The Business Scholarship Program©
A SCORE Chapter 255 program for 2010 and beyond

What is The Business Scholarship Program©?

The Business Scholarship Program (BSP) is an offering of 5 business workshops for new small business entrepreneurs presented by SCORE of Ventura County. The workshops include 1. How to start and grow a business; 2. Marketing; 3; Financial management; 4; Business plan development 5. How to manage and operate a business successfully.

The workshops are scheduled on every other Saturday in the spring, summer and fall of each year in Ventura County. They run from 8:30 am to 3PM and are presented by SCORE members with expertise in those areas of business. Each scholarship is valued at $200 and enables each recipient to attend all the workshops in the program; create a sound business plan to enter in a new business. Each scholarship recipient will be assigned a counselor (mentor) if they wish, to help them through the program to help establish their own business. The BSP is can be targeted toward the disadvantaged; low to middle income segment of the community.

The Program

A sponsor purchases the 5 workshops in the series and offers them to the low to middle-income segment of the community. This would give this segment of the market an opportunity to learn how to start and succeed in their own business enterprise. The sponsor, if they wish, can determine who and how the scholarships will be awarded (or they can be disbursed by SCORE). This could present an exciting publicity campaign in each community for the sponsor.

Part two:

The Business Scholarship Program can also be offered to existing small business owners or potential clients of the sponsor. The 5 business workshops in this category would include: 1. Marketing (building a marketing plan) 2. Financial management; 3. Business plan development 4. Managing and operating a business successfully and 5. Internet marketing, how to maximize website sales. With the exception of the internet workshop, the workshops are the same as above. Existing businesses get a great deal out of these workshops since most do not have a formal marketing, financial or business plan.

This part of the program can be targeted toward existing small businesses to help cement relationships for the sponsor or recognition. Again, the publicity can be exciting in each community served by the sponsor. This portion of the program could also be extended to minority small businesses in the communities as well.

The Over-all benefits

Each Sponsor can realize the following benefits:

1. Reaching out to the low to middle income community in each market with a valuable, educating program that can reap the benefit of new clients or customers
2. A program to help cement business relationships with existing customers and a means to attract new customers.
3. A measurable program to track how many attendees opened a new business, thus employing workers and adding value to the community
4. Receiving the benefit of SCORE's follow-up services that include free face-to-face counseling to help new businesses get started and succeed. Free onsite mentoring for existing businesses is also available.
5. The promotional advantages of having SCORE include the sponsor's name and logo on all printed workshop materials; Recognition of each sponsor at every workshop.
6. Each sponsor's logo and link to SCORE's website that is visited by hundreds each month. (We are the number one website when anyone Google's small business help in Ventura County)
7. Being a good "citizen" to the small business community by improving the business acumen of recipients.

The Cost

Each SCORE workshop cost is $55. The regular price of $275 would be reduced for this special sponsor program to $250 for each workshop series.

Here is an example of how the funds would be used per 20 scholarships:

20 Business Scholarships at $250 each ........................ $5,000
This would enable a sponsor to send 20 people through any 5-course workshop series until all the scholarships are awarded. SCORE can assist in this program if needed.

Measurement for success is the start of a new business with a written business plan and mentoring and counseling from a SCORE counselor to help with the new entrepreneur's success. All counseling is free, confidential and on-going as long as it's needed.

SCORE® is a non-profit (501C), all volunteer, national organization and resource partner of the Small Business Administration. SCORE, Ventura County Chapter, is one of 389 chapters nationwide and has been serving the small business community in Ventura County (and now Malibu) since 1971 by providing free, confidential face-to-face counseling, on-site mentoring and low cost workshops. SCORE's workshops are very well attended and received and are ongoing throughout the year.

SCORE believes this scholarship program, is a win- win for everyone concerned.

For additional information, please contact Michael Scotto at 805-204-6022.

Let us extend our sincere thanks for your consideration of this opportunity to help educate our business community; increase the opportunity for success and reduce small business failures.

Michael Scotto, Chairman, SCORE Chapter 255 Ventura County

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info@scoreventura.org