When the pandemic struck in March, SCORE Jacksonville adapted its business: quickly switching to remote operations, assessing finances and trying to plan for the future.
It did so while its staff and 68 volunteer mentors were helping thousands of Northeast Florida businesses do the same.
Since the onset of the pandemic through August, SCORE has held 56 workshops with more than 1,400 attendees and hosted mentor sessions for 475 new businesses.
SCORE is a national organization with a Jacksonvile chapter that provides free support, mentoring and workshops to entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Last year, SCORE helped around 2,000 small businesses. Jacksonville Chapter Chair Frances Fisher said she estimates by the end of the year, SCORE will have helped about 3,000 businesses in 2020.
“When this pandemic happened, a lot of businesses just went into shock. To take away their clientele, nothing has come up like that in our history before,” Fisher said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Fisher said her mentors were in crisis management mode. As time went on, SCORE mentors were able to help businesses adapt their models to remain viable longer term.
“It’s beneficial to get a fresh set of eyes on their business,” Fisher said.
“People get emotionally attached to their business. Someone who is neutral can look at the way they run their business and make suggestions and tweaks. In any business, a mentor is essential.”
Most of the businesses are doing well, Fisher said, while she estimates 10% to 15% are still struggling, even after adapting their business models and receiving federal, state and local financial assistance.
SCORE hosted workshops covering topics from emergency financial assistance, such as the federal Payroll Protection Program, to best practices in maintaining contact with customers.
“One way to make Jacksonville stronger is to make the small business community stronger,” Fisher said. “The pandemic didn’t stop us. It made us even more determined to help those people.”
Elizabeth Jacobs, owner of Legacy Ale Works, said her business had been open just over a year when the pandemic struck.
She’s been working with SCORE since the inception of her business. During the pandemic her mentor, Aaron Fontinel, helped adjust her business plan and apply for financial assistance programs.
“Having that mentor to bounce ideas off of, talk through what we were thinking about doing was really important,” she said. “It helped us fine-tune what options were available. He was someone who helped us ask the questions we might not be asking ourselves.”
Florida shuttered breweries twice during the pandemic, so Jacobs turned to to-go sales, offering canned beers and growlers.
When the state allowed breweries with food licenses to reopen, Jacobs said she was able to apply, begin serving food and reopen.
Since reopening, Jacobs said the business has had good and bad days, but overall, she is grateful to be open.
“It’s been an extraordinarily difficult year for everyone,” she said.
“My mentor, I’ve always felt he’s had such a vested interest in the success of our business. To have that cheerleader by your side, especially during something so challenging, was so reassuring. It definitely breathes life into you to keep going.”
