SCORE Mentors

10/22/2026

🚨 Small business owners, it's time to get holiday-ready!

Small Business Saturday is your chance to get in front of new customers, bring in more sales and set your business up for a strong holiday season. But don't leave your plan to the last minute.

Swipe through for 8 ways to make the most of it, then check out SCORE's Holiday Success Hub [link in comments] for more tips, tools and resources. 🎁

Save this post for your holiday prep checklist! 📌

10/21/2026

When Banks Say NO, Your Business Dreams Don't Have to Stop!

Have you been turned down for a traditional business loan? Don't get discouraged! There are other financing options that could help you start, grow, or expand your small business.

Join SCORE Mentors for a FREE webinar and discover alternative funding opportunities that may be the right fit for your business!

📅 Thur, October 22, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM PDT
💻 Online Webinar

What You'll Learn:
✅ Explore funding options beyond traditional bank loans
✅ Learn about SBA loans, grants, and microlending programs
✅ Compare financing costs, qualifications, and requirements
✅ Understand the advantages and challenges of different funding sources
✅ Discover how to choose financing that supports your business goals

Whether you're launching a new business, looking to expand, or searching for additional capital, this webinar can help you make more informed funding decisions.

Ready to explore your funding options? Visit www.score.org/business-education to find the webinar and register!

Know a small business owner who could benefit from this information? Tag them in the comments or share this post!

10/20/2026

The bank just said NO. What do you do? 👀

Plot twist: THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO GET FUNDED! 💰

…and Boyd Karren of Otro Financial is breaking down your options on Thursday!

Comment “FUNDING” and we’ll send you the link to register.

10/19/2026

Sometimes, the biggest business win is realizing how far you've come.

When SCORE client Dave started his business 16 years ago, he was working out of his backyard garage with no college degree and no business experience. Today, he's built a profitable automotive business, paid off $167,000 in debt, and secured the financing he needs to grow his three companies.

But the biggest change isn't just in the numbers. It's in how Dave sees himself and what he's accomplished.

After a decade of working with SCORE mentors and learning to understand the financial side of business, Dave presented his growth strategy to four banks. All four made offers.

Reflecting on the milestone, he shared:

“I'm finally making that transition from the ‘I should be here, I should be doing this’ syndrome to the ‘look what I've done, look what I've got, and look where I'm going’ syndrome.”

Mentorship can help entrepreneurs build stronger businesses, make more informed decisions, and recognize the progress they've made along the way.

Sometimes, it's time to stop focusing on how far you have to go and celebrate how far you've already come.

Way to GROW, Dave!

10/16/2026

Sometimes the best financial decision you can make is getting another perspective. 💙

Meet Zoila Sanguinetti, a SCORE mentor with financial planning experience who helps entrepreneurs work through the numbers, think through their options and make informed decisions for their businesses.

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you meet with a mentor. That’s what mentoring is for.

This National Financial Planning Month, connect with a SCORE mentor and get guidance for the financial questions behind your business.

📈 Your business. Your goals. Your plan.

10/15/2026

🚨 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A SCORE CLIENT JUST HIT HSN!

Two years after winning the grand prize in one of SCORE's 60th Anniversary Pitch Competitions, Lisa Basini of Baking Coach, Inc. has taken another exciting step forward: featuring her cookie dough kits on a live HSN broadcast! 🍪📺

Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JdMD8Fxoc/
Lisa's segment begins at the 4-minute mark!

Baking Coach is on a mission to create meaningful employment opportunities for the differently-abled, and we're thrilled to celebrate Lisa and her team's growing success.

From the pitch competition stage to the national stage, we're cheering you on, Lisa! 🎉

10/15/2026

Join us for community lunch from 12:00-1:00 this Friday, 10/16 for a special conversation with our dear friend David Broner.

David—a longtime small business owner and current volunteer mentor with SCORE Mentors—recently wrote and published his ethical will. That's a document in the Jewish tradition that gives the writer the opportunity to tell their story and pass on life lessons to future generations.

Many of us in the Green Garage have been impressed and inspired by David's work on his ethical will. Join us on Friday to hear more about the tradition, the process, and David's life story.

12:00-1:00 at the Green Garage, 4444 2nd Ave. Fee and open to all, lunch courtesy of Seasons Market & Cafe.

📸 Photo of David courtesy of GG alum Brendan Ross, Photographer.

10/14/2026

Getting ready to launch a product?

Your barcode does more than speed up checkout. It helps retailers and online marketplaces identify your products, manage inventory and connect your brand to the products you sell.

