SCORE Cincinnati

West Chester, Liberty Township lead Cincinnati-Dayton area in SCORE Small Business Counseling
Contributed By: Melinda Zemper | Oak Tree Communications, LLC

The recession may have encouraged more Type As to declare themselves entrepreneurs.

Small business owners from West Chester and Liberty Township led the pack last year in the number of entrepreneurs seeking free counseling from the Cincinnati chapter of SCORE, an agency of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

“We get more clients from West Chester and Liberty Townships than any other district geographic area,” said Tom Moon, Cincinnati SCORE chapter 34 chairman. “We need more counselors in those areas.”

The West Chester Chamber Alliance hosted the annual joint meeting of the Cincinnati and Dayton SCORE chapters on June 18. Joe Hinson, president of the West Chester Chamber Alliance, welcomed the 50 SCORE counselors in attendance and thanked them for their efforts on behalf of small business growth in the area.

The joint meeting is in its fourth year, and is a time for the Cincinnati and Dayton chapters to share information and ideas to expand the national nonprofit’s efforts to connect experienced executives with entrepreneurs.

SCORE’s volunteer counselors provide free individual mentoring to business owners in the areas of business management, finance and marketing. Low-cost seminars, group mentoring, and online Webinars are offered as part of the agency’s programs. Both startups and established small business owners can be SCORE clients.

Since SCORE’s West Chester branch office opened in 2005, counselors have conducted more than 400 consultations, according to local SCORE statistics.

Both online and face-to-face attendance at Cincinnati SCORE seminars have doubled from 2009. Dayton’s SCORE chapter representative and outgoing district director Arnold Sandness reported that attendance at its workshops and cyber-counseling sessions are up 36 percent over last year.

In other business, West Chester resident Mary Jane Good was introduced as incoming southern Ohio district director. She will begin her term October 1, 2010. Steve Linham of Newark, Ohio will be assistant director.

Drew Dinkelacker, president of Teakwood Marketing of Cincinnati, presented a marketing workshop for counselors titled, “Five Hidden Marketing Flaws That Cost You Money.” His firm provides marketing services to business owners.

“Business owners have a unique combination of vision and blindness,” he said. “They see the potential of their businesses, but are often blinded to the obstacles.”

The Greater Cincinnati SCORE chapter serves southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. In 2005, it was recognized as national chapter of the year out of 389 chapters nationwide, and was a runner-up in both 2006 and 2007. The Dayton chapter was similarly recognized in the recent past and was featured on national television last year.

SCORE headquarters is located at 525 Vine St. in downtown Cincinnati, with satellite offices in West Chester, Lebanon, Fairfield and Lawrenceburg, Ind.

During 2009, the Greater Cincinnati SCORE chapter assisted over 1,600 new clients. Based on SBA studies, it is estimated that Cincinnati SCORE services for that period created approximately 230 new jobs and helped create over 180 new small businesses.

For more information about SCORE workshops, individual and team counseling, go to www.scoreworks.org or call the SCORE office at (513) 684-2812.

The original article can be found on the Cincinnati.com website:
See  http://local.cincinnati.com/share/news/story.aspx?sid=168070&cid=100050