A Close-up Look at People Who Matter : Savvy Business Pro Shares His Expertise
Bob Levy is a bit like E. F. Hutton. When he talks business, people listen.
No, they don’t fall silent in crowded restaurants, hands cupped to their ears, every time he opens his mouth. But when the 70-year-old former Cleveland shoe salesman talks loans or marketing or management, entrepreneurs take heed.
A counselor for Senior Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, Levy advises business people in San Fernando and West Los Angeles with the knowledge gained in four decades of business.
“He has years of experience,” said Bruce Cohen, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the San Fernando Chamber of Commerce. “He knows what it’s like to start with nothing and to work hard on a shoestring budget all the way up to a very, very large budget.”
Thirty-nine years after selling his first pair of pumps, Levy retired a successful businessman, selling a firm that owned eight shoe departments in stores across Southern California.
Now living the good life in the Los Angeles hills off Mulholland Highway, Levy is letting some of his good fortune and business sense rub off on others hoping to make it big.
Levy joined SCORE in September, 1987, after being retired for 1 1/2 years. SCORE, sponsored by the U. S. Small Business Administration, helps established companies as well as those just getting started.
“I decided I wanted to do volunteer work. But I wanted something where I could use my mind,” he said. “Since I’m not a nuclear physicist, the best place to use my mind is something connected to business.
“I’m old-fashioned. I don’t think a man should be hanging around the house all the time,” he said. “I wanted to feel useful here while I’m not getting paid.”
So once a week, he answers questions ranging from how to get a loan to “what kind of business should I go into?”
That last one makes Levy shudder.
In six years, Levy has heard it too many times to count.
“I say to them, what kind of business are you experienced at? What do you know?”
But too often, people just like the idea of being their own boss. They set their hearts on opening a business they know nothing about.
“That’s the key to catastrophe,” Levy said.
If someone comes to him with the idea of opening a shoe store but knows nothing about the business, he tells them to first learn the ropes and decide if they even like the trade.
“Go get a job in a shoe store first. Even if you work for nothing,” he said. “You may find out you don’t like it.”
Levy shakes his head at the naivete of some of the people he counsels. But at least they ask, he figures. And he’s more than happy to answer and to talk a little business.
“He wants to be out there helping--young or old, it doesn’t matter--helping people with their businesses,” Cohen said. “He is someone who, if I don’t have enough referrals for him, he’s not happy.”
One of those referrals nearly four years ago was the chamber’s president. Joe Sandoval and his wife were considering starting their own insurance business. They did some research and asked Levy, “Are we on the right track here?”
“It’s nice to be able to talk with an individual with the background to be able to say, ‘I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there,’ ” said Sandoval, whose business now is growing. “It’s like having a mentor, with the amount and wealth of experience Bob has.”
Sandoval has watched Levy guide people away from business ideas probably doomed to fail. Levy tells people when they need to do more homework, get more experience or rethink their ideas.
“I’ve seen him save people thousands of dollars,” Cohen said. “He’s practical. He cares about everyone he counsels. He really puts his heart into helping them. I think that’s what sets him apart from other people.”
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