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SCORE Treasure Coast FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Below you will find a few points that we believe may be helpful as you start your small business journey with SCORE Treasure Coast. If you have any additional questions, fill out our contact form and we will get back to you soon.

General SCORE FAQs

What is SCORE?

SCORE, America’s premier source of free, confidential small business advice, was founded in 1964 as a nonprofit resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Because SCORE receives government funding, and thanks to our more than 10,000 dedicated volunteers, we are able to deliver most of our offerings at no cost.

Our network of 10,000+ expert volunteers offers business mentoring and workshops at more than 250 SCORE offices across the country. SCORE also provides virtual mentoring services via phone, email and video, plus webinars and other online resources for budding entrepreneurs and established business owners.

How does your small business mentoring service work? How can I connect with a mentor?

SCORE provides free, confidential business advice through our volunteer network of 10,000+ business experts. You can meet with a mentor online or face-to-face in a chapter near you.

To request a mentor, visit our Find a Mentor page and search for a mentor and make an appointment. If you prefer, we can also make a match for you based on your business question.

What happens after I submit my mentoring request?

SCORE will attempt to contact you at least three times during the two weeks after you have submitted your mentoring request. If you have not connected with a mentor at the end of this time, please contact mentoring@score.org.

After you are assigned a mentor, you can meet with your mentor regularly for ongoing help starting or growing your business, or you can make appointments whenever a specific issue or question arises.

SCORE’s mentoring services are provided at no cost to you, regardless of the number of times you visit a SCORE mentor (and regardless of how many mentors you work with).

The discussion with your SCORE mentor is strictly confidential. Our mentors sign a Code of Ethics and Conduct that ensures the protection of your information and business idea.

If you did not feel that you received valuable advice or assistance during a mentoring session, please discuss this with your mentor. Our #1 goal is to provide you with a positive experience and help you with your business needs.

SCORE will work to assign you to the perfect mentor, based on your need, industry and location. Your assigned mentor can then connect you with other mentors as needed to provide specialized advice and extra support.

If your initial mentor is not a good “fit” for you, we can pair you with another one of our thousands of business mentors across the country. In this case, you may contact your local SCORE office or email mentoring@score.org to request a new mentor.

How can I maximize my experience with SCORE?

We encourage clients to:

  • Join webinars
  • View recorded webinars
  • Complete interactive courses on demand
  • Attend local workshops
  • Take advantage of our library of online resources to supplement their SCORE mentoring and learn about specialized topics.

You benefit most from SCORE by meeting with a mentor for more than a one-hour appointment. Before the conclusion of your initial session, your mentor (or someone from the local SCORE office) will schedule another appointment for you or assist you in finding the correct resource. For best results, we recommend that our clients meet with their mentors regularly.

What do you expect from me?

While we prefer for clients to follow through with any scheduled appointments, we understand that things may occasionally come up that will require you to cancel an appointment. If you have to cancel an appointment, we ask that you notify your local chapter as soon as possible.

Both you and your mentor will work together to identify key areas to focus on to build your business success. Your mentor will act as an accountability partner, providing you with the guidance and resources you need to take the next steps toward advancing your business.

After your first and fourth meetings with your mentor, you will receive an electronic survey from SCORE office about your experience. The survey will take you about one minute to complete. We ask for your feedback in order to continue to improve our services. Our Client Satisfaction Survey results are reviewed continuously at all levels in SCORE.

Are your workshops free?

All of our workshops are low-cost or free of charge. You can register for a live webinar presented by a business expert, view a recorded webinar or take an interactive course on demand.

We also offer instructor-led workshops, roundtables and events in your community. These are available for free or for a nominal fee. All funds received from the local workshops support the chapter and development of new workshops, handouts, materials and other business resources.

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Small Business FAQs

What is a small business?

The Office of Advocacy defines a small business for research purposes as an independent business having fewer than 500 employees.

Firms wishing to be designated small businesses for government programs such as contracting must meet size standards specified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Size Standards. These standards vary by industry.

