A Helping Hand
Allen Shapiro as told to John Tompkins, DCR

They put together a abusiness plan but felt something was missing for their line, kinown as Infantissima.  They turned to the Houston chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, a non-profit organization that works to develop small businesses.

"Our particular need was in marketing," said Hutchings.  "SCORE offered a number of seminars and we attended them."

It was at SCORE that Hutchings met Allen Shapiro, chairman of SCORE Houston.

"We worked with him to develop a business and marketing plan," she said.  "We regularly meet with Allen about once everfy six weeks now.  He continues to guide us."

Since Hutchings and Tellepsen received funding for their line, they contine their relationship with SCORE in cousneling sessions with Shapiro.

SCORE seminars, which are offered at the University of Houston, are part of three points of focus for the organization.

"We believe in three concepts: educate, counsel and mentoring." Shapiro said.

SCORE works with the Small Business Administration, which in turn works with lenders to help distribute loans to small businesses.

"We are a resource partner of the SBA" he said.  "Everything we do is free."

Preparation is the most important thing a small business must have in order to receive a loan through the SBA.

 “They need to develop a business plan for the lenders,” Shapiro said. “We call it a roadmap.”

The roadmap is an in-depth business plan geared toward helping a business receive a loan, Shapiro said. Once a business is issued a loan, score and its volunteers work to stay in touch with those companies to make sure they survive and thrive.

“We encourage them to come back,” he said. “This is something brand new in their life.”

Mentoring with small business owners is also something score offers as part of its services.

Mentoring is important, Shapiro said, because it gives small business owners more perspective.

“They may need someone to bounce ideas off of,” he said.

Last year alone, the organization helped more than 22,000 people further develop their business ideas. Shapiro anticipates this year, score – with the assistance of its large group of volunteers – will work with as many as 26,000 people.

Most all of the volunteers with score are retired executives or business owners.

Raj Mashruwala was director of strategic planning for Houston-based Lyondell Chemical Co. when he retired after 28 years of service.

“I was looking for something to do after I retired,” he said. “I wanted to stay in line with what I was doing when I retired. I felt it was a transferable skill.”

Mashruwala said he found it interesting that many of the problems faced by major corporations, such as Lyondell, were problems small businesses had to deal with as well.

“Eighty percent of the people who come in are not ready” to start a business, he said. “They just have an idea and want to move forward.”

Working on those ideas and building a business plan has helped many companies, he said.

“Asking them common-sense questions seems to help them quite a bit,” he said. “The seminars really help.”

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