Learn how to choose the right product identifiers and set your business up for a successful launch in our latest article, brought to you by GS1 US.

Learn why barcodes matter and how you can set them up to ensure launch success.

10/05/2026

Learning never stops when you’re building your dream!

🌟Join SCORE mentors and small business experts for low-cost webinars and local events designed to help entrepreneurs like you succeed. 📅

Check what’s coming up: https://www.score.org/in/business-education/

09/30/2026

“Yesterday was only our first conversation, but deciding that I don’t need to figure everything out alone already feels like progress.”

After being matched with a SCORE mentor, entrepreneur Mehal Jivan is already seeing the value of having someone in his corner to challenge his thinking, spot blind spots, and help him stay accountable to his bigger vision.

“The right mentor helps you ask better questions and become a better leader.” Sometimes, progress starts with realizing you don’t have to do it alone.

09/25/2026

🏦 Getting a barcode on your product is just the first step.

Join the FREE SCORE webinar “Beyond the Barcode: Manage Inventory, Navigate Retail Channels and Prepare to Scale”. In this webinar, you’ll learn how barcode information moves through the retail supply chain and how retailers, distributors and fulfillment partners use that data to identify and manage products.

👉 Register today and expand into wholesale distribution, fulfillment centers and other higher-volume sales channels! See the link in the comments.

09/24/2026

“Making decisions in isolation is really intimidating.”

For Kat, building a farm business meant making big decisions without always knowing what was “normal” or what to expect. She wanted an experienced perspective to challenge her assumptions and help her move forward with confidence. That’s where SCORE came in.

Working with her mentor, Bill, Kat used SCORE’s cash flow tools to determine whether her small farm could support a loan and what amount made sense for her business. Today, her quarter-acre farm produces salad greens, prepared salads, and dressings, with three greenhouses, a truck, a walk-in cooler, and a growing community of customers who swear her salads are the best they’ve ever had.

Kat has grown 50% into her second season, proving that you don’t need acres of land to build something that grows.

09/22/2026

🤖 AI can help simplify your business finances, but knowing where it falls short is just as important.

Join the FREE SCORE webinar “Using AI for Financial Management: Balancing AI Tools With Reliable Bookkeeping” to learn practical ways to use AI, what financial information to verify and why accurate bookkeeping still matters.

👉 👉 Register today and learn how to use AI responsibly in your business finances. See link in the comments.

09/21/2026

Learning never stops when you’re building your dream! 🌟
Join SCORE mentors and small business experts for low-cost webinars and local events designed to help entrepreneurs like you succeed. 📅

Check what’s coming up: https://www.score.org/in/business-education/

09/10/2026

Pin it to the SCOREboard 📌

What's one resource, podcast, app, or book you'd recommend to 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 entrepreneur?

We'll use the comment section as a sounding board to offer resources and support!!

09/09/2026

SEPTEMBER WEBINAR SCHEDULE — Swipe through to learn more about this month’s sessions. 👉

9/10 - Alternative Funding for Small Businesses: Grants, Crowdfunding and More

9/15 - How to Use Google Workspace with Gemini as Your AI-Powered Productivity Partner

9/22 - Mastering Small Business Financial Management – Keys to Growth and Profitability

9/24 - Using AI for Financial Management: Balancing AI Tools With Reliable Bookkeeping

9/29 - Beyond the Barcode: Manage Inventory, Navigate Retail Channels and Prepare to Scale

We hope you enjoy this month’s line up and look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!

09/08/2026

“​​With SCORE you have someone in your corner who can ask you the right questions, connect you with experts, and help you access a world of opportunity.”

For Amanda Chavero, founder of Dear Donor, building a business meant turning a decade of nonprofit experience into a new kind of opportunity: helping small organizations do more without significantly increasing their overhead. But expertise in her field didn't automatically mean knowing how to build a business.

So Amanda turned to SCORE. Her mentor, Mark Lancaster, helped her develop a long-term vision, navigate HR questions, distinguish growth from scale, and even plan for maternity leave as her business expanded. The results came quickly. In Dear Donor's first full year, Amanda raised more than $700,000. The following year, with two employees on her team, she raised $3.2 million with a 40% success rate.

Today, Dear Donor is helping nonprofits build capacity and secure the resources they need to make their missions possible. And Amanda is doing it with the confidence and perspective she gained along the way. “I love helping my clients capture their dreams,” she says, “and I appreciate SCORE’s help in realizing mine.”