Technology Pro Puts SCORE's Business Advice to Work 

Peter Ferrio had experience in the dot-com world including some start-ups.  When he decided to seek more success as an entrepreneur, he used his information technology (IT) support skills to develop a customer base that became his business foundation. 

At the suggestion of a neighbor, he came to SCORE for advice.  My counselors said I had a great idea.  They asked me a lot of questions such as who is your market and why are you charging so little for your services.

I've been coming to SCORE for four years and I've doubled my revenue every year. Everything they advised me to do was business textbook 101. It's been amazing to me that they would commit their time to me and offer personal guidance.  

Peter attends SCORE events to talk about his experience and makes presentations on how SCORE helped him succeed.  I couldn't have gotten this business horse-sense without my counselors many years of experience.

Medical Insurance Specialist uses SCORE to Gain Customers

Katalin Goencz has always worked in the healthcare industry, where she could help people. After learning the complicated details and intricacies of medical insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid, she decided that this was the field for her, and in 2002 an idea was born. Katalin had already set up a business entity for her husband's computer services, naming it O&K Consulting LLC. When the time came to start her own business, she created a more descriptive name: MedBillsAssist, (dba O&K Consulting.) “However,” she notes, “having a business does not necessarily mean having customers, and that's where SCORE came in.” Once she asked for help, an experienced business person stepped in to guide, listen, help, and advise with business development. By the second meeting another SCORE counselor joined in for additional guidance in marketing, and they've been a team ever since.

As her business grew, it evolved into a variety of divisions to serve different markets: helping individuals with medical claim denials, keeping claims and insurance companies in order with reimbursement rates, helping medical practices understand billing and Medicare, helping the 65+ age group sort through their options with Medicare and all its parts, and most recently, working with an international company to negotiate medical costs in the U.S. for their employees.

Katalin spent the first few years finding ways to promote her business and develop a reputation in the community. In 2005 all her hard work started to show promise. In 2006 she increased company revenues six times compared to the previous year. For 2007 her revenues improved another three-fold and she has just been certified to do business with the state of Connecticut.

Periodic meetings with her counselors open new ideas, marketing niches, and areas for expansion. “SCORE makes me feel like a president with a board of advisors,” she says.

Sara Pflueger holds a Master's degree in music and finished a 15 year career in orchestra management as Executive Director of the Norwalk Symphony in June 2004. She came to SCORE in January 2004 to develop and transition to her own business (Officiency, LLC) in office organization and bookkeeping. Sara is a Quickbooks ProAdvisor, and while initially working with non-profits, she expanded her business into small for-profit companies. To date, Sara has a client base of over 30 businesses and individuals, many of whom were referrals from multiple Fairfield County SCORE counselors. Sara can frequently be heard saying “I would never have been able to develop a successful business like this with without the help of SCORE”.

As her reputation for thoroughness and competency has spread throughout the business community, Sara's client base continues to increase. Her now well tested business model consists of an initial personal assessment of the organizational systems and a re-organization of all necessary areas. After the systems are judged to be stable and consistent, Sara has the flexibility to sometimes turn over the day-to-day work to subcontractors to provide regular records maintenance.