For 60 years, the national volunteer organization SCORE (the Service Corps of Retired Executives), with the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration, has helped 17 million entrepreneurs achieve their goals through free business mentorship, leveraging a network of more than 10,000 volunteers across every U.S. state and territory, all of whom are motivated solely by their desire to usher entrepreneurs along the path to success.
Here in Northeast Wisconsin, a newly created SCORE chapter looks to pave even more pathways for our region’s entrepreneurs in 2025. In an effort to streamline resources and services, and to better align geographically with New North, Inc.’s economic development footprint, SCORE Northeast Wisconsin was created last year through a merger of SCORE’s Fox Cities and Green Bay chapters.
SCORE Northeast Wisconsin Chair Laure Haak, a former nonprofit executive and current consulting business owner who previously chaired SCORE Green Bay, oversaw the merger and says the organization is now stronger than ever, with new year’s goals focused on increased rural engagement, broader marketing, events and mentor development, and seeing the opportunity to deal with less distraction from administrative tasks.
“It’s a volunteer organization, and folks want to mentor,” Haak says. “They don’t want to do administration or leadership.”
Although the organization’s name references retirees, Haak says only about half of the 54 business mentors in Northeast Wisconsin’s chapter are officially retired. She says the volunteer opportunity can be a great way for people to transition away from full-time work, and it’s also a good way to connect into the business community — a benefit Haak says she experienced for herself when she relocated to Oconto County from Maryland in 2020.
SCORE mentors come from a wide range of backgrounds, offering expertise in areas such as marketing, sales, manufacturing, human resources, real estate development and setting up an ESOP. (The only areas in which SCORE is prohibited from dispensing expertise are accounting and law, Haak says.)
SCORE is proud to position itself as the expert on small business mentorship, providing services through partnerships with organizations like New North, Inc., the ColorBold Business Association and WWBIC: “It means less work that other programs have to do to find mentors,” Haak says.
SCORE’s services are always free, and they are open to anyone who is interested. Haak says the mentor/client relationship can last anywhere from a few months to multiple years, depending on the situation. SCORE mentors follow a strict code of ethics that prohibits them from investing in their clients’ enterprises, selling services to their clients, or serving on their clients’ boards, unless they’re nonprofit organizations.
And like any good matchmaking service, SCORE strikes while the iron is hot. As soon as an entrepreneur requests a mentor on SCORE’s website, the organization works to respond within 48 hours.
“We know some people are like, ‘I have this idea and I want to talk to somebody,’” Haak says. “And if you wait a long period of time, like more than a few days, sometimes that person has given up. So our challenge is to try to do the match and then get in touch with them quickly so that we can cheerlead them along their way.”
As for entrepreneurs who believe SCORE can help them, Haak encourages their outreach. She only asks that they follow through with their appointments, as volunteers devote significant time to preparing and are eager to help in a meaningful way.
“We’re here,” she says. “You can ask any question you want. Our job is to listen. We don’t judge. It’s just to listen and to help you achieve your dream.”
