Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Went to visit score today and told them all the plans I had for a business I`m very excited about.  I encountered 2 very old men who told me (in not so certain terms) that there was no way I could get a loan and that I am crazy to start such a grand endeavor.  They said I should start real small (I`m looking for 50,000 not 1.2 million) and that I need to change my marketing strategy.  When I asked them if any of them had any experience in the food and beverage industry, they both replied....no I`m a banker.  So I told them, how do you know anything about marketing a food and beverage product if you were a banker?  They both gave me a weird look and said nothing.  When I asked if they could help me with my business plan, they both said......check the website.  If anyone has any other ideas of where to go for advice, I would greatly appreciate it.  I would not recommend score to anyone.

The interesting thing is that you`re looking for $50,000 from....where? And these advisers were bankers. Why does it matter if they know anything about food? What matters is that they know a lot about borrowing and lending money. 

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Ed
Business Optimization - www.businessoptimization.biz

SCORE while being much of a buzz kill, connects you with reality...

PW 

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I go along with Craig.  You were talking with two bankers who know what you need to get a loan.  And, they told you you were not there yet.  A lot of people have great ideas they think will fly.  It`s like restaurants.  Many people try to get funding for restaurants in markets already flooded with restaurants.  They get turned down every month. 

It`s unfortunate you didn`t listen to the Score reps.  They may have been able to steer you in the right direction.



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The older we get, the more excuses we make for not chasing after our dreams. But truth is, goals are attainable at any age.

I`ll agree with both sides of the argument.

1. Bankers will probably know what you`ll need to do to get a loan from a bank, so therefore, those SCORE fellows could have been quite helpful.

2. It`s been my experience that SCORE is woefully behind the times and unprepared when it comes to anything "new-fangled." It`s good to remember that the men and women of SCORE are predominantly (and by definition) Retired Executives.

Retired = generally older and not currently working in today`s market.

Executives = generally were employed, not entrepreneurs. Those that owned their own businesses were often in specialties like law and so on, as opposed to start-up ventures.

Another drawback of SCORE is that they are nationwide and have set policies. They cannot really give any advice or guide you at all, according to their policies. Some SCORE folk go beyond this, but they are few and far between. So, no help in legal information or tax information, and precious little of business does not touch on these things, which is why you were sent to a website full of bland, seen-them-everywhere tutorials for help with a business plan.

It`s the nature of the beast. If they give you advice, no matter how well-intentioned, that causes you to make a mistake, they could be held accountable, and all the good they have tried to do will be brought down... so they tie their own hands.

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On another topic, $50,000 is sometimes much harder to get than $1.2 million. Why? Because the ROI for investors is not worth it.

Add to the fact that the economy is the way it is, you are probably better off raising the money through grassroots, bootstrapping and angel investors than going to a bank.

That said, I would swallow my pride and go back to the SCORE office, and ask those men WHY they felt you could not get funding and listen.

Redo your plan with that in mind, then go back again. And again. And again. At the same time, ask others you come into contact with. Ask local successes in the food and beverage industry, ask marketing people, ask friends who know dollars and cents.

Keep working on it until you can convince ANYONE. Then, do it.

Good luck.

I think Heather`s laid out exactly where the strengths and weaknesses show up in SCORE. The strength is in *conceptual* business. The weakness is in *specific* ideas relating to the modern world.

In other words, SCORE can help with business education. They`re not so strong in marketing, idea analysis, and product viability.

I got involved in the IT field back around 1985, when PCs were new, and there still was only Novell for basic networking. At that time, I had an epiphany, talking with some friends.

I was trying to get something technical done in a hospital. When I approached management, they continually said they didn`t want to invest the money.

The reason was that ALL the executives had spent their entire lives in a world without computers. NONE of them knew how to use the technology. They were trying to build a model in their mind for something they couldn`t imagine.

Business is business is business. SCORE provides excellent help in understanding the mind of the investor. They can help with the process of putting together an idea. Not the value of the idea itself.

I appreciate all the advice given in this thread.  I think the biggest problem I had with the executives at score was exactly what Heather said.

I didn`t have a problem with the retired banking executive telling me a bank would not give me a loan for my idea.  He was being honest and realistic. The problem I had was that they didn`t really give me any other places to look for financing (angel investors, etc.)   The idea of use only your own money is outdated and old.   When I asked them about trying to get other people to invest in my idea they replied that was a bad idea.  Period.  When I asked why, they looked at each other with puzzled look and changed the subject.

If you look on this website you can find TONS of informative pages and information.  When I went to score I went with a notebook and left with the same notebook.  I find it hard to believe that a company that has been around for so many years had NOTHING in terms of literature to give me (top 5 mistakes people make when starting a business....etc).  I can honestly say that I have learned more on this website in 5 minutes than I did a hour at score.

I realize that score is strictly voluntary and it is very nice for these gentleman and ladies to volunteer their time.  I always feel, if your going to provide a service (either free or paid) why not provide the best possible service you can.  A visit to score may be no big deal for a lot of people.....but for me it is.  With 3 kids and working 2 jobs the hour out of my day that was wasted made me a little upset.  Thanks for all the advice

Your further explanation makes sense. We too, had a disappointing visit with SCORE when we did our first appointment. We decided to have a second one, just on the principle that one-time tryouts aren`t really complete.

On our second visit, we met with different advisers, and they had just come from a seminar about high-risk lending. They gave us a card for a bank out West somewhere, that specializes in small loans, high risk, and would fit in with our particular situation.

We chose not to get a loan, but the second appointment was very different from the first.

All in all, our own feeling about SCORE is that it`s just another avenue of exploration. We took the information we got, added it into the mix, discussed much of it here on SuN with other community members, and got additional ideas for help.

That`s the main thing, right? To have a group of people interested in examining business information, contributing thoughts, and helping to talk through all the complexities of starting something.