July 13. With the suspension of in-person events such as on-site mentoring sessions and workshops due to the corona virus, SCORE Charlotte has set up remote mentoring sessions via phone, e-mail and Zoom.

SCORE Charlotte is a volunteer organization consisting of 87 active, retired and semi-retired executives and business owners.

SCORE Charlotte was formed in 1965 as the 47th Chapter of SCORE National based in Washington, D. C. It is one of over 320 chapters nationwide with over 11,000 Certified SCORE members. All are dedicated to support the business community via free confidential mentoring.

SCORE has a new website as well: www.Charlotte.Score.org.

And in light of the “pivot” needed around COVID-19 and small business, SCORE has a national Small Business Resilience Hub for remote mentoring by phone, e-mail or video conferencing on such topics as funding and finance, recovery and growth, e-commerce and technology, marketing and sales, start-up business plans among others.

“Resilience training is also offered consisting of educational material, on-line workshops and industry-specific training,” said Juliette Weiland, president of the Charlotte Chapter.

How to get a mentor

Small business owners who want to talk or be assigned a mentor in the 16 counties in North and South Carolina can download a “Mentor Request Form found on the web sites www.Charlotte.Score.org or www.score.org.

The SCORE Charlotte Intake Team will get your request and reach back out within a week.

A free monthly newsletter from SCORE Charlotte is also available free of charge by e-mail.

Workshops Offered by Zoom

Besides mentoring, SCORE Charlotte also sponsors a series of workshops via Zoom, “Simple Steps for Starting Your Business.”

The first workshop, “Virtual Simple Steps for Starting Your Business” focuses on testing your business idea and identifying key factors that influence start-up. The three-hour sessions are scheduled for July 15, and 22 and Aug. 5 and 19 from 12:45 to 3:45 pm and Aug. 13 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The first workshop is free to charge.

Four other workshops are also available via Zoom. They include “Business Concept” on July 14th, “Marketing Plan” on July 21, “Financial Projections” on July 28th and “Funding Sources and Next Steps” on August 4. The fee to attend all four of these workshops is $150.

160 start-ups got help in 2019

According to the SCORE Foundation, SCORE Charlotte mentors helped 169 new businesses get started in the Charlotte Region in 2019. This is based on 87 SCORE Charlotte volunteers conducting 3,936 client engagements in 2019.

SCORE said 765 non-owner jobs were created in 2019 within the Charlotte region. The SCORE clients were 61% women, 46% minorities and 10% veterans.

In North Carolina, 822 new businesses were started in 2019 and 1,190 non-owner jobs were created with SCORE assistance.