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SCORE has a plan to stay relevant

WASHINGTON - In an era when traditional business plans seem passe and specialized financial advice is only as far away as your smartphone, where do tried-and-true business counseling programs fit into the entrepreneurship equation?

It's a tough question, and it's David R. Bobbitt's to answer.

Bobbitt, a University of Virginia graduate, was recently elevated to president of the SCORE Foundation and vice president of development for the foundation's parent nonprofit association, a small-business counseling and mentorship group financed in part by the federal government.

(SCORE originally stood for Service Corps of Retired Executives.)

Now in its 50th year, the organization, based in Herndon, Va., helps entrepreneurs with tasks ranging from writing a business plan to applying for a loan to breaking into the contracting arena. The group has worked one-on-one with more than 10 million businesses and has built an army of about 11,000 volunteers, including active and retired executives.

It's a model that SCORE executives don't plan to stray from anytime soon, even as business accelerators and incubators gain favor.

But make no mistake, Bobbitt says, "this isn't your dad's SCORE any more."

Today, the organization finds itself in an increasingly crowded and technology-driven space, with a growing number of public and private groups offering a multitude of specialized business services. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has more than once proposed trimming funding for SCORE in favor of newer programs.

So, where does the foundation go from here, and how does it stay relevant to today's - and tomorrow's - entrepreneurs? Some of those decisions will fall to Bobbitt, who spent more than 17 years as a small-business owner and professional fundraiser before joining SCORE last December, initially as executive director.

In an interview, Bobbitt discussed his vision for SCORE's future and where he feels the group can excel in today's ever-evolving world of business. What follows is a transcript of the interview, lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q. What are the most common challenges your group helps business owners tackle?

A. Number one is financing, and how do we get them the loans or the investments they need to get started and grow. Number two is marketing - that's a huge pain point for small companies, determining and communicating with the right customers.

And number three is scaling up. Most people who start a small business don't do it because they're passionate about finance or accounting or any of that. They're passionate about what the business does. We have the opportunity to help them in those areas.

Q. Compared with when you were getting started, is it easier or harder to start a new company today?

A. The first business I started was a real estate company in the '90s, and I went to a bank and basically financed it with a home equity line of credit. That has become harder to do, and many entrepreneurs don't have those traditional financing options right now. So, yes, the market is changing. Still, I don't think there's ever a wrong time to start a small business. The economy is clearly recovering, certain sectors are taking off, and I think there's a lot of buzz and energy around entrepreneurship.

Q. How have you adapted your services to stay current in today's world?

A. Well, for example, we now have a cohort of several hundred trained mentors who work remotely, who you don't have to physically meet with in person. They can work by Skype or by phone, and we know that's really useful for many small businesses. If you're running a company, you're not always able to run out in the middle of the day to meet with a mentor. So that complements the face-to-face interactions you can have in an office.

Q. Still, there is the perception that SCORE's offerings are old-fashioned. How do you continue to play a role in a world in which information, including business advice, is often only a few clicks away on a computer or smartphone?

A. It's a balance. What we've learned is that engaged mentoring still works best, and what's important for us is to emphasize those long-term relationships. For instance, if you just have a question or two about marketing, there are frankly now tons of places you can quickly turn to for good information and get a question answered. We're one of a million. But our real strength is building that long-term relationship over many years, where your mentor truly knows your business and can be a helpful resource on a variety of matters.

Q. What other possible areas of improvement have you identified?

A. We're responsible for private-sector fundraising, and I think we have an opportunity to better connect with corporate partners. So to the extent that we can build more and stronger relationships with those partners and find new ways to collaborate with them, that's one way we can deliver even better resources to small businesses.

One other area we'll work on going forward, from a public relations standpoint, is raising the profile of small-business owners across the county. I think that's as important, if not more important than our efforts to raise SCORE's profile - to make sure we're showcasing the impact and success of the entrepreneurs we work with.

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