Retired Executives Share Their Expertise With Fledgling Entrepreneurs

When Phillip Thackoorie decided to go into business for himself as a car broker, the former Canadian Mountie started with a good idea and plenty of determination, but he lacked business experience.

The 43-year-old ex-sleuth solved his dilemma by doing a little detective work.

As other fledgling entrepreneurs have done, Thackoorie found the advice--and the emotional support--that he needed through a volunteer program that uses the expertise of retired executives.

The Service Corps of Retired Executives provided Thackoorie access to business savvy rarely found outside corporate boardrooms and business schools.

Tapping the talents of 30 retired managers and small business owners, the Ventura County chapter of SCORE, which is affiliated with the Small Business Administration, conducts clinics, workshops and seminars, and provides free one-on-one counseling.

“Sometimes, all (an entrepreneur) needs is a little help,” said Marvin Fores, a 64-year-old former financial controller for a Hughes Aircraft Co. division who heads SCORE’s Ventura chapter.

Even with help, starting a business can be a tough proposition. Half of all new businesses fail in the first year, and two-thirds fold within two years, according to the SBA.

Fores said most entrepreneurs who stumble lack management experience, don’t realize how much start-up capital they require or overlook the need to hire professionals for bookkeeping, taxes and other business essentials. Many overestimate the demand for the product or service that they plan to market.

“First-time business owners often wait until they’re in deep yogurt--and then it’s too late,” Fores said.

Sometimes, SCORE counselor Harry Korsower said, he will throw cold water on an idea that is likely to founder and wipe out the entrepreneur’s life savings. For those clients, avoiding failure is one measure of success.

“Losing $25 and a day’s work (at a SCORE seminar) is much better than losing $25,000 of your father’s money,” Korsower said.

The 75-year-old Korsower, a retired tax and business consultant who runs SCORE’S monthly clinics in Camarillo, said he joined the volunteer group because it “beats playing pinochle at the community service center.”

He emphasized the service that SCORE counselors provide when they recognize the flaws in a business proposal. “There are some bad franchise deals out there,” Korsower said.

“When we get someone who is hot and bothered about a bad franchise, we can tell them what to look for. Just because somebody has a fancy office doesn’t mean he’s on the up-and-up.”

For others such as Thackoorie, encouragement from a seasoned executive can provide the confidence that they need to take the plunge.

Before he opened the Auto Locator in Oxnard two years ago, Thackoorie didn’t know if car buyers would be willing to pay someone a flat fee to locate, repair and purchase used cars for them.

“I didn’t feel I had the capability or the confidence to do it on my own,” said Thackoorie, who moved to California from British Columbia, where he worked as a peace officer for 10 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Thackoorie said he developed a fascination with cars as a child in Trinidad and Tobago and had wanted to find a way to pursue that interest with his own business.

“Automobiles are a technological necessity of life,” Thackoorie said, but added that few people know enough about them to evaluate a used car at a dealer’s lot.

When he came up with the idea for Auto Locator, he began attending the business planning workshops that SCORE holds quarterly in Camarillo. From his early contacts, Thackoorie tracked down Gerry Tracy, the SCORE counselor who was to become his mentor.

“(Thackoorie) has been the biggest pest to the Ventura County SCORE program,” Tracy joked during a visit to his protege’s business. “Every time he had a problem, he came to us.”

During a varied career, the 64-year-old Tracy had been president of a plastics manufacturing firm, a Pillsbury research scientist specializing in food packaging, and a General Foods employee for 13 years.

He joined SCORE partly to keep busy during his retirement, but said he also enjoys seeing local industries grow.

When he listened to Thackoorie’s idea of a shopping service for car buyers, Tracy realized that the ex-Mountie had identified a unique niche that could be successfully filled.

“His service is something that people need,” Tracy said. “Instead of going out and selling something to people, the customers are coming to him. It was not like opening up another hamburger stand.”

In Thackoorie’s case, Tracy’s advice was simple. “Stop talking about it and go out and do it,” Tracy said. “Make the mistakes and learn from it.”

In the two years since he opened Auto Locator, Thackoorie has found that there are a lot of people who value his service. “They tell me precisely what they want and what they’re willing to pay,” he said.

He often locates the car that his customer wants at the same used-car wholesalers where car dealers find theirs. Then he has a mechanic check the car out and correct any problems.

As word has spread about his business, Thackoorie’s idea and long hours have paid off. “This has been the best step I’ve taken in my entire life,” he said. “But without SCORE, I would not be where I am today.”

FYI

The Ventura County SCORE chapter has about 30 volunteers but needs more. Volunteers and would-be business owners should call 642-1866 for more information.