Womanly Advice for Entrepreneurs
For one lucky woman entrepreneur, a unique San Francisco mentoring program is like winning the Irish Sweepstakes. The worthy small-business owner is given thousands of dollars’ worth of free legal, financial and public relations counsel for a year.
Alice Carey, an architect who specializes in restoring historic buildings, was the Adopt-a-Business program’s 1992 winner. She was too busy working on new projects to be interviewed. Last year’s winner, Beth Setrakian, founder of Beth’s Fine Desserts in San Rafael, has tripled her sales, signed a $200,000 contract with a major food chain and moved into a larger space.
“We are really happy we were adopted,” said Setrakian, a pastry chef who founded her bakery in 1989. “It’s like going to school and having these people as teachers. They are there when we call on them.”
Unlike other mentoring programs that rely on veteran entrepreneurs to provide free advice to novices, the Adopt-a-Business program provides hands-on help that most struggling entrepreneurs couldn’t afford.
The mentors, all women, represent the San Francisco law firm of Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon; Moss Adams, an accounting firm; Bank of California, and Torme & Co., a public relations firm. Before Setrakian’s year ends in May, her advisers will have provided about $70,000 worth of free consulting.
“The key people from each organization are women who have achieved a certain level of success in our lives and want to give something back to women business owners,” said Michele Trausch, a partner at Bronson. “We feel a lot of satisfaction in seeing the women succeed.”
Trausch, a real estate attorney, helped Setrakian with lease agreements. Other members of the firm worked on labor issues and writing contracts.
Setrakian’s accounting mentors faced the greatest challenge.
“The people from Moss Adams came in and were overwhelmed by our lack of bookkeeping expertise,” she said. “It took a CPA and her assistant weeks to crack the nut of our accounting mess.”
Once the books were straightened out, Setrakian hired a part-time bookkeeper to keep things in order.
“I know where every penny is, which is a real switch,” Setrakian said.
Despite her newly organized bookkeeping system and soaring sales, Setrakian was still unable to qualify for a much-needed credit line.
While Bank of California provided free checking accounts and other services, it could not grant Setrakian the credit line she applied for. Although sales are approaching $600,000 this year, she doesn’t have the solid balance sheet the bank requires.
“It was frustrating,” Setrakian said. “Even if they adopt you, you still have to show three years of profitability and collateral.”
Because she and her husband don’t own their home, they were unable to collateralize a loan. “I’ve been trying to rustle up someone to guarantee the loan, and I’m looking into factoring our receivables,” she said.
Sydney Maehara, manager of Moss Adams’ San Francisco office, said Setrakian’s growing business is gobbling up all the cash.
“If she wasn’t growing as fast, her cash flow would look better to the bank,” he said.
Maehara said Moss Adams’ Portland office pioneered the Adopt-a-Business program about four years ago. Although that office is no longer participating in it, the firm’s Santa Rosa office continues to help a lucky entrepreneur each year.
“Beth has so much charisma,” Maehara said. “She has so much energy, you want her to succeed.”
Setrakian has built her business around Beth’s Babies--butter-rich, quarter-size cookies. When she started her bakery, her specialty was pecan pie, but the ingredients were costly and the pies had a short shelf life. It was her sister, Gina, who suggested they make tiny cookies, which were an immediate hit in San Francisco’s gourmet delicatessens and coffeehouses.
Beth’s Babies’ big break came in 1989, when a buyer for I. Magnin helped design a package and put them into the stores for Christmas. Now the cookies, which are packed in cardboard tubes and canisters, are widely available. The labels feature angelic portraits of Setrakian’s children, Nick and Sofi.
Although Setrakian worked as a pastry chef for tony restaurants and created wedding cakes for San Francisco’s wealthiest families, she had a tough time convincing her college professor father that being a baker was a real profession.
“My father said it took us 200 years to get out of the kitchen and you want to get back into the kitchen?’ ” said Setrakian, who is an African American. “Unfortunately, he died before he could see (that) what I’m doing now requires a lot of business acumen.”
(Bay Area women whose businesses are between 3 and 6 years old with sales of at least $250,000, can write to Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon for a 1994 Adopt-a-Business application. The address is 505 Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA 94111)
How to Find a Mentor
Women business owners can tap into several public and private mentoring programs.
* The Small Business Administration’s program matches experienced entrepreneurs with new business owners. Contact your local SBA office and ask for information on the Women’s Network for Entrepreneurial Training.
* Chicago’s Women’s Business Development Center offers a variety of counseling and training programs for women in business. For information call (312) 853-3477.
* The National Assn. of Women Business Owners also helps women business owners find help. Contact the group in Silver Springs, Md., at (301) 608-2590.
