‘We all do good work’ — Q & A with Nancy Strojny

CAPE ELIZABETH — Nancy Strojny, 62, of Cape Elizabeth, did not get involved in SCORE, a nationwide business-mentoring group, until moving to Maine two-and-a-half years ago. But in that time, she’s not only become chairwoman of the group’s Greater Portland chapter, and a member of its National Advisory Board, she’s also gained national recognition for her mentoring work. On March 7, Strojny was one of 11 people honored at the White House for being a “Champion of Change” for “outstanding leadership in entrepreneurial mentoring, counseling and training.”

Created as a part of President Barack Obama’s “Winning the Future” initiative, the Champions of Change program was focuses on a different sector each week, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community leaders, and calls them to the White House to be recognized “for the work they are doing to serve and strengthen their communities.”

The day after her trip to the White House, Strojny took time to talk to The Current about the experience and her work with SCORE (formerly an acronym for the Service Corps of Retired Executives when formed 50 years ago, but now the group’s name in its own right).

Q: How does it feel to be known as a “Champion of Change?”

A: It’s an honor to be recognized in such a special way, but really, here at SCORE, all of our mentors are champions of change. I was just one of the fortunate ones who was singled out – it’s obviously exciting and I feel honored to be given an award this prestigious – but, in fairness, there are 10,000 SCORE volunteers across the country and we all do the same good work. So, it feels like I’m taking one for the team, actually.

Q: What was the award ceremony like? Did you get a chance to meet the president?

A: No, the president was in North Carolina. He’s a busy guy. But we received a nice tour of the White House, which was delightful. After that we went to the Eisenhower Building, which is where the award ceremony took place. The agenda had two pieces to it, with the award winners broken into two panels with a moderator. Each panel took about 20 minutes, with each of us asked specific questions about mentoring, or volunteering, and how we do it in our area.

Q: Did you come away with some permanent keepsake of the event?

A: Well, you don’t get a medal [laughs]. You do get a signed letter from the president thanking you individually for being an award winner. Then there’s the publicity, if you will. You get your biography, your blog and a video of the panel-discussion session posted on the White House website.

Q: Tell us a little bit about you biography - what is your background?

A: I came from corporate America, having worked 25 years for Procter & Gamble. I then started an adventure working for other companies, which allowed me to really build my resume and skill set. I like to say that I’ve worked with all of the business formats, from realignments to turnarounds, to start-ups. Eight years ago I started my own consulting practice, working most notably for Power Brands Hospitality Corp., a company based in Vienna, Va.

Q: What do you do for Power Brands?

A: I am responsible for selling their hotel products throughout the world. I handle all of their sales and marketing through my company, here in Cape Elizabeth. It’s a virtual business in the sense that there’s no office that I go to.

Q: How long have you lived in Cape Elizabeth, and what brought you here?

A: I moved here two years ago. I have always summered up in Boothbay Harbor. We have some family up there and we always thought when we were in a position to relocate that we would try to relocate to Maine and I could bring my business with me. We really studied the Greater Portland area. I didn’t single out Cape Elizabeth because I knew anything about it, I just liked its location in relation to the water and the beaches. We found a house we liked and that was that.

Q: For those who don’t know, what is SCORE and what does it do?

A: SCORE is a nonprofit organization that works with emerging and existing entrepreneurs. We’re your unpaid board of directors, I like to say, if you are an existing business. If you are starting a business, I would say we are there to help you understand if you have everything you need to get your business launched.

Q: What type of advice does SCORE provide?

A: Well, many times small entrepreneurs are very technically proficient in some area, but they are not business proficient. What SCORE does is work with you, one to one, to help you. Everybody who comes to SCORE gets its services free of charge, whether a mentor meets with you one time or 15 times or for the life of your business. We also put on low-cost workshops in the community, such as “Building a Business Plan,” and “Facebook Marketing 101.”

Q: How has demand for SCORE services changed since the start of the recession.

A: Oh, it’s grown. There are seven SCORE chapters in Maine. We measure how many new clients we get, and our business is up over 30 percent year-to-year. The recession had driven more people to SCORE because we are not a state of large, corporate employers, like other states that I’ve lived in. Ninety-eight percent of the business here is small business.

Q: So, there are a lot of small businesses finding it hard to survive in these times, so they reach out to SCORE?

A: Actually, most of our new clients are people trying to launch a business. It may seem counter-intuitive, but when the economy went bad and people lost their jobs, it’s natural for many to think maybe they have an entrepreneurial side of them and that it would be a great time to begin on their own.

Q: What does the work mean to you, personally?

A: I love giving back. I love using my skills and talents to help someone grow and learn. That’s a very rewarding feeling, to spend time with someone – to know that things that may be tried-and-true to me are brand-new to them – and so, to be able to share my experience an then to have them go off and meet with great success, it’s a terrific feeling. You’re helping another generation succeed, and small business is the growth engine of America. Two out of every three jobs are created by small business and in Maine it’s even more so.

Q: Based on what you see working with SCORE, would you say the economy is rebounding?

A: Funding does seem to be on the rise. Our local banks, not necessarily our national banks with local branches, but our local banks, have funds to lend. Of course, you have to be credit worthy. There’s no free money out there, but all of the bankers I know are willing to have a conversation.

Q: So, is it a good time to start a business in Maine?

A: We would tell an entrepreneur, there’s no bad time to start in business if you have a good credit score, if you have an idea that’s competitive in the market, if you have a customer base that will come, if you have an idea that is scalable, or can be commercialized – then there is no bad time to start a business.