SCORE Helps Veterans Start Small Businesses with Free Workshops

Online, February 18, 2012 (Newswire.com) - West Palm Beach, Florida - SCORE, a non-profit government organization created to mentor America's small business, today introduced a series of business-planning workshops to aid aspiring small business owners. In partnership with Bank of America, SCORE designed the "Simple Steps for Starting Your Business" series to help entrepreneurs test ideas and plan their business. Open to all entrepreneurs, the series will be free for veterans, active duty military, spouses and immediate family through the support of Wal-Mart Foundation's "Veteran Fast Launch." Fast Launch participants will be assigned a highly experienced SCORE mentor to guide them in starting and growing a successful business. The program includes a "Start-up Basics" workshop followed by four business-planning sessions focused on Business Concept, Marketing, Financial Projections, and Funding Sources. Each session includes exercises to help the entrepreneur plan for success. SCORE volunteers are also available to all participants on an ongoing basis for confidential mentoring at no charge. The workshops open to both civilian and veteran or military entrepreneurs are designed to help potential business owners understand the crucial components of starting a business. "Our goal is to help our community grow. Helping small business owners test their ideas and conduct initial planning for their start-up is essential to achieving success," says Jerry Steinberg, Palm Beach SCORE Chapter Vice Chair. Workshops will be held every Wednesday, March 7-28, from 5-8pm at Keiser University in West Palm Beach. The cost is $99 for the Series, through a grant with the Walmart Foundation the fee will be waived for veterans, family and active duty military through a voucher coupon. To register for the workshop, or for more information about starting or operating a small business, call Palm Beach Score (561) 833-1672 or visit www.palmbeach.score.org http://vetsfastlaunch.org/stories/ For more press information contact: Renee Lempert, Chapter Vice President, Marketing and Communications.