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SCORE Pittsburgh
Resource Partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration
Successful Counselor Successful Counselor Successful Counselor Successful Counselor s Pin s Pin s Pin s Pin













Chairs Scrapbook
2007 - 2009
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Barry J. Lipson, Esq.
Chair & Counselor
2007 - 2009







__________________________________________________________________________________________________
411 Seventh Avenue Phone: 412-395-6560 x130
Suite 1450 Fax: 412-395-6562
Pittsburgh, PA 15219 www.scorepittsburgh.com
info@scorepittsburgh.com

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SCORE Pittsburgh
Mission

SCORE Pittsburgh is committed to business development and job creation in southwestern Pennsylvania. We will do this by utilizing the broad
business experience of our volunteer counselors and available external resources.

Organizations History

SCORE, the Counselors to America's Small Business, is a non-profit organization of experienced business owners and managers who give free,
confidential business counseling to small and beginning businesses. Small businesses are defined by the Department of Commerce as having up to
500 employees, or if a retail operation, by the dollar amount of its sales. This is the target group for SCORE. As a resource partner with the U.S.
Small Business Administration, SCORE has been the primary source of professional volunteer counselors to Americas small businesses for over 40
years. National SCORE, as well as all of its hundreds of chapters, is a 501(c) (3) organization.

The Pittsburgh Chapter of SCORE was founded in 1965 and is the seventh oldest SCORE chapter in the United States. Pittsburgh SCORE serves
Allegheny County and parts of Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Washington counties, an area with a population of approximately 2 million
people and over 50,000 businesses.

Current Programs and Activities
In addition to customized individual business counseling, SCORE offers a Small Business Basics Workshop for people who are just getting started in
business, are in the planning stages, or are struggling with early stage challenges. This is a half-day seminar covering the basics of starting and
running a business. The workshop applies both past experience and current theory to the process of becoming successful entrepreneurs. The
presenters represent a mix of SCORE counselors and volunteers from the insurance, accounting, marketing, and legal professions.

SCORE provides free and confidential individualized counseling to existing businesses as well as those just starting out. Counseling continues for as
many sessions as the client wants in order to get the results they desire. The SCORE counselor serves as a sounding board for the clients ideas, for
brainstorming new ideas, or giving solid business advice. Some examples of how SCORE counseling can help include ideas on how to grow a
business by using the internet, ways to improve profits by reducing costs, and assistance in writing a business plan. SCORE counselors offer advice
based on their many years of business experience as executives or small business owners.

SCORE counseling can be arranged by submitting a Request for Counseling form on our website. The request is matched to a specific counselor and
the counselor then contacts the client to arrange a mutually agreeable time and place for the first meeting.

Our website, www.scorepittsburgh.com, provides a wealth of information. A detailed Guide to Writing a Business Plan is available with links to
other helpful resources on that topic. The Frequently Asked Questions section deals with topics such as getting started, planning and organizing,
buying an existing business and raising money. The Info Links tab provides links to many useful small business websites.

SCORE has a Speakers Bureau that provides SCORE members the opportunity to discuss topics related to running a start-up or small business in
western Pennsylvania. The speakers are available for meetings of professional, civic, industrial, for-profit, non-profit, fraternal or religious
organization in addition to local Chambers of Commerce. There is no charge for the speakers' services.

We maintain an active mentor program by recruiting and maintaining members who will provide quality counseling to our clients. We do this
through in-depth interviewing of prospective counselors, continual training to upgrade counselor skills, ensuring adequate resources to support
counseling activities, and utilizing co-counselors when appropriate.





Barry J. Lipson, Esq.
*Legal, Business, Governmental and Judicial Experience have included:

*Legal: Admitted to the Practice of Law in New York, Pennsylvania, and various Federal Courts including the United States
Supreme Court. General Counsel to leading multi-national enterprise and legal counselor to major consumer products, drug,
manufacturing, construction, and materials companies. Headed Corporation Division of well-respected Law Firm. Advanced Legal
Degree in Trade Regulation.

*Business: Degree in Marketing and Economics from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. Registered by the
International Executive Service Corps (IESC) in the "IESC's Skills Bank Database of Experts." Vice President, Secretary and
Assistant Secretary to major corporations and enterprises. Section Manager and Sales for major Department Stores and Founding
Director of Food Cooperative.

*Government: Served three terms on Industrial Functional Advisory Committee on International Standards (appointed by the U.S.
Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative). Assistant Attorney General in Anti-Monopolies and Litigation Bureaus
(NYS). President, Allegheny County Transit Council. Lt. Commander, U.S. Naval JAG Corps (Certified Trial and Defense Counsel).

*Judicial: Adjunct Settlement Judge and Arbitrator for U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania. Certified for Federal "position
of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), AL-3." Arbitrator and/or Mediator for American Arbitration Association, Arbitration Forums
Inc., Better Business Bureau, EEOC, and NASD. Arbitrator and Master for Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas.
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So You Want To SCORE At Business?

A Necessary Coach: Your Attorney A Facilitator For All Stages!
by Barry J. Lipson, Esq.

The Big Decision!
If employed, are you willing to give up security of pay check and benefits?
If not, can you take on another full time + job?
If unemployed, can you afford to give up fully concentrating on your job search?

The Idea!
A new invention, product or service.
An existing business opportunity.
A pre-packaged business venture.

Attorney needed for:
Protecting your idea!
Preparing necessary Secrecy/Confidentiality Agreements;
Assisting in due diligence;
Counseling on various methods of acquiring business properties/assets;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating Acquisition Agreement;
Reviewing & negotiating Franchise Agreement;
And more!

Realizing and Protecting Your Idea
Preparing your business plan informally and formally.
Finding backers, participants and/or joint venturers.
Choosing your business, products, services names.
Arranging sources of funding.
Obtaining necessary real property, equipment, tools, inventory and supplies.
Arranging sources of hands on assistance.

Attorney needed for:
Reviewing your business plan;
Determining availability of, reserving & protecting your business, product & service names;
Arranging for necessary licenses, registrations and approvals;
Counseling on advisability of protecting confidential information as trade secrets;
Counseling on and seeking patent, copyright, trademark protection;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating funding, real estate & purchase agreements;
And more!

Business Organization
Liability and tax considerations may govern:
Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
Limited Partnership
Limited Liability Company
Subchapter S Corporation
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Normal Business Corporation
Non-Profit Corporation

Attorney needed for:
Advising on pros and cons of various structures, including liability issues;
Working with your CPA to determine advisable structure;
Preparing and making the necessary filings and registrations;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating Partnership, Shareholder, Co-Owner Agreements;
Discussing advisability of and including divorce provisions in initial Agreements;
Discussing advisability of and including succession provisions in initial Agreements;
And more!

Building Your Team
In addition to the coaches you should already have on your team, your Lawyer and your CPA, and
possibly your Banking, real estate, insurance, human resources and marketing professionals, you will
or may need:
Co-Owners
Employees
Representatives
Agents
Distributors
Suppliers
Customers

Attorney needed for:
Counseling on advisability and limitations of Agreements Not To Compete;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating Co-Owner, Shareholder & Partnership Agreements;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating Employee Agreements;
Reviewing your employment practices for NLRB, EEOC, PA HRC, etc., compliance;
Counseling on pros and cons on various methods of distribution;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating Representative and Agency Agreements;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating Distributorship Agreements;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating purchase agreements;
Preparing/reviewing/negotiating sales agreements;
And more!

Selling Your Product/Service
Marketing and Advertising
Publicity, Public Relations and Promotion
Publish or Perish
Trade Associations

Attorney needed for:
Educating you on requirements and restrictions of Antitrust Law & Laws Regulating Trade;
Reviewing you advertising for truthfulness and for not being false, deceptive or misleading;
Reviewing your marketing, labeling, etc., for FTC, FDA, FCC, EPA, USPS, etc., compliance;
Making benefit/risk evaluation of Trade Association membership/participation;
And more!

