S C O R E

GUIDING NEW BUSINESSES

Honored December, 1987

S C O R E

When people in Santa Fe are thinking about opening a new business, there is a place they can turn for legal, financial, and logistical advice. Thanks to the expertise of the volunteers of SCORE,—the Service Corps of Retired Executives—free, high-quality business advice is available to anyone in need of it.

When D. C. "Pete" Mathewson retired to Santa Fe after a thirty-five-year career as an executive with ALCOA, after working with the city on economic development he established the Santa Fe SCORE chapter. It became part of a national network of 500 chapters with over 12,000 volunteer business counselors. About 22 SCORE counselors now work out of an office in the federal courthouse in Santa Fe.

"We try to help people with ideas," says Pete. "We orient them on matters such as licensing, state taxes, and worker's comp. We also help them write a business plan and make cash flow projections, so they can go into a bank and have a serious meeting. We explain potential sources of financing and counsel them on the location of their facility." In addition to business counseling, SCORE presents seminars of interest to people who want to start a business.

And SCORE's activities also benefit the volunteers themselves, who feel they have found the perfect "retirement" job–it's part-time, it allows them the freedom to pursue their other interests, and it provides an opportunity to give back to the community by sharing what they've learned during their years in business. "People have ideas, but where to find sources of money is our greatest demand," says Pete. "The second biggest need is for legal counseling, and the third is for information on record keeping."