us, we could prevent a lot of failures,” said Schott. “The talents we have are unbelievable.”
Schott, 75, is one of 13,000 volunteer SCORE counselors providing free advice to small-business owners. In 1939, he started Pacific Electricord, a Gardena maker of electric cords and cable, in his garage. By the time he sold the business in 1972, it had 400 employees and $40 million in sales. “I get a great deal of satisfaction out of helping people like Jack,” said Schott.
Since its inception in 1964, SCORE has provided counseling and training for about 2.5 million small-business owners. In 1989, SCORE counselors met with 270,000 clients. The SBA supplies office and meeting space for SCORE members, management assistance and, this year, a $2.5-million budget for the association’s activities. There are about 400 chapters and 760 counseling locations nationwide. Finding a SCORE counselor is easy: Call your local SBA office or SCORE’s toll-free number, (800) 368-5855.
Although the help offered is expert and free, only about 20% of the nation’s small-business owners are aware that SCORE exists, according to a recent SBA survey. This year, SCORE is trying to raise its profile by reaching out to inexperienced entrepreneurs, women and minorities, according to John Daniels, SCORE’s executive director.
“Just about anyone can make it through the first year or so, but the critical time for a small business is the first three years,” said Daniels.
Daniels said many entrepreneurs are reluctant to seek help from the government because they are afraid to disclose sensitive financial information to their counselors. He said anything a business owner tells his or her SCORE counselor remains completely confidential.
Jack Evans said he and his cushion business limped along for about six years before his mother, Charlot, got tired of making up the monthly deficits.
Evans, 39, has worked as a journalist and school teacher. He admits to being a reluctant entrepreneur. He resisted every effort his parents made to interest him in taking over their modern furniture store in Los Angeles. “I told my father to sell it,” said Evans. “I didn’t want it.” His parents eventually sold the business, but his mother found retirement boring and now works full time with her son.
Like many inventions, the Comfy-Back seat cushion was born out of necessity. Evans was searching for seat cushions to help his father, who has Parkinson’s disease, feel more comfortable. When he couldn’t find a style he liked, he designed a cushion himself and had it made.
At first, Evans sold the rounded cushions through the mail. Later, he hired sales reps who took the product to medical supply stores.
By the fall of 1988, Mrs. Evans said she was tired of subsidizing the business. Reluctantly, Evans called the Santa Monica SBA office and asked them to send over a SCORE counselor skilled in manufacturing. Two weeks later, Schott arrived, and the rest is history.
SCORE can find help for virtually any kind of small business.
Telitha Bowens, a Detroit illustrator and fine artist, turned to SCORE for help after she lost her job on the assembly line at General Motors and was weary of being a fashion illustrator for local department stores.
“I felt I’d better start taking control of my life,” said Bowens.
Today, she is busy working on projects for several major corporations and advertising agencies. She is also an artist with a collection of paintings hanging in Detroit’s African American History Museum.
“My first SCORE counselor, Abe Sacks, was sort of like my guardian angel,” said Bowens.
Sacks, who has a background in marketing, helped Bowens make contacts with advertising agencies and other potential clients. Bowens said she still checks in with the SCORE office across the street from her studio on Second Boulevard. She’s now planning to use the money she earns from her advertising jobs to launch a line of greeting cards.
