Giving Back: Entrepreneur Helps Others Build Their Enterprises

SCORE Counselor Utilizes Her Experience To Provide Help For Others


Sooner or later, everyone dreams of walking away from their corporate job and starting their own business. And why not? After all, we are a nation built on the visions and ideas of entrepreneurs.

For Tina O’Toole, her entrepreneurial dream began in 2000 when the former high school teacher partnered with a friend to start ComSolutions, a telecommunications training firm. She began the company to provide training services to Enterprise businesses, teaching employees how to use telecommunications technology.

“The great thing about owning this business was the opportunity to meet so many incredible people,” O’Toole said. “I also got to learn so much about so many different businesses. For us, we had to learn all aspects of the business to teach the employees how to use the technology. I ended up learning so much about different companies and how they were run.”

From its humble (3 employees when it began) beginnings, the company grew to become a full service telecommunications firm, providing such services as project management, software engineering and installation and training.

In 2014, it was time to cash in and retire. After a 14-year run, O’Toole and her partner sold the business. After the final papers were signed, O’Toole was looking for a way to give back the knowledge and skills she learned as a business owner.

Enter SCORE.

For more than 50 years, SCORE has served as a premier source of free, confidential business education and mentoring. (counseling and workshops and services) “I was looking through a newspaper and saw an ad for SCORE,” she said. “As I read more about it, I said to myself, ‘Wait a minute, we paid for business coaching and we paid for sales training for years with my company. This organization has been here all along, and I could have gotten this help free of charge.’”

She knew SCORE was a “best-kept secret” for business owners.

After starting a business from scratch, building it and then selling it, she now wanted to give back to other business owners. She signed up as a SCORE Counselor. “I wanted to utilize the skill set I had nurtured all these years,” she said. “The clients (we counsel) range from the idea stage to existing businesses that are struggling or not growing. I feel like I’ve ‘been there, done that.’”

One of her first clients she mentored was a start-up web design firm that developed an analytics program to gauge success on the web. O’Toole and another SCORE counselor helped the owner build his company. “He had a great product, but he had no sales experience and no marketing experience,” she said. “That’s where we started. We started with marketing.

“One of the great things SCORE offers is a wealth of diverse knowledge from 70 volunteers. They come from all different backgrounds. So you have this dynamic level of talent. That’s what makes SCORE so unique. So, if you need sales help, you can get sales help. If you need marketing help, it is available.”

SCORE not only counsels clients one-on-one, but the organization also provides Business Scans, a project that analyzes all aspects of the business. “The scans give a snapshot of where the business is at.”

O’Toole is excited to continue her role as a counselor with SCORE. “My satisfaction is watching these companies do well,” she said. “It is a wonderful feeling to know you have a skill that can impact a business owner’s life. We not only impact the owner’s life but also all of the employees. We are impacting the region by helping these owners get on solid footing and grow their enterprises.”

To learn more about how SCORE can help your business, contact Tina O’Toole (tinaotoole@scorevolunteer.org) or call 314.800.1527
www.stlouis.score.org

SCORE Seeks New Mentors

Tina O’Toole is not only giving back her time as a SCORE counselor, she is also chair of the Membership Committee. In that role, she is seeking new members (counselors) to join the organization.

“We have a variety of individuals in the organization,” she said. “We have people fully retired, we have people who are still working. There are a number of tasks and ways you can become involved.”

Future SCORE members can help facilitate workshops and seminars, become a counselor, or get involved in one of the organizations committees.

“My job in membership is to find these volunteers that have executive management experience or experience as a business owner that really want to give back and stay active in the business community,” she said.
If anyone is interested in becoming a SCORE volunteer, please contact (314) 800-1527 or email: tinaotoole@scorevolunteer.org.

5 Keys To Business Growth

Tina O’Toole, former entrepreneur now turned SCORE Counselor, provides these 5 keys to success in running a successful business:
Take Calculated Risks. Having confidence in yourself and being able to read the marketplace correctly are essential for growth.

Know Your Numbers. O’Toole and her partner were careful not to borrow too much or get stuck in a lot of debt. They also kept a close eye on receivables and cash flow.

Complement Your Strengths. One of the keys for O’Toole and her partner were their complementary strengths. Look for different skill sets in all of your employees.

Hire Smart. It’s important to surround yourself with the right people. There are many smart capable people but choosing the right people for your organization requires time and patience.

Customer Service Rules. Remember the old adage: The customer is always right. The customer is always right, even when you know they are not! The return on that investment is priceless.

Humility. You don’t need to know it all but you do need to know when to ask for help. (we hired both a business coach and a sales coach)
Lead by example and leave your ego at the door. I never asked any member of my organization to do something I was not willing to do myself.

Stay informed and up to date on your industry. I made a concerted effort to read trade papers, take continuing education classes and attend the top tradeshows of our industry.