photo by Ellen Priest

Local SCORE counselor Henry Lewis (Left) greets speaker Ram Dachepalli at the North Area Council meeting on Aug. 4 at the Holiday Inn Express.

Starting a new business can be a daunting task, but there is a free resource in the area that could make the difference between success and failure.

Ram Dachepalli, local area Chairman of SCORE, spoke to the North Area Chamber of Commerce Wednesday morning about the invaluable and free resources available through SCORE.

According to Dachepalli, SCORE originally stood for Service Corps of Retired Executives but that acronym no longer fits since many of its volunteers are currently business owners themselves. They volunteer with the organization to help others achieve success in starting and running their own small businesses.

Dachepalli said he doesn’t like the term counselors but likes to use coaches or mentors instead because they are there to guide business owners through the process of solving problems. While SCORE’s mentors are there to help during the startup, the new business owners are the ones doing the heavy lifting.

To Dachepalli, the most important thing about SCORE is that it is free and available to anyone asking for help and secondly, they will stay with the business owner, guiding and coaching for as long as needed. He said SCORE’s success is measured solely by their client’s success.

SCORE’s Summerville office is located in the Chamber of Commerce building at 402 N. Main St. There are six counselors available on an appointment only basis. Henry Lewis is one of the local counselors and attended the meeting. SCORE’s Charleston County office is located at 4500 Leeds Avenue in North Charleston and is open from 10-2 Monday through Friday with no appointment necessary.

SCORE is currently looking for up to six more counselors in Summerville, with a particular emphasis on needing more women volunteers. It is also looking at the viability of opening a Berkeley County office, and is looking for volunteers to accomplish that, particularly in Goose Creek and Moncks Corner. SCORE particularly needs counselors with legal or accounting backgrounds but anyone with business experience is welcome. Anyone interested in volunteering or needing more information about getting help for their small business can call SCORE at 727-4778 or at the Summerville office 873-2931.

In addition to counseling, SCORE regularly holds workshops and seminars on small business topics where experts in that field give advice. A seminar addressing intellectual property will be held August 17 from 6-9 pm at the Charleston Metro Chamber and the cost is $25 to attend.

SCORE’s local website is www.score285.org. According to the website, SCORE can help those planning to start a new business or franchise, purchase an existing business or franchise, improve a business with market expansion, profitability and easier management, or help save a business that faces challenges in the market and cash flow issues. The services are free and confidential.

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