Date: Fri 17-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SUZANN

Quick Words:

SCORE-business-conseling

Full Text:

In Business, Success Comes To Those Who Know The SCORE

(with cut)

BY SUZANNA NYBERG

You have to know business to do business.

That is the experience and the message of the volunteers of the Service Corps

of Retired Executives (SCORE).

SCORE is a nationwide organization that provides counseling for those who want

to go into business for themselves or who already own a business and want to

see it perform better. The local chapter recently moved its office from

Danbury to Brookfield.

SCORE is staffed entirely by volunteers, either the retired or those still in

business. "One can't keep taking," said Phil Edelstein, secretary of the

organization and a Newtown resident. "One needs to give back." The officers at

SCORE are hoping that more women will want to share their business acumen with

those just starting and that more women will decide to go into business.

Both in small groups and one-on-one, 16 counselors show clients how to go

about borrowing money, what banks to approach for that money, and how to do a

cash flow analysis. While counselors assist clients in getting loans by

matching them with an SBA recommended bank, they also encourage that client to

put up as much money as they can.

One of SCORE's most important functions, explained Mr Edelstein, is to

articulate the demands of running one's own business. "Business requires

discipline and self-sacrifice," he said. "People mistakenly believe that if

they go into business for themselves, their lives will become easier and that

is simply not the case." Mr Edelstein, who owned Danbury Plumbing Supply for

almost 25 years, says that it is actually quite lonely to run a business and

that the responsibilities can be arduous. "When you work for a company, you

wait for the day when you get paid," he said. "But when you run the company,

you worry about the day everyone has to get paid."

Counselor Al Benoit, a Newtown resident, noted that all advice, including the

advice to scrap a business idea, depends upon context. While Mr Edelstein has

a definite criteria for success in the business world, Mr Benoit believes that

no one thing will make or break an entrepreneur. At the same time, he believes

that it is just as important to save someone from spending time and effort for

nothing as it is to help someone manufacture a product and sell it. For

example, many housewives who want to start a home craft business eventually

realize that the idea might be too labor intensive to be worth it. Conversely,

a businessman may be encouraged to incorporate more marketing techniques and

phase in new product development lines in his organization.

As the former president of three small companies, Mr Benoit says that he made

a point to be involved in all aspects of the business and that he encourages

his clients to do the same. "One never wants a lawyer or accountant to do

something one doesn't understand," he said. "Not knowing puts the business in

danger of going haywire." Mr Benoit was able to step in and do the books when

he his chief financial officer fell ill.

It is this kind of hands-on expertise that Mr Edelstein says SCORE can

provide; counselors readily offer advice on running a variety of businesses,

from operating a small hot dog stand to setting up a machine shop. "We go from

one extreme to the other," he said, remembering the range of people he has

counseled, including families and one woman with four brothers-in-law.

SCORE also helps those businesses experiencing difficulties, ranging from

cash-flow problems to skyrocketing overhead costs.

Writing A Plan

The first step toward owning a business is writing a business plan, one that

defines the business in great detail. "Many do not realize what they're doing

until they put their thoughts in writing," Mr Edelstein said. He remembers

greeting one client who wanted to open a shoe store simply because she thought

it would be a good thing to do. "But she knew nothing about the retail shoe

industry," he said, laughing.

"I told her to get a job in a shoe store and work there for a year and then

come back to me."

After discovering what one's business will entail, one must determine who the

competitors are. "If a market is over-saturated, we would discourage someone

from even considering it," Mr Edelstein said. Also important is finding out

the strengths and weaknesses of the competition, a research process that can

take weeks.

Within five years, Mr Edelstein claims, 50 percent of businesses fail, not due

to a lack of capital, personnel or inventory, but to an owner's lack of

experience. Only because Mr Edelstein worked for Ridgewood Plumbing Supply in

New Jersey was he confident that he could make a go of Danbury Plumbing

Supply.

Mr Edelstein's leadership of Danbury Plumbing Supply provides a model for

those who would follow his route. When he bought the company, he decided it

would offer something that no one else could. He focused on giving service,

one that undercut the competition and made him a leader in his field. "If

other stores opened at 8, we opened at 7," he said. "And when they started

opening at 7, we opened at 6. The other stores couldn't get people to do

that."

Mr Edelstein also promised to deliver faster than his competitors, getting his

shipments on the road within ten minutes of ordering. Although he admitted

gratefully that the service was rarely taken advantage of, he insisted that

the simple fact that it was offered gave him an edge on his competitors.

Danbury Plumbing Supply grew from a $660,000 operation in 1970 to a $7.6

million operation in 1988. Mr Edelstein routinely worked more than 60 hours a

week.

The key to a successful business, Edelstein believes, is discovering how to be

different and then how to market that difference. To that end, image and

advertising are important. "It's not what you do, but it's what you say you

can do," he said. Mr Edelstein tells SCORE clients that advertising can be as

simple as a flyer tucked under someone's windshield to a billboard looming

over a highway. While all depends on one's capital budget, Mr Edelstein

believes in ways that are tried and true: the yellow pages and word of mouth.

Although presently open three days a week, SCORE will counsel clients five

days a week in September due to increased demand. The organization also offers

seminars and runs roundtable discussions. The number is 203/775-1151.