“Lisa believed in her idea,” says SCORE counselor Randy Roody.
She was laughed at by business counselors,
She was laughed at by business counselors, challenged by the economy and shunned by banks, but Lisa Campbell’s perseverance won out. Her idea for an elaborate playground for kids, complete with speed slide, snack bar, oversized seating for parents, free WiFi, party rooms, climbing ropes and apparatus, elephant grass and tiki huts, has been an overwhelming success.
Luis Nogueira believes that creating replacement crowns, bridges and tooth implants is an art. But running a dental lab is also a business that requires sales and marketing to develop strong partnerships with dental practices.
Luis was born in Brazil and studied there before working for large dental labs in the U.S. for more than 15 years. He knew the lab side, but the marketing tasks were difficult; for one thing, English was his adopted language.
Together with SCORE’s Randy Roody, they developed a message and, finally, a small marketing campaign that has begun to add new customers to his practice. Today he has a website for dentists to visit and a promotion campaign that is run periodically. Luis and Randy still meet several times a year.
“(Score Counselor) John (Post) has provided great ideas, helped develop our business plan and keep it updated, assisted immensely in our financial projections, and put us on course for profitability and success."
A mechanic for 30 years with Lowell Regional Transit Authority, motorcycles have long been Tom Vayo’s passion. Bush Hill Cycle works began in 2003 with Tom fixing bikes on weekends in his Hudson, N.H. garage, but zoning issues and a desire to have a real shop of his own in which to pursue his interest full-time led him on a path that ultimately put him in touch with SCORE counselor John Post.
Tom knew what he wanted to do, but needed help focusing on the business aspects. John prodded him with questions regarding the industry’s culture, the atmosphere he wanted to create with the shop, competition, staffing, pricing, products and services to be offered and more, helping Tom analyze these factors and make intelligent decisions. Several months were spent fleshing out cash flow. Ultimately, Tom found and purchased on old motorcycle shop in Hudson, financing the deal with a home equity line.
Tom cleaned up the place, opening it in 2005 as a shop where motorcycle enthusiasts of all types are welcome and comfortable. With his wife, Laurie, as finance guru and customer service contact, Bush Hill Cycle Works specializes in repairs and routine maintenance of motorcycles new and old, foreign and domestic, in addition to stocking many parts and accessories. Sales have increased each year, and even after more than four years, John Post continues to get together regularly with Tom and serve as an advisor.
“John has provided great ideas, helped develop our business plan and keep it updated, assisted immensely in our financial projections, and put us on course for profitability and success. He’s stuck with us from the beginning. SCORE is one of the only places a little guy can go to get good advice from experience businesspeople—and it’s free.”
Mike Lynch and Gary Adams were employees of a Massachusetts laser machining company when, in 2002, they decided to set out on their own. Using their combined savings, they purchased some of the assets of their former employer’s New Hampshire operations and established Laser Advantage, a laser job shop, service provider and systems integrator, in Nashua.
Though they possessed expertise in all the technical aspects of laser technology, they lacked experience in running a business, so they turned to SCORE. Counselor Glenn Boston was able to provide that financial and operational guidance, and the partners learned quickly. In its six years, Laser Advantage has tripled its sales, and now does work not only nationwide, but internationally.
Mike and Gary continue to meet with Glenn a couple of times a year, discussing current business issues and using him as a sounding board for their ideas.
“Knowing there is an experienced person available to discuss any issues and review ideas is a great confidence booster. To have free access to a network of expertise and information at a critical point in the development of a new venture is incredibly valuable. SCORE should be a first call for any entrepreneur looking to start or expand a business.”
Andrew Hatch had benefited from SCORE counseling in a previous business on Cape Cod in 1997, so he naturally turned to them again in early 2006 when planning his newest venture. Lotions ’n Potions was created to meet the need for professional skincare advice and specialist esthetic services in a retail setting.
