SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, is a 13,000­member volunteer association sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Since 1964, the association has matched volunteer business­management counselors with clients in need of expert advice. SCORE has experts in virtually every area of business management and maintains a national skills roster to help identify the best counselor for a particular client. Volunteer counselors share their management and technical expertise with both present and prospective small business owners.

SCORE volunteers are members of 388 locally organized chapters offering assistance in almost 800 locations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

Every effort is made to match a client's needs with a counselor who is experienced in a comparable line of business. All individual and team SCORE counseling is free; there may be a nominal fee for training workshops and seminars.

Through in­depth counseling and training, SCORE volunteers help prospective and established small business owners and managers identify problems, determine the causes and find solutions.

SCORE chapters offer low­cost prebusiness workshops that address topics like assessing entrepreneurial potential, developing a start­up checklist, selecting a legal entity, creating a business plan and securing funding. SCORE counselors also help successful firms review their distribution channels, survey expansion, modify products and meet other business challenges. Other workshops offer experienced business owners information on a myriad of subjects, including starting a home­based business, purchasing a franchise, defining a marketing and advertising strategy, implementing a waste­reduction plan, setting merchandise prices and beginning an exporting venture.

Any small business can obtain help from SCORE. The approach is confidential and personal. You don't need to be applying for or to have an SBA loan to participate in the program. In fact, an idea is all that is necessary for consultation and counseling.