Simplecare Products, Stephanie Gagne
Stephanie began working with SCORE in 2012 after hearing about the organization from the SBA. She had created a line of natural body products and was selling them at trade shows. "Initially, Tom from SCORE helped me to get more organized and how to be more effective in my booth at shows," she said.
Even though she had started selling some products at Whole Foods in Texas, she has pulled back her line offering it solely online. "I decided to first develop my website and online status, making sure it's solid - especially the packaging and product mix."
Stephanie added that SCORE helped her to streamline the product line. "It was great to be able to bounce ideas off them, and they gave me experienced feedback. They also helped with my business strategy and to make decisions," she said.
She added that she likes the counselor’s flexibility as she can email questions and meet them when she's available. "Because I work nights, SCORE is great for my needs and schedule."
"It's a true mentoring relationship," she said.
Stephanie said her next steps with SCORE will be to discuss how to get back into retail and how to handle adding staff.