We counsel existing and start up small business owners, drawing on a skilled staff of volunteer counselors who have all run successful businesses and have worked on several business development plan during their careers (see the meet the score counselors section of this website for details). Our first business counseling session with a client begins with understanding their needs and expectations from the counseling. At the end of the discussion, we often suggest next steps (homework), and set a date for a follow-up contact, either by phone, via email or in person. Depending on the needs and desires of the client, the relationship may last over several months or even years as the business develops. There is no “one size fits all” solution coming out of a tool box…flexibility and adaptability are constant watchwords for the counseling team.

As you can see by looking at the biographies of our counselors, our backgrounds are varied. We all have general business management experience, but we don’t have every base covered. When the need arises, we bring in other people who, while not SCORE volunteers, have agreed to occasionally provide business-specific skills for our clients. For example, in recent years we have counseled several individuals who are interested in starting, buying or improving the operation of a convenience store. In this case we have a family that owns and operates one and has generously volunteered to help the SCORE counselor meet his/her client’s needs.

You can check out a few representative examples of success stories which our clients have attributed to counseling from the Downeast Chapter of SCORE in our Success Stories section. We invite you to join them!

All assistance is free and confidential. If you would like the business counseling service, Contact Us and we’ll set up an appointment as soon as possible. We can meet in the SCORE office in Ellsworth,Maine, your place of business, or any other mutually convenient location.