In 1989 when I was living in Nuremberg, West Germany, with my husband and my 2-year-old daughter, I got a phone call from my father from Old Town Alexandria. It took a few seconds and a lot of static before I could hear his voice clearly.
He was distressed about the family-owned business and was wondering if I could fly home to help. It so happened my husband was deploying for the first Gulf War and would be away for over a year, so I decided to pack up and fly back with my daughter and two cats to see what I could do.
Upon arrival, I learned that sales were down by 75 percent, payroll taxes had not been paid, the D.C. area was experiencing a horrible recession, almost 30 percent of the printers had gone out of business and my father was trying to avoid bankruptcy.
A week later I found myself in the office at about midnight. I sat cross-legged on the old dirty gray carpet and looked out at the darkened plate glass window. I could see my reflection and a sea of bills stacked up around me.
I looked down, and each pile had a note written on it: Overdue! Pay within 30 days or legal action will be taken! See you in court!
Welcome to Business Hell:
• We had lost the house.
• We couldn’t afford to keep our health insurance.
• The company was facing bankruptcy after being in business almost 30 years.
• We had to lay off all the employees except the family.
• My mother had died three years before.
• My husband was at war, and I had a 2-year-old who needed more attention.
Feeling overwhelmed, I started to cry, got on my knees and asked God for a sign of what direction I needed to take first.
At about 1 a.m. when I gained my composure, I looked up and realized that there was no sign for the business on the front plate-glass window. My father had just moved the company into a warehouse space to save money, so I spent most of that night printing off each letter, cutting it out and hanging it up to display the name across the window.
Driving away from the office that night, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the “sign” that I had just hung on the window. That sign to me was — we are open for business! Whatever it takes. We are going to make it!
The next morning after I dropped my daughter off at preschool, I started calling the smartest business people I knew and drilled them with a million questions. Somebody along the way mentioned an organization called SCORE, where folks who are retired could answer a lot of my questions for free.
I set up my first appointment with them and knew that having a mentor would help save this company and help save me.
We did turn the company around! It took five years to pay off all the debt and the IRS. Twenty-plus years later, I am still grateful to SCORE. It has been an honor to be the Savannah SCORE president for the past two years, helping to spread the word that free business consulting is available.
As I leave my volunteer position in October and welcome incoming president Gary Johnson, I will continue to encourage our small business community to find mentors. It builds stronger businesses, which makes a stronger community and leads to a thriving country.
Marjorie Young is a small business advocate and owner. She may be reached at 912-844-9990 or marjorie@carriagetradepr.com.
Things to Know about SCORE
SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship.
Because SCORE’s work is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and thanks to our network of 12,000-plus volunteers, we are able to deliver our services at no charge.
Of SCORE’s mentors, 60 percent are retired executives; the rest are active business owners.
SCORE has helped more than 9 million small business owners. If you are looking for industry-specific mentoring, go to SCORE’s national database, www.score.org.
In Savannah, we have about 30 business mentors. To make an appointment, call Janet at 912-652-4335.
If you are a small business owner, you can get in front of all the Savannah mentors at their monthly member’s meeting, the second Monday of every month. You can RSVP to be a SPOTLIGHT. This gives you 30 minutes to brainstorm with the mentors about your business.
To become a SCORE Mentor, you must submit an application online and complete an online certification. You will then need to shadow a current SCORE mentor for three months.
SCORE is seeking 200 SPOT MENTORS who are willing to share one hour of their expertise with businesses in the Savannah area for no charge or who would be willing to speak at SCORE’s TOP TEN TIPS LECTURE SERIES, held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at Business Center, 111 East Liberty Street, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
If interested, please email your name/company/area of expertise/email address/phone number to info@scoresav.org.