And thats just the beginning ..
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The Pittsburgh SCORE Newsletters
http://www.scorepittsburgh.org/


AUGUST 2007 SEPTEMBER 2009
CHAPTER CALENDAR FOR AUGUST 2007
MEMBERSHIP MEETING

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
10 am Federal Building Room 1310

The September 6 membership meeting is the "transition of power" meeting and will feature presentations by in-coming
Chair Barry J. Lipson and District Director Don Carpenter on news of interest from the recent annual National SCORE
Chairs meeting held in Scottsdale, AZ.

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RESERVE SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 FOR AN IMPORTANT HAPPENING:

September 28, 2007 INSTALLATION (In Place Of September Committee Chairs Meeting)

SCORE: It is most important that we are well represented at 9:30 AM on Friday, September 28, 2007, at the Sewickley
YMCA (driving directions below) for the installation of your 2007-08 SCOREPittsburgh Officers, by Stephanie A.
Watkins, Regional Administrator, Region III, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), before the Senior Men's Club
(SMC); and to recognize and honor our Past Chair J. Lee O'Nan as 2007 SCORE Volunteer of the Year for the 27
Counties of Western Pennsylvania, awarded at the Annual Small Business Administration Luncheon. The professional
DVD prepared for that Luncheon, highlighting Lee's work for SCORE and how he feels about what he does, will be
shown.

SBA: The Installing Officer, Regional Administrator Watkins, whose headquarters are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is
responsible for the delivery and management of the SBAs financial assistance, business development, and advocacy
programs throughout the States of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of
Columbia. During fiscal year 2006, SBA Region III approved 8,400 loans to small business owners, totaling more than
$1.4 billion.

SMC: The SMC, with which our incoming Chair Barry J. Lipson is affiliated as their Legislative Chair, is a very well
established and award winning organization of approximately 300 retired gentlemen, many of whom are retired business
executives, business owners and professionals, prime potential SCORE Counselors. Their members perform community
volunteer services through the SMC and they have very high quality programs each Friday morning, including such a
program that will follow our installation (see below), to which we are all invited. Between a quarter and a third of their
membership usually attend each of these Friday meetings.

PROGRAM: Immediately following the SCOREPittsburgh Installation, Lindsay Bond Totten, President of the Botanic
Garden and Horticultural Society of Western Pennsylvania, will speak on local plants and the new Botanic Garden of
Western Pennsylvania, which when completed will be the region's most comprehensive outdoor garden. On the
development of new plant varieties, she has opined: "No one is working on plants for Western Pennsylvania gardeners. It's
a huge void here." A void she has already started to fill with the introduction of the cultivated new "Icy Light" variety of
ironweed We'll drink to that!

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AND OCTOBER 4, 2007 FOR ANOTHER IMPORTANT HAPPENING:

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October 4, 2007 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

This year at Noon on October 4, 2007 we will most appropriately be returning to "Pittsburgh's Wall Street," known to us
now as Fourth Avenue, with its ghosts of "low-rise banking houses, alternating with turn-of-the-century skyscrapers." Still
remaining are the complex, intricate and decorative architectural facades, marbled lobbies, and some banking edifices,
"most notably Dollar Bank's jewelbox building (1871) at Fourth and Smithfield Streets," and right across the street, the
"coldly classical" original Union Trust Building, where we will be meeting, with its fine wooden paneling, elegant Ball
Room and giant vault in which we may either be locked or nibble. Numbered 337 Fourth Avenue, and now housing the
Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, which is noted for its excellent kitchen, it was built in 1898 for Henry Clay
Frick by Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912), one of the Chicago architects responsible for the earliest development of
the American skyscraper. After our Annual Meeting, in addition to touring the new upscale Downtown living options, we
hope to be guided through this most historic building.

We encourage all members to join us, and if you have recently received a Certificate from National SCORE, please make
sure to attend so we can personally recognize and honor you. We will also be introducing our new Officers for 2007-2008.
Our Annual Meeting Chair Joyce Pearl advises we will be holding the cost at last year's level of $22.00, and that you will
be receiving your invitation shortly. Please reserve this date now.

SCOREPittsburgh Oath of Office
Do you solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will support and uphold the Constitution of the United States; that to the best of your
knowledge, skill, and ability you will faithfully perform the duties of the position to which you have been elected or appointed; and
that though the diligent and faithful performance of these duties you will aid SCOREPittsburgh in counseling small businesses, and in
the advancement and betterment generally of small businesses throughout our community and our nation? I DO.

BARRY J. LIPSON, as Chair of SCOREPittsburgh, do you further swear (or affirm) that to the best of your knowledge, skill, and
ability, you will do all things deemed advisable in the exercise of your best judgment to guide SCOREPittsburgh in the successful
achievement of these goals and objectives. I DO.


REMARKS OF INCOMING CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON
Pittsburgh, PA October 4, 2007
Welcome to "Pittsburgh's Wall Street" and the original Union Trust Building, built in 1898 for Henry Clay
Frick by Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912), one of the Chicago architects responsible for the earliest
development of the American skyscraper.

SCORE and the SBA were well represented this past Friday, at the Sewickley YMCA Senior Mens Club,
where Stephanie A. Watkins, Region III Regional Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration
installed your 2007-08 SCOREPittsburgh Officers, and Past Chair J. Lee O'Nan was recognized as 2007 SBA
SCORE Volunteer of the Year for the 27 Counties of Western Pennsylvania. The professional DVD prepared
for this Award, highlighting Lee's work for SCORE and how he feels about what he does, was shown, and is
available for use in recruiting additional qualified Counselors.

Because of an unavoidable personal conflict, the Expanded Chairs Meeting has been moved, just this once, to
Thursday, October 18, 2007, at the same time and place, 10 AM in the SBA Conference Room. At that time we
would like each Chair and all of those who are responsible for key assignments to describe to all of us their
SCORE experiences over the years; what they now do; what needs to be done; and how it can be done even
better in the future, if that would be possible. We also hope to have some nibbles at the meeting.

It is my plan/hope that to the extent possible the Chairs/Key Position-holders will continue in their positions, at
least for the next year, and that, as recommended by The American Society for Training and Development,
each of you will be recruiting, recommending and training your successors, and also be preparing for future use,
a written job description and procedure guide, if a current one does not already exist for your area.

Since my trip to DC where I met with U.S. Representative Tim Murphy, I have been in conversation with his
Chief Aide, and Representative Murphy will be planning to meet with us, and would like to know what we
would like him to do for SCORE in Congress. But more on this later. Now its time to enjoy one of Joyces
always enjoyable programs.
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CHAPTER CALENDAR FOR NOVEMBER 2007
MEMBERSHIP MEETING

THURSDAY November 29, 2007
[NOTE: Date was changed to accommodate Rep. Murphy's demanding schedule]
Coffee and Pastries Social Half-Hour at 9:30 AM, Meeting Starts at 10 AM.

Topic: CONVERSATION WITH U.S. CONGRESSMAN TIM MURPHY

The Congressman's Office writes: "having an idea of the issues for the Congressman to address ahead of time
will be very helpful. We've had many SBA legislative proposals this session - narrowing it down to those most
relevant to Pgh chapter of SCORE will ensure we have the answers your members seek." So e-mail me your
Small Business and SBA related questions in advance such as: "How can SCORE score in Congress?" Also
bring those questions you have always wanted to ask your U.S. Congressman.

We have invited our fellow SCORE counselors from Uniontown and Westmoreland, and our SBA Associates to
join us.

