SCORE to provide locally based assets to local businesses | Local business

The Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce has launched a branch of SCORE, a national group of retired business owners and corporate executives who advise business owners.

Candy Hente, the chamber’s executive director, has been working with the St. Louis chapter to open a local branch for the past two and a half years.

“We are very happy to have a branch here for our community,” she said. “When I say our community, I don’t just mean Farmington, this is for the entire region, outside of St. Francois County. The great thing about SCORE is that it taps into a national network of mentors.

“You might prefer to have a local person who knows the local area and the dynamics of the market you’re setting up your business in, or you might want to talk to someone who has set up a similar business somewhere else that isn’t here.”

There are currently five SCORE counselors registered in the area – Kevin Cook and Ron Rugley, who retired from First State Community Bank; Dennis McIntosh, Ozark Federal Savings and Loan attorney and retired CEO; Sue Wallace, with over 20 years in sales, marketing and fundraising; and Larry Joseph, retired vice president and general manager of KFMO/B104 Radio.

As time goes on, Hente plans to hire more local consultants from the local business community.

“Sometimes it’s nice to have someone who’s walked the path before you and has the experience and knowledge to help you avoid the pitfalls, to challenge your thinking and make you look at all the different perspectives,” he says.

Sharing her thoughts on Farmington’s new SCORE program, Counselor Wallace said, “It’s great to have that opportunity here in Farmington. I think it’s great that we’re using a very structured and familiar way of mentoring, that we’re not just jumping in there and casually talking to people. The thing about SCORE is their principles underwrite SLATE. It has to do with being ethical and being open and not following your people and judging them, you allow them to speak.

“It was a little disappointing at first. At first there was a lot of training. There was a lot of online training and you learn some legalese to be ethical and honest in dealing with the authorities. Before we were fully accredited as a mentor, we had to develop three senior mentors to mentor someone. I put in six or seven of them. After starting my first three, I was enjoying how different people recommended it. Everyone has their own style and I’ve written everything they need to be told, but I have my own style of mentoring.

SLATE is an acronym for Cease and Desist Judgment; Listen and learn; evaluate and analyze; Test ideas and teach with tools; And setting the mood and encouraging the dream.

Wallace has a client she works for.

“She’s contacted me a couple of times since our first meeting to get some help with some things,” she said. “If I’m not sure what the answer is, I’ll ask one of the senior advisors.”

Wallace was excited about some aspects of her consulting business and offered advice on how to market it. “I was glad … one of the other counselors I talked to about this said, ‘It’s not your money, don’t push her into what she believes, make sure you’re leading her to this information, but that’s her decision. “

Hente is also promoting other business-friendly resources, including the Southeast Missouri Economic Development Fund (SEED$) established by the East Missouri Action Agency as a resource for local businesses that provide microloans, technical assistance and other services to their customers.

“We are planning a couple of meetings for mentors or potential mentors,” she said. “One will be with an international business specialist from Missouri Economic Development. They offer many free services for businesses looking to expand outside of the United States. Many people don’t know about these free services and they are valuable services.

“I also plan to have someone from the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission give us information about the services they provide.”

According to Hente, the ultimate goal of the Chamber of Commerce is to connect businesses with the people, information and resources to succeed. The more free services we offer like SCORE, the more we can link those together.

To request a mentor, visit SCORE St. Louis website at www.stlouis.score.org or contact the Farmington Regional Chamber at 573-756-3615 or go to www.farmingtonregionalchamber.com. To access SEED$, call 573-431-4296 or go to www.semodevelopment.org.