By: Alan Blitz, Certified Business Mentor, SCORE North Cook and Lake Counties
Small Business Entrepreneur Shares Insights on Road to Success
Amy Haskell has a love of libraries, especially the Wilmette Public Library. Prior to relocating to Charlotte, NC, was a frequent library visitor where she learned that SCORE North Cook and Lake County Chapter offers free mentoring assistance for small business owners.
Amy decided to see what that really meant as “I needed help starting my business” incorporated as Total Writing Enrichment: www.totalwritingenrichment.com. Since then, the former high school teacher with a passion for writing found her purpose and path as a small business owner.
“I offer college admission essay writing programs as well as monthly writing tutoring programs to help high school students win college admissions, scholarships, and "A" grades in the classroom,” Amy points out.
Amy shares several insights gained during her road to launching and managing her business:
What led you to start your business?
The idea for the business originated when I was a classroom teacher due to the frustration my students at New Trier High School felt as they struggled to understand, “what makes good writing.”
The stress they experienced to achieve good grades and college acceptance drove me to begin tutoring to help grow their skills and increase their confidence as writers. I started tutoring in writing and English literature in 2007 and I incorporated in the state of NC in 2018.
How did your SCORE help you?
The SCORE https://northchicago.score.org/ service I use the most is meeting with my SCORE mentor, Mark Lieberman, and gaining his perspective on strategies and tasks for growing my business.
My mentor has helped me by offering a unique point of view on many aspects of business from clarifying offers, to marketing, to scaling my business as he has much more business experience than me; additionally, my mentor has introduced me to other SCORE mentors such as Margaret Eastwood who have expertise in specific areas like SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a small business?
Many people have ideas and most of those ideas remain in their minds. Below Amy shares seven important business growth tips for start-up entrepreneurs:
1) Action creates clarity. Take inspired action every day.
2) Write out your 90-day goals, one-year goals, and three-year goals.
3) Get comfortable with the uncomfortable
4) Build the plane while it's in the air. Get going.
5) There is no failure, especially when your action is inspired by good. There is no failure, only life lessons.
6) People need you. Make the offer. Close the sale because the transformation is in the transition.
7) Get help when you cannot complete something by yourself. You must invest in your business to grow it, just like you invested in your children for their growth.
What do you recommend to others starting a business?
Get help. Create a plan. Keep going confidently in the direction of your dreams; but remember, dreams do not happen, plans happen. Make it happen. Set up a mentoring relationship with SCORE, funded by the SBA (Small Business Administration).