Remember, Parking is reimbursable & Public Transit is free at anytime for Seniors with proper ID.
Biography of Congressman Tim Murphy

Congressman Tim Murphy has had a most interesting career even before he entered Congress. According to his
"Web" biography, after earning a PhD in Psychology, he "opened a small business, went to work at hospitals
across Western Pennsylvania, consulted for schools and Head Start, and taught at the University of Pittsburgh."
He also "authored several publications, including two books: the award-winning 'The Angry Child,' and
'Overcoming Passive-Aggression.' During this time, he became widely known as 'Dr. Tim' through regular
appearances on local and national radio and television." Tim is an "advocate of the Rails to Trails programs, an
active participant in events for Habitat to Humanity and member of several Rotary Clubs and Chambers of
Commerce."

We would be interested in learning about his "small business" and "Chambers of Commerce" experiences; if Dr.
Phil is Dr. Tim's protg; and I would like to know (as passed President of the #3 Kiwanis Club and Kiwanian
of the Year), why Congressman Murphy chooses Rotary?

From 1997-2002 Tim Murphy served in the Pennsylvania State Senate as one of the very few elected officials
"with a health care background.... He penned the states historic Patient Bill of Rights, ... increased funding for
medical research," and "served as chair of the Pennsylvania Committee on Aging and Youth."

The Congressman joined the U.S. House of Representatives in 2003, "representing the people of the 18th
district of Pennsylvania," and has now been "named a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. He has
three subcommittee assignments: Health; Oversight and Investigations; and Environment and Hazardous
Materials," and also "serves as Co-chair of both the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, and the 21st Century
Healthcare Caucus."

Tim Murphy advises he "makes it a priority to bring together business and community leaders to focus on
new and innovative ways to retrain our job force to better position Western Pennsylvania to face the
challenges of the new world economy."

It seems that SCORE and the Congressman are on the same wave length, encouraging the success and growth
of "new and innovative" business in the 18th District, Western Pennsylvania and the Nation. That's what
SCORE is all about! However, to do so for the public good we need fair and adequate funding. Therefore, our
inquiry: "How can SCORE score in Congress;" and how as a member of the "Energy and Commerce
Committee can he help SCORE, and through SCORE the health of the Western Pennsylvania economy?


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CHAPTER CALENDAR FOR MARCH 2008
STEERING MEETING
All Members & CITs are Welcome & Encouraged to Participate
Thursday, March 27, 2008, SBA & SCORE Offices
Social Half-Hour at 9:30 AM<>Ruth will brew Coffee<>Please bring "nibblies" to share
The old Chairs Meeting is now the Steering Committee Meeting WITH A CHANGE. It will still normally meet the last
Thursday of the Month and the participation of all Officers, Chairs and Members with Specific Duties is still expected
(barring special circumstances), but now the participation of all members with a desire to actively participate in
SCORE is also strongly encouraged. Its Purpose: To "steer" the future of SCOREPittsburgh!
This Should be an Interesting Meeting

Following Introductions and Brief Reports All Around

Steve Cohen will bring us up to date on Desk Duty, which re-started in earnest March 10, 2008, and on
which Don Carpenter, who served the next day, advised:

I did my first stint on desk yesterday and found it quite enjoyable. There were only five messages which were
easily dealt with and six new calls. This kept me reasonably busy but not overwhelmed. If this is indicative, a
counselor can expect to be kept reasonably busy. I also had an opportunity to talk with several SBA
employees. I explained that we would now be staffing the desk on a more regular basis and they seemed
genuinely pleased. Our presence improves our image with the SBA.

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We will then examine the attached SELF-DIRECTED CHAPTER EVALUATION questionnaire
that was adapted for SCOREPittsburgh from a Non-Profit Training Program.

Please spend a few minutes Printing and Filling it out, & Bring it with you.

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At 11:00 AM we will then meet with the IRS.

Philip G. Yamalis, Stakeholder Liaison with the Internal Revenue Service, is seeking an IRS partnership
with SCORE, to further promote taxpayer education for the small business community. We hope not only to
help the small business owners succeed, but also to prevent tax problems.
Noon - Adjourn


MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR APRIL 2008

Counselors may NOT practice law or give legal advice. However, through the Allegheny County Bar
Association (ACBA) Lawyer Referral Service, your client is able to be referred to one attorney practicing in the
field your client desires counseling.

There is a $25.00 Referral Service fee (which is not a fee to the attorney), that entitles your client to up to 30
minutes of consultation with that attorney. Anything above and beyond this is then between the client and the
attorney, and at the attorney's normal rate or a rate negotiated between them. The client is under no obligation to
hire/retain the attorney, nor is the attorney obligated to take the matter/case.

If you have clients interested in obtaining such legal referrals they may call the ACBA Lawyer Referral Service
office Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm at (412) 261-5555, and speak with the Referral Service.
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MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR MAY 2008
Ten Quotes to Run Your Business
.
What do you think (we may print your thoughts in the next Newsletter)?

* To be successful in business you dont just need a great idea you have to sell it. Dont be afraid to sell. Dont
think of yourself as anything but a marketer. (Susan Sobbott)
* Every brand isnt for everybody, and everybody isnt for every brand. (Liz Lange)
* The Web puts an exponential twist on the whole word of mouth thing, because word of mouth is now happening
virally. (Blue Man)
* An inner quality that many entrepreneurs say helps them survive is optimism. (Jean Chatzky)
* If you had to choose an address, it would be on the corner of Art and Commerce. (Mario Batali)
* A little personality goes a long way. (Jean Chatzky)
* Be aggressive in getting media coverage. (Liz Lange)
* Follow your bliss. (Blue Man)
* We are all competing against mediocrity. (Blue Man)
* Everyone talks about growing the business, but what you dont hear enough about is the importance of not
growing the business too fast. (Blue Man)

As slightly paraphrased by Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends from an American Express OPEN Forum.

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR JUNE 2008
Occam's Razor and Your Clients' Business





William of Ockham, a/k/a "Occam" (1285-1349), a fourteenth-century English Franciscan friar and philosopher,
was a proponent of applying the "Law of Parsimony," better known as Occam's Razor, to solving problems.
Philosophically, he shaved the chaff from the kernel of wheat to arrive at the simplest solution. Entia non sunt
multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, he proclaimed, or translated: "Entities are not to be multiplied beyond
necessity." What does this mean for your business clients? It means that, all things being equal, until shown to
be wrong, the simplest explanation is the best one, and then the next simplest, etc, etc., etc.

"What it boils down to is that in explaining any phenomenon, you should make as few assumptions as are
necessary to the task. Or, to be more explicit still, the simplest explanation that covers all the facts is likely to be
the correct one. Note that it is not an infallible rule or law, but it is a very useful tool which has served
science well over several centuries" (Barry Williams Blog, October 03, 2007).

Paraphrasing "Association Trends," the following three free Occam's Razor-type Guidelines may serve well
your clients:

a) The more complex a business plan, procedure, etc., the more trouble there will be to follow it.

b) The simpler a business plan, procedure, etc., the simpler to implement, program, and evaluate.

c) When it's easier to understand, it's easier to buy, sell, build, plan and explain.

