Princeton SCORE to expand free business counseling

Organization to now aid existing businesses

By: Lauren Otis
   Free advice has a bad reputation but area businesses might want to reconsider this notion in light of a high caliber new counseling program which is now available to them at no charge.
   Princeton SCORE, the organization which offers free business coaching and advice to individuals considering starting a business, is expanding its reach with a new "Existing Business Counseling" service, targeting area businesses that have a minimum of $1 million in annual revenue.
   "We are excited about it," said Russ White, director of marketing at Princeton SCORE, and one of a team of six retired business executives who will provide the service. "A million dollars in revenue is a real company," he said, and the Princeton SCORE team is looking forward to the intellectual challenge of advising such working entities.
   Princeton SCORE has historically offered advice to operational companies, but 90 percent of its work has been with would-be entrepreneurs and their ventures, Mr. White said.
   The EBC service will offer consultations that can last over several months with senior executives, conducted at company offices, Mr. White said.
   With hundreds of companies in the Mercer County area with annual revenues in the $1 million to $10 million range, his team should have no lack of opportunities to put their decades of business experience into practice, Mr. White said. He said he expected the bulk of Princeton SCORE clients to be companies with annual revenues between $1 million and $2 million.
   The EBS program will provide companies with consulting in six main areas: business strategy, business planning, finance, operations and organization, marketing and sales, and human resources.
   In addition to Mr. White, a retired senior manager in the global information business at McGraw Hill, Thomson and Reed Elsevier, the other Princeton SCORE consultants are: Ben Koenig, a former UPS executive; Ray Lee a retired treasurer with a large subsidiary of a global finance company; Bill Litchman, a retired telecommunications executive; Jude Rich a former McKinsey & Co. partner and corporate manager; and Michael Stangel, a retired senior executive with consumer product businesses.
   Mr. White said that those who would like to utilize Princeton SCORE’s EBS program for their Mercer or Middlesex County-based business should send an e-mail to [email protected] describing their company and its circumstances, their objectives for counseling, and their contact information. A SCORE consultant will next follow up by phone, he said. All Princeton SCORE discussions are confidential.