A few weeks ago I had my first meeting with my SCORE mentors. They were, of course, friendly and very knowledgeable about all things business.
I laid out everything I wanted to do, what I was doing now and how I wanted to build a stronger foundation. I felt like a grown up business woman when I sat back in my chair and waited for their responses. Boy, I was in for a 45 minutes wake-up call.
After answering a barrage of questions, one theme emerged. I was trying to do too much, too soon. There were a lot of gray areas I haven’t thought about or explored with one major project I’m working on and no real roadmap to make it all happen. I have a very viable idea, but I need to implement it in stages to do it right.
My homework from this meeting (yes, I was assigned actual homework) is:
- work on a business plan
- go to the library to research changing the business status (that was an actual same day assignment!)
- research organizations that could use my services (I was given a nice list of suggestions)
- start holding workshops
There were other things on my list, but that’s the top four. I’m slowly going through the list, and I know it’s going to take a bit of time to do it all, but I’ve gotten started. That, to me, is the important part. I don’t have to meet with them again until I’m ready, so the ball is completely in my court.
If you decide to meet with the folks at SCORE, do yourself a favor and bring an open mind, pen and paper. It’s also a good idea to have some sort of workable idea of what you want to do. They can’t help you unless you’re able to tell them what you’re trying to accomplish.
Whether you’re trying to get up and going, or already in business, SCORE is a great, and FREE, resource for the small business person.