"If you're trying to determine how well you've applied Occam's razor to your business rules, here is a simple
test: Ask yourself, 'How many questions does it take to get to the answer?' ... and you'll begin to get a sense of
how simple or complicated you've made things for your staff, your members and your customers.... Occam's
razor can be applied to all functional areas" ("Association Trends").
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MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR AUGUST 2008
Recent Changes in the US Patent Law
Article I, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution provides that: "The Congress shall have Power To ... promote the
Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right
to their respective Writings and Discoveries", "Americanizing" in so far as patents are concerned, the provisions
of the Statute of Monopolies of 1624, whereby the English Parliament endowed inventors with the sole right to
their inventions for fourteen years. The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and
of the grant itself, the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention in
the United States or importing the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make,
use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or
importing the invention.
VJ Karra, one of our newest SCORE Counselors and a hands on IT Specialist, brings to our attention that the
traditional U.S. 17 year patent has been upped to 20 years and other changes. Under this Constitutional
power Congress has from time to time enacted various laws relating to patents. The patent law specifies the
subject matter for which a patent may be obtained and the conditions for patentability. The law establishes the
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to administer the law relating to the granting of patents
and contains various other provisions relating to patents. The first patent law was enacted in 1790. The patent
laws underwent a general revision, which was enacted July 19, 1952.
On December 8, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. This Act made
several significant changes to U.S. patent law, such as:
i) Patents will now provide rights starting on the issue date and will expire 20 years
after the earliest effective filing date of the application instead of a 17-year term.
ii) A "provisional application" system involving a low cost, reduced-formalities
patent application is provided in addition to the original non-provisional application
system for filing.
On November 29, 1999, President Clinton signed into law the American Inventors Protection Act. This law
contains several provisions, including the First Inventor Defense Act which provides a prior use defense for
business method inventions, the Domestic Publication of Foreign Filed Patent Applications Act which provides
for publication of U.S. patent applications that are also filed in foreign countries, the Patent Term Guarantee Act
which guarantees a patent term of at least 17 years if certain requirements are met, and the Optional Inter Parties
Reexamination Act which provides for third party reexamination requesters to participate throughout a
reexamination proceeding.
Under previous U.S. patent law, patent applications were maintained in secret until they issued as patents.
Under this new law, U.S. patent applications will be published 18 months after filing, just like in the foreign
countries. The publication will occur unless the application has been abandoned before publication, is subject to
a secrecy order by the government, or the applicant requests that the application not be published. Also,
provisional patent applications and design patent applications are not to be published.
There are additional change winding their way through Congress and the USPTO. The US Patent Act was
always friendly to the patentor and the proposed amendments will bring the US patent law in harmony with the
patent laws of the rest of the world. There are also several other minor changes being proposed.
To determine how the Patent Laws apply to your clients please advise them to consult with their Patent
Attorneys for, as you know, SCORE can not give them legal counsel.



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CHAPTER CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER 2008

CHAPTER ANNUAL MEETING AND LUNCHEON
PITTSBURGH GLASS CENTER
Thursday October 2, 2008

The The The The Chapter Annual Meeting Chapter Annual Meeting Chapter Annual Meeting Chapter Annual Meeting & && & Luncheon Luncheon Luncheon Luncheon
at at at at the Pittsburgh Glass Center the Pittsburgh Glass Center the Pittsburgh Glass Center the Pittsburgh Glass Center
is set is set is set is set for October for October for October for October 2 22 2, 2008 , 2008 , 2008 , 2008. .. .
The day will start with a tour at 11 am, including a sneak peek at a new installation in the exhibit area. At
12:30 p.m. everyone will enjoy a box lunch from Whole Foods Market. There will also be an optional hands-
on activity following lunch, to make a glass flower or fused tile.

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR SEPTEMBER 2008
New Dogs Nibble At Cracker-Barrel

Yours truly's' latest Federal Speaking column (Number 56) focused on what I believe is a SCORE
Counselor's greatest asset, his/her Cracker-Barrel Wisdom. It is how "we teach new dogs old tricks." The
SCORE Counselor "shares what seems to him or her to be the obvious, to be cracker-barrel wisdom, his/her
store of knowledge gained through education and experience." The new dogs, "to whom this is at first all
Greek, listen, -- listen a little more, -- listen just a bissel more, -- and then, 'Voil!,' something clicks. Yelps
of excitement escape their muzzles, and sparkles of comprehension form in their eyes. They eagerly start
nibbling at the cracker barrel.

"Like, 'modern poets Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost, decked out as harmless old gaffers dispensing
cracker-barrel wisdom" (Dickstein, Going Native, AmericanScholar.org, Winter 2007),' this folksy art-form
can be highly underrated." We, the "old dogs," must reach out to aspiring entrepreneurs to bring these "new
dogs" the "magic and wonder of this osmotic ('OZmotic') tool to transfer wisdom from the wiser to the
nescient, inducing the unwitting diffusion of knowledge from the" old dog's "higher concentration of
experience and wisdom," to the new dog's "place of lesser stores of knowledge and sophistication, tending
towards equalization.

Such dispensing of cracker-barrel wisdom is a wonder to behold. I have seen it at work with my fellow
Infantry Soldiers seeking informal counsel from the one among them they learned had just passed the Bar (the
non-alcoholic one); with senior citizens being shown the mystic powers, to them, of the computer; with
persons desiring to start small businesses; and with senior executives of major multi-national companies."

But beware, it is not always so. Too many have blinders on. They can see the Pot-of-Gold in front of them,
but not the lions to the left or the tigers to the right. They resist even nibbling from the barrel. I have seen this
in Senior Executives with obvious illegal business schemes who plaintively (actually defensively) inquire:
'Can you keep the Justice Department at bay until I retire in three years' (I could, but didn't actually need to as I
later dissuaded them from going forward); in fair-haired marketeers who admit various versions of 'I don't care
if the Chinese will own my company's technology in 10 years, this joint venture will make me look good now
and I don't expect to be here then;' and in those who cling to negativity, such as 'you can't negotiate with
railroads' (you can negotiate with anyone where you have something they want -- I did, and was perhaps the
last to sell a tie treating plant to a RR along with the associated environmental liability)."

So offer our new dogs viable lawful alternatives, be persistent yet intuitive, follow through and, most
important, be creative. Like Snoopy counseled Woodstock, share your cracker barrel wisdom with your new
dogs (or birds). These be Spockian Rules by which to "live long and prosper," while scoring for SCORE.

14
Federally Speaking by Barry J. Lipson (#54)











Number 54

Welcome to Federally Speaking, an editorial column for ALL interested in the Federal Scene, originally compiled for the members of the
Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and all FBA members. Its purpose is to keep you abreast of what is happening in
the Federal arena, whether it be a landmark US Supreme Court decision, a new Federal regulation or enforcement action, a heads ups to
Federal CLE opportunities, or other Federal legal and related occurrences of note. Its threefold objective is to educate, to provoke thought, and
to entertain. This is the 54th column in this series, and together with prior columns is available on the website of the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Pennsylvania: http://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/Pages/federallyspeaking.htm .

