SCORE chapter chairman works to make ventures vibrant

Amid all the gloom in the local economy, Greg Twedt offers a ray of hope: free help for struggling companies. Now, if only more of them would take his offer.

Twedt, the Southern Nevada chairman of SCORE business counselors, wonders why the number of locals seeking SCORE's help has dropped recently.

"You would think there would be more people in here. The counselors aren't always busy," Twedt said.

The nonprofit organization offers counseling, workshops and encouragement to businesspeople who are starting their first businesses and who are keeping existing businesses alive.

The recession has surely been like a party crasher who lingered well after the celebration had ended. The downturn is officially over but a sense of hopelessness may be keeping small businesspeople from seeking help.

"As the recession drags on, people get discouraged," Twedt said. "There are fewer people starting businesses now. (Business creation) was up about 12 months ago. Now, people are giving up."

Under Twedt's leadership, that could change. He has built working relationships with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the city of Las Vegas and has more in the works.

These days, Twedt doesn't have time to do much counseling himself, because the chairman's job involves building community partnerships and running SCORE, which used to be known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives. But his 50 volunteers offer businesspeople hands-on advice.

Twedt, a 62-year-old Minnesota transplant, started working with SCORE four years ago after retiring to Las Vegas. He co-founded Highjump Software, a successful technology company in Minnesota's Twin Cities. Over a 20-year period, that company grew from three founders to 150 employees and $35 million in annual sales.

Twedt's path to success started in college in the late 1960s, when he took an interest in what was then a relatively new field, computer programming. He graduated from the University of South Dakota and found plenty of work in Minnesota. But the bitter cold made Twedt head for sunny Las Vegas in 2005.

About 70 percent to 80 percent of people who are counseled by SCORE in Southern Nevada are trying to start a business. Twedt would like to see that number be about 50 percent, with the rest being existing business owners. 

What else is on Twedt's wish list? Just one small thing, he said. 

"I follow the Twins," he said. "And I really thought they would do better in the playoffs."

Question: How did you get involved with computers when the technology was just emerging?

Answer: That was purely by accident. They had just started putting computers in the college (University of South Dakota). I was in an electronics class and it just wasn't for me. I signed up for computers. It was fun. There wasn't any opportunity to apply my chemistry (major) skills either. But I made $1.40 an hour writing computer programs for the city (Sioux City) in South Dakota. I got to wear a suit and tie. I was actually working a real job. My senior year, I worked in the labs. Computers became my passion.

Question: How are you going to use your technology experience at SCORE?

Answer: Right now, we are a little bit backward in the use of technology. The last year, I have been trying to upgrade our technology … Guys that have been around (SCORE) for 15 or 20 years, they didn't use e-mails. They had administrative assistants. The newer guys coming in, they use e-mails a lot.

Question: What is SCORE's No. 1 goal?

Answer: I think the No. 1 goal is to make sure that SCORE is not just for people starting businesses, but we can be a resource for people in business, and we can be an advantage. The No. 2 goal I have is to have more businesses get our counseling. There were about 1,000 business licenses last year, or something like that. We only see about 20 of them. I have to believe there are more than 20 that need advice for their businesses. 

Question: Then you don't see more people coming in because of the economy?

Answer: I don't. Now, I see a real malaise. They are giving up. Counseling is down a bit. … We have about 50 counselors and I am sure there are 10,000 or 20,000 businesses that need our help.

Question: What are some of your outreach efforts?

Answer: The biggest thing is to try to form alliances with people with similar interests as ours. We have a close relationship with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and 80 percent of (its) businesses have (fewer) than 15 employees. We are working with counties, cities, and banks. When banks have a client, they send them my way.

Question: What is the biggest mistake you see people make when starting a business?

Answer: Probably the lack of planning. Whether it is putting together an initial business plan, or putting all the ducks in a row before starting a business, we can help. At my company, we got a lot more successful after doing annual strategic planning.

Question: When you left Minnesota because of the freezing winters, why did you pick Las Vegas over other places with warm climates?

Answer: Nevada has a favorable tax environment and Las Vegas has good access to an airport. I fly back to Minnesota to see my family and Las Vegas has (frequent) flights. We looked at New Mexico, but it wasn't as accessible to transportation.

Question: Why did you decide to come out of retirement to run SCORE? 

Answer: When I first got here (Las Vegas), I played a lot of golf, but I wanted to give back. When I was working, I never had time to give back. I was too busy building a business and raising a family. I worked long hours. I might leave at 7 a.m. and come back at 7 p.m. I have been very blessed and I wanted to help others.

Contact reporter Valerie Miller at
vmiller@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5286.