Size standards - The SBA’s size standards determine whether or not your business qualifies as small. How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

Small firms

  • Represent 99.9 percent of all employer firms.
  • 99.7 percent of firms with paid employees.
  • 97.6 percent of exporting firms (287,835 small exporters)
  • 32.9 percent of known export value ($440 billion out of $1.3 trillion)
  • 47.5 percent of private sector employees (59 million of 124 million)
  • 40.8 percent of private sector payroll.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau and Intl. Trade Admin., Advocacy-funded research by Kathryn Kobe, and CHI Research, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How many small businesses are there?

In 2015, there were 30.2 million small businesses in the United States, and 19,464 firms with 500 employees or more, according to Office of Advocacy estimates.

  • Eighty percent, or 24.3 million had no employees (termed "nonemployers")
  • Twenty percent, or 5.9 million, had paid employees.

The number of small employers has increased after a decline during the recession, while the number of non-employers has gradually increased since 1997.

Source: Office of Advocacy estimates based on data from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau, and trends from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics.

How many businesses open and close each year?

About 10 to 12 percent of firms with employees open each year and about 10 to 12 percent close (see below).

 
Starts and Closures of Employer Firms, 2012–2015
Category 2012 2013 2014 2015
Births 408,591 404,475 403,902 414,043
Deaths 362,398 367,419 391,553 396,602
Notes: Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; U.S. Dept. of Labor, Business Employment Dynamics (BED). Estimates based on Census data and BED trends.

In 2015, there were about 414,000 startups (firms less than one year old) and about 396,000 firm closures. The share of businesses that were startups has hovered around 8% since 2010.

What is small businesses' share of net new jobs?

Small firms accounted for 65.9 percent of the net new jobs created between 2000 and 2017. From 2000 to 2017 small businesses created 8.4 million net new jobs while large businesses created 4.4 million.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. What is the survival rate for new businesses?

79.8% of establishments started in 2016 survived until 2017. From 2005 to 2017, an average of 78.6% of new establishments survived one year.

  • About half of all establishments survive five years or longer. In the past decade, this ranged from a low of 45.4% for establishments started in 2006, and a high of 51.0% for those started in 2011
  • About one-third of establishments survive 10 years or longer.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics; U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BED. (X) Close All Tabs .accordian h1 { margin: 0; line-height: 2; text-align: center; } .accordian h2 { margin: 0 0 .5em; font-weight: normal; } .accordian input { position: absolute; opacity: 0; z-index: -1; } .accordian.row { display: -webkit-box; display: flex; } .accordian.row .col { -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex: 1; } .accordian.row .col:last-child { margin-left: 1em; } /* Accordion styles */ .accordian .tabs { border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 4px 4px -2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); } .accordian .tab { width: 100%; color: white; overflow: hidden; } .accordian .tab-label { display: -webkit-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-pack: justify; justify-content: space-between; padding: 1em; background: #265287; font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; color: #ffffff; /* Icon */ } .accordian .tab-label:hover { background: #1b3a5f; } .accordian .tab-label::after { content: "\276F"; width: 1em; height: 1em; text-align: center; -webkit-transition: all .35s; transition: all .35s; } .accordian .tab-content { max-height: 0; padding: 0 1em; color: #1B1414; background: white; -webkit-transition: all .35s; transition: all .35s; } .accordian .tab-close { display: -webkit-box; display: flex; -webkit-box-pack: end; justify-content: flex-end; padding: 1em; font-size: 0.75em; cursor: pointer; } .accordian input:checked + .tab-label { background: #1b3a5f; } .accordian input:checked + .tab-label::after { -webkit-transform: rotate(90deg); transform: rotate(90deg); } .accordian input:checked ~ .tab-content { max-height: 100vh; padding: 1em; }
CONNECT
Physical Address: 3220 S. US Hwy 1, Suite #2, Fort Pierce, FL 34982
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Mailing Address: PO Box 650354 Vero beach, FL 32965
(772) 489-0548

Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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