Scoring With SCORE!
This issue is dedicated and devoted to SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business." SCORE,
incorporated in 1975 as a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, receives annual appropriations from the U.S.
Congress for counseling small businesses. SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation,
growth and success of small business nationwide. With nearly 400 Chapters in locations throughout the
United States and its territories, and nearly 11,000 volunteers nationwide, SCORE provides free counseling,
professional referrals and low-cost workshops to aid in counteracting failures through inexperience of small
businesses, and to help the budding entrepreneur in doing it right the first time.
SCORE is the adopted child of, and a resource partner with the US Small Business Administration (SBA).
SCORE; originally stood for Service Corps Of Retired Executive, but today SCORE is much more. It
provides "Counselors to America's Small Business," offering to small businesses and to those wishing to
start small businesses, the voluntary services of working professionals and retired executives who
donate their time and business expertise, to help them get it right. In the spirit of full disclosure, your
columnist is Chair of SCOREPittsburgh.
Papa/Momma SBA
The U.S. Small Business Administration was officially established in 1953, though its philosophy and
mission were shaped years earlier through predecessor agencies, largely as a response to the pressures of the
Great Depression and World War II. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, created by President Herbert
Hoover in 1932 to alleviate the financial crisis of the Great Depression, was SBAs grandparent.
During World War II, to help small businesses participate in war production and give them more financial
viability, Congress created the Smaller War Plants Corporation in 1942. The SWPC was dissolved after the
war, and the RFC, and a newly formed Office of Small Business in the Department of Commerce assumed
its responsibilities. At the advent of the Korean conflict, Congress created another wartime organization to
handle small business concerns , this time called the Small Defense Plants Administration.
Then in 1953 Congress created the Small Business Administration (SBA), to "aid, counsel, assist and
protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns;" and to ensure small businesses a
fair proportion of government contracts and sales of surplus property (Small Business Act of July 30,
1953). In that same year Maurice du Pont Lee of Wilmington, Delaware gathered a small group and
formed a consulting and advisory service for small businesses, which during the following decade spread
15
so that by 1963 there were more than 50 independent groups across the country providing low-cost or
no-cost business counseling.
On October 5, 1964, SBA Administrator Eugene P. Foley officially launched SCORE as a national
volunteer group with 2,000 members, uniting these independent efforts into a national force. SCORE
organized itself nationally and in 1975 incorporated as a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. From 1964 to
1978 SCORE provided small business counseling service to 2 million Americans; served its 7.5
millionth client in 2006; and as of now the number is 7.8 million. Today, SCORE volunteers donate well
over a million hours annually, working with entrepreneurs through every phase of their entrepreneurial
venture, from generating and assessing ideas, and assisting with business plans and raising capital; to
making professional referrals and aiding in managing the operations and finances of growing ventures.
What Is The SCORE?
We have often heard said that 90% of new businesses fail. Rhonda Abrams, one of the nations most
recognized advocates for small business," disputes this: I know those statistics scare people away from
starting their own businesses, but I've looked at statistics of business births and deaths closely, and I know
of no credible study showing anything close to a 90% failure rate. Ms. Abrams positive outlook is born
out by SBA findings that two-thirds of new employer firms survive at least two years, and about 44%
survive at least four, and these findings do not differ greatly across industry sectors. But what of "non-
employer firms that make up the majority of businesses"? In his article Failure to Launch? Debunking
the Myth that Most Startups Crash and Burn, Mark Henricks, lifestyle entrepreneurship author, advises
that this unknown should become "known" shortly, as "SBAs Office of Advocacy has convinced the
Census Bureau to do a study of annual entry and exit rates of even the smallest businesses" (Entrepreneur
Magazine, February 2007). But key is the truism that businesses that beforehand are aware of the possible
pitfalls, pratfalls, shortfalls, silver linings, and/or, best of all, windfalls, are much more likely to succeed.
The SBA also shares with us the many benefits conferred by small business on our economy. According to
their findings the estimated 25.8 million small businesses in the United States have generated 60 to 80
percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade, and employ 50.6 percent of the countrys private
sector workforce. Indeed, small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms and 97 percent
of all the exporters of goods. Most interesting, small businesses generate a majority of the innovations
that come from United States companies.
During 1979-2003, self-employment increased: 33 percent for women; 37 percent for African Americans,
15 percent for Latinos, 10 [percent] for White Americans and 2.5 percent for men (SBA Office of
Advocacy). Then too, women not only ask directions, but are more likely to seek business advice -- 69
percent women vs. 47 percent men (American Express); and as two SCORE counseled women business
partners have advised: We have lots of female friends who have started their own businesses. We refer
them all to SCORE. Its a great organization (Little Scoops, infra.).
The Proof Of The BROWNIES
Following are examples of entrepreneurs who Scored With SCORE, ideal success stories that deal with
start-up businesses and/or concern going business concerns, whose SCORE Counselors Scored For
SCORE. Please note the differing SCORE referral sources, the SBA, Mass Media, and Word of Mouth. If
you need business counseling, or would like to be consider as a SCORE Counselor, please contact
SCOREPittsburgh at: http://www.scorepittsburgh.org (412-395-6560 ext. 130).
***
"I couldn't imagine starting a business without a mentor. I wouldn't have done this without SCORE. I
started as a novice and learned about the specialty food industry from the ground up. With SCORE's
advice and a lot of hard work, No Pudge!, is experiencing dramatic growth." Lindsay Frucci, Founder
16
My name is Lindsay Frucci and I am a brownieholic. I love thick, fudgy, chewy brownies. I hate fat. In my
food or on my hips, fat is something I like to live without. Since most thick, fudgy, chewy brownies are
loaded with fat this created quite a problem. Were brownies without guilt a possibility? I decided to try
and find out. Enter my local SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) office. There, I was
incredibly lucky to be connected with two wonderful gentlemen who had had extensive experience in the
food industry. With their expertise and guidance, No Pudge! Foods was begun (quoted directly from
http://www.nopudge.com/common/ourstory.html web site).
She had learned about SCORE through a magazine article and decided to ask for SCORE business
counseling. The first question SCORE asked her was -- Do you want a business or a hobby? She replied "a
business," and from there SCORE advised her to find a manufacturing company for her product and not to
make her home kitchen into a commercial kitchen. When she began planning her business start-up, she
started meeting with her SCORE counselors every two-four weeks, and three years later she was still
meeting with them. "SCORE has really become an advisory board. I'm busy running my business day-to-
day and with these regular SCORE meetings, I can step back and look at the big picture and talk about
new ideas with my trusted advisors."
***
It was great having the advice of someone who knows the business world. The fact that a wealth of
knowledge and expertise is just a phone call away is very comforting. Kyra Raimey, owner, Law Offices
of Kyra M. Raimey, LLC
After working as an attorney for a law firm involved in environmental corporate law, Kyra Raimey, Esq.
realized she had a passion for family and labor law and decided to go into private practice for herself. While
working to start her law office, she consulted the SBA for information on business funding, and was put in
touch with her local SCORE chapter for help in obtaining a loan. She began meeting with her SCORE
Counselor at a local book store, as well as the chapter office, to discuss her new business. He reviewed her
business plan and successfully helped her through the loan process. But he did not stop there; he also
worked with her on marketing strategies. Some of the ideas we discussed included creating an
information card about my business to give to other attorneys, contacting the local bar association for
referrals, scheduling speaking engagements, and identifying business columnists who could write a story
about my business It was great having the advice of someone who knows the business world. In fact, it
worked so well that she was named a Rising Star family law attorney in a regional legal publication and
in a local general circulation magazine.
***
SCORE is one of the first places to go when you start a business. Youre dealing with something brand
new, and their advice and moral support is critical to making it work. Karen DeKlinski, founder and
owner, Perfectly Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has it all, or so thought Karen DeKlinski when she opened Perfectly Pennsylvania, a store
dedicated to the Keystone States rich mix of products. Perfectly Pennsylvania carries a variety of unique,
high-quality products ranging from Crayola Crayons and Slinky toys to clothing and Amish-country quilts
and Hex signs. A former government employee, retailing was the furthest thing from her mind until she and
a friend staffed a kiosk at a local farmers market twice a week and I got hooked on promoting
Pennsylvania products. Visitors are always looking for something special to take home from the area, so it
made sense to open a store with everything in one place. She choose the Airport as her perfect location,
and had been working on my plan for three months when a friend at a Chamber of Commerce meeting
told me about SCORE. I called to ask if someone there might have time to look at my plan. I couldnt
believe their response, they said I had done everything right, and provided valuable comments to help
address issues the banks would ask. But most important, was having these knowledgeable business
17
experts put their faith in me. Their moral support helped convince me that this can work and that I should
move forward. So counseled she received an SBA backed loan for leasing space in the terminal and
stocking her shelves with a variety of eye-catching items. The store was an immediate hit among travelers.
The monthly sales increases have consistently exceeded projections, enabling her to open a second store in a
major hotel. And most important: We made an agreement that Ill go back to my counselors to evaluate
how everythings going, she says, but I expect to be a student of SCOREs for life.
***
"When you're running your own business, you're in the trenches and don't always see what's beyond. It
pays to have an experienced professional come in and give you a broader, objective perspective." Joe
Stieber, Sears Franchise Owner
Joe Stieber was already running his own business. He enjoyed the name recognition of one of the nation's
largest retailers, but as with many franchise organizations, Sears' advertising policies limited what he could
do. Fortunately, he learned of SCORE through his local newspaper and was put in touch with a volunteer
SCORE counselor who was a retired advertising executive. Though his retail store offered a wide range of
in-stock merchandise including appliances, electronic items and durable goods for the home, he thought his
store was mistakenly being by-passed by many as merely a Sears Catalog outlet, and he also was not
connecting with the area's homebuilders, many of whom purchased large volumes of appliances either from
discount chains or directly from manufacturers, both together costing him an estimated $1 million worth of
lost business annually. My SCORE Counselor visited my store several times to discuss the business and
what I wanted to do. He asked a lot of questions, and offered a lot of good advice and ideas. The key
was being more aggressive. We want customers to consider my store before they make their
purchase.This January, our business was up 28 percent It sure looks like were doing something
right. I don't mind getting advice from professionals who know the business."
***
[A]nyone interested in entrepreneurship will find everything they need at SCORE. We have lots of
female friends who have started their own businesses. We refer them all to SCORE. Its a great
organization. Michelle Violetto, co-owner, Little Scoops
Little Scoops has been named one of Entrepreneur Magazines Hot New Franchises. A female owned
business offering at ten locations, in 1950s-Style Ice Cream Parlors, Kids Parties that include games,
dancing and making your own sundaes. None of this would have happened without the help of [SCORE]
volunteer counselors, who helped them develop their business plan, set up finances, and evaluate potential
locations for the first Little Scoops shop; and as Little Scoops popularity grew and they became interested
in franchising, put us in touch with people who helped us with the legal and management aspects of
franchising. Its a great organization.
***
This Column is dedicated to the preservation of the U.S. Constitution & the Bill of Rights.
***
You may contact columnist Barry J. Lipson, Esq., former FBA Third Circuit Vice President, at
bjlipson@gmail.com. The views expressed are those of the persons they are attributed to and are not necessarily the
views of the FBA, SCORE, the SBA, this publication or the author. This and prior issues are available on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania website, and Column numbers refer to
Columns listed in the Index of Columns on that site: (http://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/Pages/federallyspeaking.htm).
Emphasis added passim.

