All successful business owners have mentors who help them grow. How can we help you? Learn more about our SCORE chapter in Greater Rochester NY and make an appointment to meet with a mentor.
SCORE Greater Rochester
SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than forty years.
Founded in 1964, SCORE is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and has 364 chapters throughout the United States and its territories, with over 13,000 volunteers nationwide. These dedicated volunteers represent over 3,000 years of business experience across 62 industries.
Volunteers - Greater Rochester SCORE has almost 100 volunteer members available to provide mentoring, and workshops to assist small businesses located in the area around Rochester, NY. This area includes the towns and cities of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates & Wayne counties. There is a vast amount of expertise among our volunteers from every walk of life and many industries. You can receive expert counseling on various issues from business idea formation, business formation, business planning, selling skills, marketing, social media, web development, and accounting to name a few. Industries our volunteers have served include restaurants, furniture stores, security, and computer repair and that's just a small portion of the industries our clients are from. Many of our volunteers have retired after working in the corporate world for companies like Xerox, IBM, or Kodak. We also have volunteers who own their own businesses and therefore have been where you are - at any stage. All of our volunteers are committed to assisting Rochester, NY area businesses succeed.
Existing businesses - Are you currently in business? SCORE is here for you too. For existing business owners, our approach may be different. Our chapter offers team mentoring where you will receive business mentoring in specific areas of need for your specific business or industry. Your business may be struggling to grow and therefore we can assemble a team who are experts in the field of sales, marketing, and Human Resources (HR). Whatever your business is struggling with, our chapter has experts who can guide you through to an answer.
Non-profits - Non-profits play a large role in the vitality of the Rochester NY region. Greater Rochester SCORE has volunteers who specialize in assisting non-profits with issues such as strategic planning, governance, marketing, and business effectiveness. Contact us today to schedule your mentoring meeting for your local non-profit.
Workshops - Greater Rochester SCORE offers two different formats of workshops/seminars.
- A four-evening series of workshops are offered each spring and fall in conjunction with area community adult education programs. These workshops provide the participants with the basic need-to-know information for new and potential small businesses.
- Half and full-day workshops on specific topics such as social media, business planning, and government contracts are offered on a regular basis. See our workshop page for current offerings and dates.
National support - Our chapter is part of the National SCORE network which has a network of 13,000+ volunteers offering small business owners free business mentoring at no charge. If our chapter does not have a mentor who fits your business in the right way or who doesn't have the expertise you need; we can call on this volunteer network and connect you with someone who does have what you need. At SCORE, you don't just get one mentor; you get the entire organization.