For anyone who wants to open a business, it’s common knowledge that having the desire is one thing, but having the knowledge and capital to do it is another thing entirely.
What if there was a group of retired business executives that provided counseling and advice to prospective business people? What if the service was given for free and locally?
Well, the SCORE organization (Service Corps of Retired Executives) provides just such a service. The group announced last week at a press conference that they have opened an office in the Union City Public Library on 43rd Street.
The group, which has actually been a presence in Hudson County for over a year now with offices in Secaucus, Jersey City and West New York, is engaged in a long-term partnership with the Small Business Administration. This is a vital link that bridges the chasm between the initial idea for a business and the money necessary to start one.
Said SCORE Chair and retired business executive David Malka, “We want to lend our collective expertise to new people who want to go into business.”
According to Malka, SCORE has been in existence for 39 years and has helped many small businesses not only begin but prosper through continued counseling even after the business has become entrenched. To hear Malka tell it, it’s all about one thing: planning. Said Malka in an interview before the press conference, “I am a man who started from nothing and started a business. My feeling is that everyone who is interested in starting a business should think well about what business they want to be in. What kind of business? How will you develop it? Will you do retail? Door-to-door?”
Added Malka, “Just sitting with these people one-on-one really helps these prospective business owners with their business plan.”
Said Small Business Administration representative Harry Menta, who was at the presentation, said, “all roads lead to the business plan. It’s so important to have a definitive plan.”
Representatives from Fleet Bank were on hand. According to Fleet’s Pedro Espada, “Most definitely, a business that has gone through SCORE counseling and has a business plan has a much better chance of securing a loan.”
In an attempt to bring the heavily Latino population to the business table, SCORE has what they call a “Spanish Outreach Program” which caters the particular needs of that population. Language barriers and unfamiliarity with the many laws and rules that govern small business make this program an invaluable asset.
Said SCORE counselor Felix Barrera, who is heading the outreach program, ” It’s so enjoyable [to impart business advice]. No question about it, I like helping people. I feel like it’s an obligation to give back and help the people of the community.” Barrera, a long-time member of SCORE, also mentioned that as far back as the ’70s, many of his clients became successful by learning about the business world through SCORE.
Even within the confines of a sagging economy, Barrera feels that Hudson County is in the unique position of being so close to New York City and having so many development projects going at once and is ripe for new business.
Said Barrera, “We now have the proper conditions in this area for small business with the light rail and the newly-approved development in the Meadowlands (the Xanadu complex). We are poised for growth.”
In an interesting occurrence and as evidence of SCORE’s willingness to help, a local business owner was present at the press conference and inquired about how to expand an already successful business. Paul Martin, co-owner of Havana Bay Coffee on Kennedy Boulevard and 31st Street, has been in business for a year now and said, “Our business plan called for us to have the main store on Kennedy Boulevard on the border of Union City and North Bergen and then to expand with smaller shops into such places as Newport Center in Jersey City and Mill Creek in Secaucus, and it’s proving to be much more difficult than we anticipated. I think we’ve proven ourselves and its time to take [the business] further.”
The SCORE representatives agreed to meet with Martin after the press conference to discuss his options.
SCORE will be moving further north in Hudson County when they open an office at a location in North Bergen on May 1.
Anyone interested in finding out more about SCORE can call David Malka at (973) 645-3982. Spanish-speaking applicants can call Felix Barrera at (201) 295-5135.