Free Business Counseling
Score offers two types of free and confidential counseling designed to help you get started in business, develop a business idea or improve your existing business
Face-to-Face Counseling
The Portland Maine chapter of SCORE offers confidential face-to-face counseling at no charge.
The Chapter has over 40 counselors with a variety of skill sets and we offer this counseling in several Southern Maine locations.
All of our counselors can guide you on how to get your business off to a good start with the best odds for success or discuss the viability of an idea that you have. We also have counselors with experience in many different industries that can help you solve a problem with an existing business.
Most counseling sessions are conducted at one of our locations however on-site counseling is available when a more complete evaluation of an on-going business is needed.
Request a face-to-face counseling session by email or telephone. You will be contacted with a date to meet a counselor at our Portland office or at one of other locations if requested.
Email Counseling
The SCORE National website offers Counseling by email. SCORE business counselors provide answers to your business questions within 48 hours by email. Counselors are listed by area of expertise and geographic location.
Here you will enter a keyword representing the nature of your question.
- Briefly describe the area of interest in the keyword text box
- Select either Search by Expertise or Search by State.
The system will search and display a list of counselors based on the choices you made.
- Select a counselor who best meets your needs.
- Fill in the information. This information is private and will not be shared with anyone.
- Press the
Submit button.
- Your SCORE counselor will reply with his or her answer within 48 hours and keep the dialog going as long as you have questions for them.
If you feel that your question or business problem may require a face-to-face meeting at some future date you should choose a counselor based on a Search by State and choose Maine.
Bruce Davis,
Homes and Harbors Real Estate
““I knew the real estate business inside-out, but counted on SCORE for advice in the personnel area as my new venture started to grow quickly
Setting out on his own in 2000, Bruce has seen his Homes & Harbors Real Estate business grow to 10 agents and brokers and a consolidated number one position in Harpswell real estate over the last few years, with an ever-increasing standing all along the Portland to Wiscasset waterfront. Although growth came very quickly in the early days so did possible concerns on the personnel front. It was at this point that Bruce set up a counselling session with Portland SCORE.
Business Concepts (QS):
This workshop is your start in developing a feasibility plan for your business. You will examine how your business idea meets a need or solves a problem. You will clearly identify the features or benefits of your product or service. You will examine whether your personal skills and background are a good fit with your business idea. You will learn how to find critical information about your industry, customers and competition. You will be assigned a SCORE mentor to help and coach you through the process.
Thursday Sep 09, 2010
6 - 8 PM
Register Now
Marketing(QS):
In this workshop you will start to develop a marketing plan. You will
identify your target markets, discuss pricing strategies, focus on
creating a consistent marketing message, and discuss different
marketing communication methods. In addition, you will work on
identifying and developing an appropriate business plan.
Thursday Sep 16, 2010
6 - 8 PM
Register Now
Financial Projections (QS):
This workshop is designed to teach you to develop financial projections to see if your business concept is feasible in dollars. You will learn the importance of having a financial plan.You will look at start-up costs, operating expenses, breakeven analysis, the financial risks and rewards, and what funds will be needed to finance your business. You will see how financial statements are used to help manage your business. Don’t panic! An experienced SCORE mentor will be there to guide you through the numbers.
Thursday Sep 23, 2010
6 - 8 PM
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Funding Sources and Next Steps (QS):
This final workshop exposes you to traditional and non-traditional funding sources to finance your business. You will learn what information a bank needs to consider your loan request. You will learn what key elements go into the bank’s loan decision. You will learn to recognize your financial strengths and weaknesses. You will review your progress through the various workshop sessions and discuss what next steps may be needed to make your decision: “go” or “no-go” with your business concept. Your SCORE mentor will continue to work with you to complete any remaining items.
Thursday Sept. 30
6-8 PM
Thursday Sep 30, 2010
6 - 8 PM
Register Now
