Everyone Benefits from SCORE's Mentorship Programs

The Old Testament concept of tzedakah means giving without expectation of a reward. Today when you commit a random act of kindness you are, sadly, doing something many other people don't do.

That's one of the reasons I have always respected the work done by the volunteers of SCORE. An army of experienced businesspeople over 14,000 strong, SCORE volunteers keep on giving, teaching, advocating, and sharing without expecting anything in return. In the "old days" (less than a decade ago) SCORE volunteers were mainly older white men who helped others start and grow businesses once they were finished with their own business careers.

Today, SCORE volunteers are more representative of the general business community. Many work with SCORE while still running their own companies. The number of SCORE mentors who are women and minorities continues to climb, this year topping 26 percent of the total volunteer force.

Last week I was a guest at the 2011 SCORE Awards in Washington, D.C. (full disclosure, SCORE is a client of my company). The organization certainly has a lot to celebrate. In 2010 SCORE introduced a campaign to help Americans launch (or grow) one million small businesses by 2017. They're well on their way. Last year SCORE's clients started nearly 59,000 businesses, saved almost 18,000 jobs, and created over 71,000 new jobs. Altogether SCORE mentors spent 1.3 million hours helping 590,550 aspiring and current business owners, who generated combined revenues of $19.4 billion.

Those are impressive numbers to be sure, but there are real people behind those figures. People like Rachel Weeks, the winner of the "Outstanding Woman-Owned Small Business" award, who started thinking about "ethical manufacturing" while still a senior at Duke University. Weeks actually started her company School House -- makers of socially responsible, college- and university-branded clothing and other products -- while in Sri Lanka on a Fulbright scholarship, all the while consulting with her SCORE mentor back in the States. She's since moved her manufacturing operation to North Carolina. (See We Could All Learn from These Inspiring Entrepreneurs.)

Or like SCORE mentor Chuck Christiansen, who helped Dr. Gary Bickford live his post-retirement dream and start Healthy Life Clinic, a small chain of medical-care facilities in eastern Tennessee. What's really extraordinary about this story is that Christiansen is 80 years old, and works more than 50 hours a week as a SCORE mentor.

It's never easy starting or growing a small business, but when the economy has more ups and downs than Space Mountain, we all could use a little outside perspective, expert advice, or someone to just serve as a sounding board. SCORE's mentoring services are free, which is especially attractive these days. (See SCORE-ing Free Financial Help.)

In the past SCORE has been criticized for being out of touch, but the organization has worked hard to transform itself, updating its curriculum, technology, and website.

It's easy to understand why so many people volunteer to be a SCORE mentor. The sense of accomplishment when you come to the aid of someone starting a business, or help them solve a business challenge, is palpable. It is an amazing high to help someone move one step closer to achieving the American Dream. But as effective as SCORE is, they can't do it alone.

Ami Kassar, the CEO of Multifunding, a loan brokerage firm, wrote a blog post calling for all businesses to participate in a national program where "each and every one of us makes a point to help at least one small business, because we believe it's important for all of our futures. I am talking about millions of companies and people doing small things to help millions of small businesses."

Some examples of what Kassar is thinking: "What if every accountant in the country donated a few hours each week to help a small business that was struggling with their accounting? What if each bank made a pledge to let each small business know within 72 hours of a loan application if they could help or not? What if every 'big' company made it a mandate to try and hire 'small' businesses as contractors and pay them on time? What if each of us agreed to shop at a small business every week instead of at Walmart?" (See Walmart's New Price-Match Push Pressures Small Businesses.)

Kassar's idea is a good one. He's asking us to share what we know, to be selfless (even just a little bit), and to do something for someone else because it contributes to the greater good.

That's the spirit that drives SCORE. Let's all harness that energy and pay it forward.

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Follow Rieva on Twitter @Rieva and read more of her insights on SmallBizDaily.com.