SCORE Cleveland

Their Business is Your Business

By Marie Elium

Dee Montgomery dreamed of getting clothes, car seats, diapers and toys into the hands of struggling families with young children. Her challenge? Finding the best way to do it.

Montgomery, of Warrensville Heights, turned to SCORE Cleveland, an association of mentors and their mentees, current and retired business people, new and hopeto-be business owners, nonprofit founders and others. Counselor, mentor, cheerleader and handholder — SCORE links people in the know with those who want to know.

Montgomery eventually established Angels Boutique to collect and give supplies to families. Now 53, she did it because she didn’t have the help she needed when she was a single mother.

“I told myself, if I would get into a position where I could be of help to others, I’d do it,” Montgomery says. SCORE gave her the know-how to establish her nonprofit and market it. Angels Boutique has helped 30-40 families so far.

Montgomery’s experience is mirrored nearly daily at SCORE Cleveland, which serves Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Geauga, Ashtabula, Huron and Erie counties. Last year, the Virginia-based SCORE Association named it the National Chapter of the Year.

Free Help

SCORE Cleveland bolsters people like Montgomery, community developers and others (mentees) by providing trained mentors who have the desire and know-how to help others. Many are retired from their own businesses and careers.

The chapter offers marketing, accounting, grant writing, business planning, experts and services that are the foundation of small businesses, startups and nonprofits. Its one-on-one mentoring — sometimes brainstorming — sessions can be just the boost that propels a dream like Montgomery’s to reality.

SCORE Cleveland also has partnered with Metro West Community Development Organization to spur revitalization in the Stockyard, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods. Earlier this year, it agreed to collaborate with Slavic Village Development to bolster small businesses and nonprofits. SCORE’s network continues to find opportunities to extend into Northeast Ohio’s neighborhoods to support community leaders, says SCORE Cleveland co-chair and mentor Robert Cohen.

“We work with a lot of underserved communities. If you’ve got an idea for a business, we’ll talk,” Cohen says.

The Rev. Patricia DeLeon is an associate pastor at St. James AME Church in Cleveland and a business consultant who owns Consulting

Ministries of Greater Cleveland. She began volunteering with SCORE in 2021; it’s a calling she couldn’t resist.

“Seeing the light in people’s eyes when they see they can do their thing is incredible,” DeLeon says. “I try to break it down into small bites. I share with them not only (SCORE’s) resources and tools but also work with them with a checklist; that way, it becomes more doable. That’s what I do with me, and the next thing they know, they’re up and running.”

That checklist could include questions about starting a daycare, operating a food truck business or shipping items economically — topics covered on the SCORE Cleveland website. Individual mentoring is free, as are most workshops and webinars.

SCORE can be a catalyst for retirees in two ways: those who want to help others and those launching encore careers. In 2021, the chapter helped 227 businesses get off the ground, creating 919 jobs.

More than 90 volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds work with clients. After undergoing SCORE training, they typically pledge 20-25 volunteer hours a month, says Michael Lawson, a certified small business mentor.

DeLeon has advice for those thinking about volunteering or starting a business or nonprofit: give SCORE Cleveland a chance and dive in.

“A lot of people are doubtful because they don't have the skill sets. Yes, you can. Go ahead and do it.”

Learn More:

• Contact Dee Montgomery about Angels Boutique at angelsboutiquecorp@yahoo.com

• SCORE Cleveland: score.org/ cleveland