He Shoots! He SCOREs!

Wouldn't it be cool to work with a business advisor who was the VP of Corporate Development in a large, privately owned company (almost $500 million in sales)? How about one who founded a market research company and grew its annual sales to over $2 million? Can you imagine the wealth of knowledge that these folks would have to share? How would you like to get that advice for free?

Check out SCORE.

On Friday morning, I went in to the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce offices where our local SCORE chapter has its offices. I was meeting with Karl Hauser (the first advisor whom I described above). My goal was to take my business to the next level, but I wasn't even sure what my next steps should be. By the end of the hour, he had helped me through the beginning of the process. He had provided me with free materials about my plans. Best of all, I walked away with some specific action items for me to tackle. He really helped clear up my confusion!

If you are just starting out in business, or even if you've been doing it for a while and would just like to get some advice on how to do things better, I highly recommend that you check out your local chapter. You can go to the national SCORE site to find a chapter near you.

What? You say that there aren't any chapters nearby? No excuses! You can also get access to this same level of experience via email. And, again, it's free. Just follow the instructions on the national site and within 48 hours, you will have your answers.

So, what was the best business advice that you ever received? Did you follow it?