FAQ
What do you do at SCORE?
SCORE is a mentoring organization. We give counsel and advice to people who are in-business or want to start a business.
Who gives this advice?
The volunteers of the Central Valley SCORE chapter. Volunteer counselors are experienced owners or managers of businesses that volunteer their time to help other businesses succeed.
What makes SCORE different from other organizations?
Our counselors have real world experience in business. They know what its like to start from scratch, make mistakes and succeed. Because SCORE is a non-profit, and all our counselors are volunteers, you will never be solicited to or feel pressured to buy anything. Our philosophy is simple: We are people helping people.
How much does it cost?
There is no cost for individual counseling. Some workshops or seminars may have a small fee.
Am I entitled to only one individual session?
You can come back for as many sessions as you wish. Each session will last for approximately one hour. SCORE counselors will remain interested in your progress and will follow up to see how you are progressing.
What qualifies SCORE volunteers to give business advice?
The key qualification SCORE counselors bring the table is real-world experience. SCORE volunteers have specific industry and general business expertise. Counselors may be retired business owners, business executives or operations managers. Many volunteers are work full-time.
Are business secrets safe with SCORE?
Yes. All SCORE counselors honor the client’s right to proprietary and confidential information. That information remains confidential as provided by SCORE’s Code of Ethics. Counselors reaffirm their commitment for the association’s Code of Ethics each year.
What are the workshops like?
Three words: Informative, relevant, and fun! Informative because we want the information we give you to be useful. Our information is also relevant in that we offer workshops not often explored by other groups. Some topics include what to do in a recession economy, public relations, Web site development and more. But all of this expertise is useless if the person teaching the material is boring. SCORE screens its presenters and makes sure that the person we have in front of you is as informative as they are fun. We believe you retain information better when the presenter cares, makes the presentation interesting and even throws in a few jokes.