Copyright 2008 by Barry J. Lipson



18
MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR OCTOBER 2008
SCORE ONE FOR SCORE!

Sometimes we forget we are not alone! SCORE is not just SCORE Pittsburgh or the SCORE Chapters we share District
funds with. SCORE is much more then that! The National SCORE Website lists over 130 SCORE Chapters who can
work together with each other to deliver an improved product to our clients.

Whether it be cross-fertilization and inspiration with "success stories;" sharing funding and advertising ideas as Akron
SCORE has done with us; referring clients to more logical and local counselors; or assisting each other in unexpected
manners.

This was brought home as I was putting together my thoughts for this months column when I received an e-mail from "a
counselor with Fairfield County SCORE in Norwalk, CT," who advised we "have a client who is dealing with a
company in the Pittsburgh area called Davison (www.davison.com). Davison helps new entrepreneurs get started, for a
fee. Have you or any Pittsburgh SCORE colleagues ever heard of, or better yet, had contact or info on Davison? If any of
you have, we would appreciate learning of your experience."

A search of local records brought to light that in response to a 2006 complaint filed by an inventor against Davison with
the US Patent and Trademark Office, Mr. Davison, in part, responded: 'Our customer care program is a top priority for
our clients and employees. Of course, Davison conducts its business affairs with standard precautionary procedures,
record keeping, computer logs, written contracts, client questionnaires, complies to the state of Iowa's mandatory written
disclosure requirements and abides by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999. If Mr. Robertson believes that
there is some other aspect of his complaint that requires and additional response, we will be happy to hear from him.'
However, in light of the injunctive relief obtained against Davison by the FTC, also in 2006, and the multi-million
dollars he is returning to inventors, I would be very leery about any of SCORE's clients getting involved with Davison or
any of his companies (see: http://inventblog.com/2006/03/ftc_vs_davison_.html). Our clients need to be treated as
individuals and not as 'vanity publishers' (i.e., in a similar manner as vanity publishing houses do with authors who are
willing to pay to see themselves in print).

This, of course, is important information for us too in counseling our clients, and the breath of the problems can be
discerned from the misrepresentations the "inventor-assistance" company was enjoined from making, to wit,
"Defendants are enjoined from making any misrepresentation that: (a) Defendants are selective in deciding to whom
services will be offered; (b) Defendants have a combined stake in the consumer's invention because they 'work for free'
and/or receive significant income from royalties; (C) falsely states defendants' track record in terms of number of
consumers contracted with number of consumers realizing a net profit, or number of arms-length licenses obtained; (d)
Defendants invention-promotion services helped any specific invention ideas become successful products without
disclosing whether the. consumer realized a net profit; (e) Defendants have a vast network of corporations with whom
they have ongoing relationships and regularly negotiate successful licensing agreements; (d[sic]) Defendants invention
marketing services are necessary for consumers to license their invention ideas; and (f) Defendants prepare objective and
expert analyses of the marketability or patentability of consumers invention ideas. FTC v. Davison Associates, Inc.,
No. 97-1278 (WDPA, March 17, 2006).

COUNSELORS-IN-TRAINING (CIT) TRAINING PROGRAM
FOR NEW SCORE COUNSELORS - October, 2008

When a potential counselor candidate is identified either by contacting SCORE or recommendation, the information will
be forwarded to the Membership Chair.

The Membership Chair will interview the candidate by phone and upon determining that the person is a likely candidate
will arrange to have an application sent. The Membership Chair will arrange in-person interview with the Chapter Chair,
Vice Chair or another member designated by the Chair. The interview will re-enforce the expectations of a Pittsburgh
SCORE counselor as well as what the candidate feels she/he can contribute to the chapter. The completed application is
to be brought to the interview. The successful candidate will be invited to attend a monthly chapter meeting and given
the opportunity to introduce her/himself.

The completed application of the successful candidate will be sent to National by the Office Administrator. When the
application is accepted by National, the Membership Chair will be advised, who will advise the candidate, that he/she is
19
now a counselor-in-training (CIT). The Membership Chair will assign a mentor and the new CIT will be put into the
system by the Office Administrator. That will include being added to the email list, roster, communication list, mailing
list and name tag for the monthly meeting, all noting the candidate is a CIT.

Training with the Mentor is to include, but not be limited to:

a) Attending a monthly Membership meeting;

b) Attending a monthly Steering Committee meeting,;

c) Attending a Small Business Basic Workshop;

d) Participating in several counseling sessions with Mentor or Mentor's designee;

e) Doing Desk Duty at the SCORE office with Mentor or Mentor's designee;

f) Introduction to the library locations and use; I

g) Reviewing together with Mentor the SCORE web site, especially the members only section;

h) Taking on-line orientation course;

i) Taking "WEBIT" training;

j) Learning about possible committee/administrative assignments, and volunteering for one; and

k) Others as Mentor feels will be useful to introduce CIT to the full range of SCORE activities.

This should ideally take two to three months.

When the training is complete, the Mentor must sign off by email to the Membership Chair, Chapter Chair and Vice
Chair.

The Membership Chair will so advise the Office Administrator and the Assignment Committee, and send a welcome
letter to the new counselor.

The Office Administrator will remove the CIT designation from the roster, the communication list, the mailing list, and
the name tag, and provide the new counselor with business cards..


MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR DECEMBER 2008

A SCORE Reminder.....

In case it has slipped your mind, or you never knew, since 1964, SCORE has provided free mentoring and advice to
more than 8 million men and women who want to start a small business or need help with their existing business.