SCORE counselor John Iffland was able to provide important demographic data to support the decision to locate on Main Street in Concord, offer introductions to many local resources and associations, assist in developing financial projections and help flesh out Andrew’s business plan. John also brought in another SCORE advisor, Dick Martin, whose retailing background, advice and support have been priceless.
Lotions ’n Potions growth has exceeded Andrew’s expectations, with second year sales up 50%, the result of many loyal, repeat customers and lots of word-of-mouth referrals. The store now employs one full-time and two part-time staff, with plans to add more, and has become a part of a vibrant regeneration of Downtown Concord.
“Knowing there is an experienced person available to discuss any issues and review ideas is a great confidence booster. To have free access to a network of expertise and information at a critical point in the development of a new venture is incredibly valuable. SCORE should be a first call for any entrepreneur looking to start or expand a business.”
Mid City Body And Frame Manchester, NH Susan and David D'Amore, Owners
"It was amazing how Shep Bartlett found solutions to some of our start up problems"
When David D'Amore had the opportunity to buy his employer's auto body business, the banker who wanted to help him sent him to SCORE for help with his business plan and financial planning. Shep Bartlett has a history of helping with these kinds of transactions; however, the deal became complicated when the existing owner suddenly died. Together, Shep and David worked with lawyers, bankers and the estate to keep the deal alive and ultimately carry it to a successful conclusion.
Today, David and Susan run Mid City Body and Frame together, with Susan managing the front office and David out on the shop floor.
“The SCORE people gave me the courage to make decisions. They are high quality, experienced individuals eager to share what they know. You couldn’t pay for that knowledge, yet the most amazing thing of all is that it’s free.”
An artist and former kitchen designer, Sheree Burlington had already owned and operated a chain of three local paint-your-own-pottery studios when, in 2005, she was inspired to create Museware Pottery, “Hand painted art pottery. With attitude.” When she first met with SCORE counselor John Post in late 2006 seeking help with marketing, sales volume was about $50,000 a year through retail stores, catalogues and her website.
The two talked about various marketing strategies, identifying the most promising segments to target and how to implement the plan they developed. Their efforts proved to be so successful that by mid-2007 Sheree faced a different problem: how to raise production to meet the increased demand. SCORE counselors John Benjamin and Don Horadan, both experienced engineers, were brought in, developing flow diagrams and finding ways to raise kiln efficiency and capacity. Sales increased 300% from 2006 to 2007, and Post helped Sheree obtain a loan and line of credit from TD Banknorth.
Together, the SCORE counselors assisted Sheree in developing cash flow and production plans for 2008, which they continue to fine tune in light of today’s challenging economy.
“The SCORE people gave me the courage to make decisions. They are high quality, experienced individuals eager to share what they know. You couldn’t pay for that knowledge, yet the most amazing thing of all is that it’s free.”
“The many resources SCORE offers were extremely helpful in our planning and getting the business up and running on the right path.” -Chris Rustici
uBuyCoffee.com Brews Up Success With SCORE
Chris Rustici was in a state of transition, a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire and a Marine Reservist who could be called for another deployment at any time. Combined with the struggling economy, he realized that finding a job wasn’t going to be easy.
Why not start his own business, he thought. Chris discussed the idea with his father, Bob, a successful entrepreneur himself, with an extensive background in Internet marketing, and following some research, they decided to form a partnership to sell gourmet coffee and gifts online.
“We knew it was a highly competitive business, especially with the vast number of online retailers, so our top priority was how to plan for success,” says Chris. Bob, who serves as volunteer counselor for SCORE, suggested they take advantage of SCORE’s many resources.
“Those helped set us in the right direction,” Chris notes.
Attending SCORE workshops such as “Steps to a Better Website” and “Business Taxes” provided a better understanding about a wide range of business issues. Using the SCORE website, they downloaded templates that help forecast cash flow, from which they were able to create a first year plan of projected costs and revenues.
“You’re always anxious to jump in with both feet, but we knew how important it was to be conscious of the time and money invested at startup. This initial ‘homework’ period allowed us to stay focused on the critical steps that needed to be done first,” says Chris.
