January 1, 2008

As a current or soon to be business owner, this letter is for you. It is brought to you by SCORE, the SBA's resource partner. We are business veterans ready to help you at no cost. Welcome and feel free to call or email us if you need us.

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SADDLE & LEATHER SHOP

WORK IN PROCESS. RICHARD GERE DID WHAT?  
 

“Don’t wait. You can’t call SCORE soon enough!” declares Nancy equestrian co-owner of The Saddle and Leather Shop in Cedar Rapids.

The store is a Cedar Rapids institution and has been successful for more than 100 years. But, over the past few years, the rise of online competition has been eating into the shop’s bottom line. Nancy knew she had to address the issue and had some ideas about how to go about it, but she also knew she needed help realizing her plans.

“Every time I drove by the SCORE billboard, I wrote down the number, but I never got around to calling,” Nancy says.

This October she finally made the call, and she’s now on her way to making the changes that will make her business more than a local success story.

The Backstory

Nancy Barta is no stranger to this business. She and her sister Kris started working full time at The Saddle and Leather Shop in the early 1970’s. Their father, George, acquired the shop in 1946 from the prior owner to serve the needs of equestrians. Born and raised in the Czech Village area, George walked away from a job he disliked to create a business around his love for horses.

Over the years, George built a successful business of his own, helping grow the Czech organizations that exist to this day. He created many happy memories for his customers and his family. Nancy remembers going to the store as a child and listening to the shopkeeper next door play his accordion before he retired for the night. "I grew up six blocks away. Our reputation was built on caring for our customers," she points out.

Nancy and her sister assumed the weighty responsibility for the business in 2003, when her then 90-year-old father decided to retire. She had large shoes to fill, and both she and her sister have continued his tradition of treating customers as friends. The business continued to thrive—until recent market changes led Nancy to the realization that change was necessary. But knowing you need help is only the first step. Taking action can be challenging.

“I was a bit apprehensive about turning over all my records to someone,” she explained. “Nonetheless, I became so worried I made the call.”

She has no regrets. “The friendliness of the SCORE advisors really surprised me,” she says. “I was heartened by the positive nature of all the people who wanted to help me. It was such a welcome relief!”

First Contact

Nancy’s first SCORE counselor contact was with John Ruth. In John’s prior life, he served as the President of Massey-Ferguson—such is the caliber of the SCORE counselors. “I immediately felt at ease,” Nancy recalls. From that moment, it just got better.

In their initial meetings, John pinpointed the need for a several instant actions: gathering more electronic address information about her customers, chatting with an Internet professional, and starting to formalize basic business disciplines. The assessment process begins in a similar way with 30 some businesses in the Cedar Rapids area that contact SCORE for assistance every month.

Subsequent meetings with Nancy have focused on ensuring a successful future by taking a more proactive approach and using a solid business-planning process. While Nancy recognized this need herself, a testament to her business sense, she appreciates the “guided discipline” SCORE provides.

Homework and Goals

Nancy is now assessing her competitive advantages and clearly characterizing her market—from who to what, where, and how many. (One neat advantage is that Richard Gere – Hollywood superstar – bought a hat here, shown at right.) 

With help from SCORE counselors who have repeatedly and successfully built businesses, she will gain the skills to develop a strategy to take back and grow her market share.

This is how SCORE helps businesses grow. Without charge, SCORE’s counselors—men and women from across every business discipline who have succeeded in their own right—are helping businesses across the country not only survive, but to excel beyond expectations. (It should be noted that SCORE respects client confidentially as part of its code of ethics.)

Nancy Barta says it best. “The sooner one commits to change, the sooner the business can be enhanced.”

In the next installment – February, 2008:

“What did Nancy’s business analysis surface and how, what provided the most useful information on which to act, and in what direction did it tell her to go?”

Next Article.

Brought to you by the Cedar Rapids chapter of SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business," a nonprofit association and resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneurship and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide. Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 7.5 million entrepreneurs.

Copyright 2007. SCORE Chapter 227. All rights reserved.

SCORE® Ch. 227 c/o SBA, 2750 First Avenue NE, Ste. 350,
 Cedar Rapids IA 52402-4831
(319) 362-6405 Ext. 2005

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