Last year, SCORE volunteers provided more than 500,000 total services, which included free face-to-face and online
counseling and low-cost workshops. This is a 13 percent increase over the previous year. More than 2.8 million people
visited the National SCORE award-winning Web site, www.score.org.

SCORE National estimates that our volunteers helped create more than 25,000 new jobs nationwide in 2004, or one for
every seven new clients, based on the findings of the February 2006 Impact Study of SBA Entrepreneurial Resources.
SCORE also helped create 19,732 new small businesses in 2007, according to an SBA report sent to Congress.

SCORE helps people who want to own flower shops, cleaning services and food markets; who want to make and sell
teddy bears from their kitchen tables; and who want to start high-tech companies from their own garages. By helping
these small businesses succeed, SCORE supports job creation in your communities.

Our nearly 11,000 volunteers have a combined 300,000 years of business experience. They donated more than 1.3
million hours of service last year. At a standard hourly consultant fee of $160, these services would have cost small
business owners well over $200 million. However, SCORE counseling is free.

SCORE is seeking increased Federal funding to, among other things:

Help the many recently economically displaced explore their opportunities as entrepreneurs;

Open more chapters and branches in previously under-served but growing geographical areas, including rural markets
20
and the inner-city;

Provide additional financial support to local SCORE offices to fund outreach campaigns, add more workshops and
handle increasing expenses;

Expand chapter recruiting plans to add new volunteers who represent a diverse range of communities and professional
skills;

Use new technologies and the Internet to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of SCORE services.

If you can help influence Congress to assist SCORE in fulfilling these objectives, please follow through and let us know
what you are doing.

CHAPTER CALENDAR FOR JANUARY 2009

Small Business Basics Workshop
Jan. 24th, 2009, 8:30 a.m. till 12:30 p.m.

SCORE Pittsburgh and the Center for
Women's Entrepreneurship (CWE), Chatham
University, Programs for Start-up & Early
Stage Women Entrepreneurs, are partnering to
present the Small Business Basics workshop
to women interested in starting their own
business or expanding their current business.
Topics include: business planning, financing,
marketing, legal issues and a personal story on
business challenges by a CWE FastTrac
graduate. Small Business Basics is partially
underwritten by First Commonwealth Bank.
[CWE Flyer]

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR JANUARY 2009

SO WHAT IS SCORE AND HOW IS IT RELATED TO THE SBA, REALLY?

SCORE is the adopted child of, and a resource partner with the US Small Business Administration (SBA). SCORE
originally stood for Service Corps Of Retired Executive, but today SCORE is much more. It provides "Counselors
to America's Small Business," offering to small businesses and to those wishing to start small businesses, the free
voluntary services of working professionals and retired executives who donate their time and business expertise, to
help them get it right.

AD 1953 was a really big year! The Korean "Police Action" [a/k/a War] ended; Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin died; and
the structure of DNA was published. But for us it was a really big year because of SCORE and the SBA, though it
would be over a decade before the adoption would come to pass. That was the year it all started for SCORE when
Maurice du Pont Lee of Wilmington, Delaware gathered a small group and formed a consulting and advisory service
for small businesses, which during the following decade spread so that by 1963 there were more than 50 independent
groups across the country providing low-cost or no-cost business counseling.

That was also the year where two decades of governmental trial and error culminated on July 30, 1953, with Congress
creating the SBA, to "aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns;" and
to ensure small businesses a fair proportion of government contracts and sales of surplus property (Small Business
Act of July 30, 1953).

The SBA predecessor agencies through which its philosophy and mission were shaped years earlier where formed
largely as a response to the pressures of the Great Depression and World War II. The Reconstruction Finance
Corporation, created by President Herbert Hoover in 1932 to alleviate the financial crisis of the Great Depression, was
SBAs grandparent. During World War II, to help small businesses participate in war production and give them more
financial viability, Congress created the Smaller War Plants Corporation in 1942. The SWPC was dissolved after the
21
war, and the RFC, and a newly formed Office of Small Business in the Department of Commerce assumed its
responsibilities. At the advent of the Korean conflict, Congress created another wartime organization to handle small
business concerns , this time called the Small Defense Plants Administration.

Then on October 5, 1964, SBA Administrator Eugene P. Foley officially launched SCORE as a national volunteer
group with 2,000 members, uniting these independent efforts into a national force. SCORE organized itself nationally
and in 1975 incorporated as a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. From 1964 to 1978 SCORE provided small business
counseling service to 2 million Americans; served its 7.5 millionth client in 2006; and as of now the number is 7.8
million. SCORE, through the SBA receives a small annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress for counseling small
businesses.

SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide.
Today, with nearly 400 Chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, and nearly 11,000
volunteers nationwide, SCORE volunteers donate well over a million hours annually, working with entrepreneurs
through every phase of their entrepreneurial venture, from generating and assessing ideas, and assisting with business
plans and raising capital; to making professional referrals and aiding in managing the operations and finances of growing
ventures. SCORE provides free counseling, professional referrals and low-cost workshops to aid in counteracting
failures through inexperience of small businesses, and to help the budding entrepreneur in getting it right the first
time.

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR FEBRUARY 2009
SCORE Nationals Small Business Accelerator Program

On January 26, 2009 SCORE National launched a nation-wide Web and Media campaign to Accelerate the Success"
of your clients and small business entrepreneurs generally. With the worst employment market in 45 years and small
businesses liquidating inventory, cutting costs and expecting both sales and profits to slide, SCORE is needed now more
than ever, National reminds you that your knowledge and experience can help save jobs and businesses. Refer clients
to www.score.org/accelerate for details applicable to them.

SCORE National urges each of you to assist in this "Small Business Accelerator Program," by mobilizing ourselves to
take action for the next three months to reach clients, and asks you to review program details at:
www.volunteercenter.score.org/accelerate.html.

Basically, National would like to inspire you to Make a Difference by inviting your clients to resume and/or continue
a mentoring dialogue with you.

Their plan is for you to contact your 20 best or most needy clients to schedule a follow-on session. Email your clients
from the last six months to let them know you can help. Reach out to your past clients to follow up on their progress,
and reintroduce them to SCORE as a resource to help them build and maintain their small business.

To help you to do this, National has supplied the following slightly revised sample email for you to use:

Dear [Insert Client Name]:

I was happy to provide mentoring and advice for your business last year. Now, you can ask SCORE for advice in 2009!

Savvy entrepreneurs are making plans to make it through this year & focus on the future and success. SCORE is here for
your business with mentoring. Let's meet to discuss your questions about how to accelerate your success. SCORE
mentoring is free and confidential. To get started today, just reply to this message.

In the meantime, here are some SCORE resources for you:

SCORE National informational article: Are You Waiting for a Market Turnaround? Don't Act Now:
http://www.score.org/internet_waiting_market_turnaround.html

SCORE Pittsburghs in-person reasonably priced monthly Small Business Orientation Workshops that are not required
for you to receive no cost SCORE counseling, but help accelerate the process of giving you the knowledge base you
need for operating your own small business: http://scorepittsburgh.org/workshop.html

Accelerate Your Success Toolkit: http://www.score.org/accelerate
22
Monthly Features & Offers: http://www.score.org/ [insert month name without space]; and/or Online workshops:
http://www.score.org/online_courses.html;

All the best,

[Insert Counselor Name]
SCORE Counselor
SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business"
www.score.org and [Insert chapter Web address]

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR MARCH 2009
SCORE OUTREACH

At our February 2009 Membership Meeting it became apparent that we needed to re-emphasis our marketing
efforts under the umbrella of outreach, to convey the message to our constituents that SCORE is here to
assist them with their small business aspirations through personal SCORE Counseling and the SCORE
Business Basics Workshops; and to our potential members that they can channel their life business experiences
to assisting small businesses through becoming SCORE Counselors.