With their basic business plan in hand, the actual launch of the business, uBuyCoffee.com, was the next challenge. Sampling coffees from different countries is a growing trend among coffee drinkers, with aficionados even going as far as tracking the coffees to the specific farms. All across the United States, there are hundreds of micro coffee roasters who are creating a market for specialty coffees and roasting coffee almost on demand.
“I never realized the taste difference with the fresh roasted coffee, but now that’s all we drink. It’s hard to look at packaged coffee on the supermarket shelf and not wonder just how fresh it really is,” says Bob.
Tapping into the trend they’d noted, the Rusticis called hundreds of coffee roasters, offering a free listing on uBuyCoffee.com and the opportunity to sell the roasters’ products. Their goal was to be able to list coffee roasters from every state, as well as promote fair trade coffees.
“Talking with the coffee roasters is interesting. They’re primarily small businesses like us, and since most of the coffee is grown by people without a lot of money, many of these roasters have adopted an attitude of great social awareness,” says Chris.
“Some of the roasters we have listed work very closely with coffee farms in faraway countries, visiting them periodically to offer tips on everything from marketing their crops to understanding the complex global market for coffee. As the world’s number two traded commodity (oil is first), I never realized just how large or complex the coffee industry is.”
UBuyCoffee.com is now in its second year of operation, with a constant stream of orders arriving every day, a positive cash flow and growing revenues.
“We have confidence in our business plans, goals and long-term success,” says Chris. “The many resources SCORE offers were extremely helpful in our planning and getting the business up and running on the right path.”
If you’ve never tried fresh roasted coffee, or are interested in sampling coffee from virtually any corner of the world, check out uBuyCoffee.com or call 800-360-8105.
And if you’re a small business owner, or simply thinking about starting a business, be sure to take advantage of SCORE’s free, confidential, one-on-one counseling and its vast library of valuable resources. Visit www.score-manchester.org or call 603-666-7561.
Photo caption: Chris Rustici drinking one of uBuyCoffee.com’s Kona coffee roasts while currently deployed in Afghanistan.
QuickBooks For Small Business - Bedford Libary - 3 Meeting House Road, Bedford, NH: This workshop will address capability of QuickBooks, the most popular small business accounting package, and discuss the tasks needed to keep it up to date. Also we will review important set up decisions that will help make the software more effective. Accounting Software helps the owner make important financial decisions based on current data. For some, it is the difference between success and failure. Taught by Susan Dugdale, a QuickBooks Pro Certified expert. Thursday Feb 09, 2012 5:30 to 8:30 PM Register Now
Start Your Own Business - Merrimack Residence Inn, 246 Daniel Webster Hwy Merrimack, NH : Almost everything you need to know about starting a business. Covers defining the idea, organizing the business, focusing on customers, cash flow, picking employees, writing a business plan and obtaining financing. This workshop also covers pitfalls to be avoided and serves as an introduction to topics for deeper study Tuesday Feb 14, 2012 5:30 to 8:30 Register Now
5 Steps to a Better Website -ABI Innovation Hub, 33 S. Commercial St., Manchester, NH: This workshop focuses on the fundamental aspects of defining, creating and implementing an effective web site. The workshop covers in detail the many subtle issues that make the difference between a web site that is just there and one that brings the business and its customers together. Included are discussions on domain name, user friendly design, right content, best host, proper selection of the creating team, realistic cost planning options, how to market the site and how to measure results.
Taxes For Small Business, ABI Innovation Hub, 33 So. Commercial St, Manchester, NH: Rescheduled from Nov. 1st due to power outage at the Hooksett Library. This workshop focuses on the tax laws in a manner that the small business owner can understand and then use many to enhance the cash flow and profitability of the operation while in full compliance with the law. A detail road map of how the business owners operation flows into the basic IRS 1040 forms which must be submitted is provided in a clear and simple manner. In addition, many useful IRS publications which address the basics for small business operations are discussed. Tuesday Mar 06, 2012 5:15 to 8:15 Register Now
NUThin’ but GOOD TIMES!