The discussion was initiated by new SCORE Counselor Bill Moffitt. An Outreach Committee, currently
consisting of William Moffitt, Ron Cox, Joyce Pearl, Sam Duerr, Dick Fitzgerald and Sunday Barbaro, and
reporting to Vice Chair Steve Cohen, was appointed.

Outreach is to a Non-Profit Organization, as Marketing is to a For-Profit Organization. For-Profits efforts
revolve around a product or strategies to increase market share, while Non-Profits are not focused on profits
or increasing market share, but on promoting their missions and goals.

Outreach is the effort by a Non-Profit to co-ordinate, communicate and connect its ideas or practices to the
efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public Outreach strategies are
linked to the organization's mission, and define targets, goals, and milestones. Outreach often takes on an
educational component (i.e., the dissemination of ideas), but it is increasingly common for organizations to
conceive of their outreach strategy as a two-way street in which outreach is framed as engagement rather than
solely dissemination or education (Wikipedia).

It is our intention and plan that the Outreach Committee evolves into the major promotional and marketing
tool of SCORE, pro-actively merging the functions of the old Marketing Committee, Speakers Bureau, Library
Outreach, Human Resources Departments Development, Public Relations, Media Coordination, etc, in
pursuing our mission of making "the availability of our services more readily known" and attracting
"additional qualified counselors," through Service, Social, Fraternal and Seniors Organizations, Libraries,
Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureaus, Developmental and Governmental Agencies, Human
Resources Departments, etc.

As a precursor, your Chair and Vice Chair have directed our efforts to the Better Business Bureau of Western
Pennsylvania, Inc (BBB). We have just been advised that the upcoming March 2009 BBB Newsletter will
advise its members that: Your BBB and SCORE have partnered to provide assistance to our Accredited
Businesses. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. They are dedicated to
entrepreneurial education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses. Their public service
mission is to provide face-to-face and email business counseling to help small businesses evaluate plans,
stabilize, grow, innovate and succeed.

Please co-operate with, assist and promote our Outreach efforts.

***
[Scoring With SCORE!, Federally Speaking #54, can be found also at:
http://sites.google.com/site/federallyspeaking/Home ]


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MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR APRIL 2009
TIME FLIES ..
Its trite but true: Time Flies When Youre Having Fun!

Though my two years do not end until September, its already time to start the Nomination & Election process. My
successor must be selected shortly so he/she can be wined, dined and indoctrinated by National SCORE this summer.

While I look back with some pride from our putting our SIGN on the SBA Door, to an on-site Desk Duty program
and procedure THAT WORKS, a reinvigorated Assignment and FOLLOW-THRU function, TOP-RATED Workshops,
SATISFIED Clients, SOLID CBE (Continuing Business Education) for Counselors at Monthly Meetings, and the
attracting and training of a bevy of HIGHLY MOTIVATED new Counselors; much still needs to be done!

In the short-term, Art Green has agreed to organize for this Administrative year a comprehensive, hot, right on
target:

SCORE: Atypical/Alternate Funding Sources Seminar (working title),

with as broad and diverse a group of funding participating organizations as possible, so we can intelligently, broadly
and successfully publicize to: a) attract a substantial audience of current and potential small business participants; and
b) get good basic PR for SCORE.



24
In the longer-run, our new OUTREACH COMMITTEE (which, as discussed last month, encompasses and goes way
beyond the old Marketing Committee), and the new SPONSORSHIP COMMITTEE, need to become fully operational
and functional, so we can attracted new Counselors with the needed SPECIALIZED EXPERTISE; let potential new
Clients, especially those being ECONOMICALLY DISPLACED, know that SCORE is here for them; and let the
BUSINESS and PUBLIC SERVICE Communities know SCORE is, indeed and in fact, worthy of their financial
assistance in aiding the Small Business Sector to prosper, and to help pull us out of our current economic woes.

For the long-run, in appointing Don Carpenter Nominating Chair, to encourage continuity and cooperation, I have
asked him to explore developing an officer line concept, where normally (but not inevitably) a member would be
elected to the Office of Secretary, serve two years and advance to 2
nd
Vice Chair (with specific supervisory
duties/areas), serve two years and advance to 1
st
Vice Chair (with other specific supervisory duties/areas), serve two
years and then advance to Chair, giving them all the opportunity to be trained and become proficient in each position.
As Don has envisioned: The chair is [then] thoroughly familiar with all officer positions, their responsibilities and has
worked extensively with his/her fellow officers.

Yes, time certainly does fly hopefully into the brightening lights of still better days!

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR MAY 2009
A PureBred SCORE Success Story Is It Yours?
Take a novel concept, a catchy theme, and tempting
products ideas. Add to this mix the PureBred yeast of
knowledgeable, creative and cooperative SCORE
counseling, and voila you have given rise to the very
successful PureBread Deli, Bakery & Caf chain.
PureBreads CEO had discovered SCORE several years
earlier, when he and his brother, a local chef, had decided
to plan and open a more traditional restaurant. He realized
even then that planning is the major factor in a business
success, and was and is pleased to pieces (of dough) with
his decisions to seek the help of SCORE to fine-tune their business plans and provide input on whether there
has been enough leavening to give rise to a viable new business venture.
Their first step in this earlier venture was to venture into a SCORE workshop on Business Basics. During the
seminar, a SCORE counselor explained the business planning process and the difficult questions that
entrepreneurs must ask themselves, and answer honestly. After that meeting and discussions with their
SCORE counselor, they realized that their business plan did not then forecast success, and decided to wait for
their development of a more predictably fruitful approach.
When the PureBread concept blossomed in their minds, they again sought help from SCORE; first seeking
advice on securing a loan. Their SCORE Counselor recommended they explore the services of the Small
Business Administration, with whom SCORE works closely. But SCORE did much more!
He then counseled they also consult with a SCORE co-counselor who has had prior experience in restaurant
planning. Together they examined every detail of the proposed business. Today, now that PureBread is up
and baking, SCORE acts as a sounding board for new decisions and offers practical business advice, helping
PureBread make decisions by playing devils advocate in questioning all the factors and acting as our
adrenaline - getting us to take action when we have made a case for change, but are hesitant to move ahead.
Furthermore, they were there to help send PureBread to the dogs, helping develop their product
differentiation concept of combining canine monikers with gourmet sandwiches on fresh-baked bread
resulting in PureBread, in an atmosphere of fun and relaxation reflected in the decor- black and white
photos of dogs-all sizes, shapes, poses and breeds surround[ing] you as you enjoy a cup of coffee and a


25
muffin or a sandwich-identified by the breed. As their CEO sees it: We wanted to bring a sense of the
community into our deli, so we went to local parks and photographed dogs in action. When the owners see
their dogs photo pictured on the wall, its the best advertisement we could have. We never had to advertise
other than grand opening road signs. Word of mouth has brought us our customers. They were also there to
help review area demographics, competition, and the need for an upscale, quick-casual dining experience, in
choosing Caf locations; and they were there in the adoption of our motto: Manage the present, plan for the
future.
But the biggest compliment PureBread has paid to SCORE? Their CEO contends that his future goal is to be
a SCORE counselor.
What are your SCORE success stories?

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR JUNE 2009
MR. I. MAGINATION MR. I. MAGINATION MR. I. MAGINATION MR. I. MAGINATION, THE FOREST THE FOREST THE FOREST THE FOREST & SCORE

Mr. I. Magination ruled the imagery and minds of our
adolescent future Leaders and future SCORE Counselors
Sunday nights, on CBS, from 1949 to 1952, whisking them on
his "imaginary" train through the "World of Imagination," from
Inventorsville to Ambitionville, from Woodland to "I Wish I
Were" Land, teaching them to use their Imaginations to rise
above the pedantics of narrowly focusing on the "trees" and
scrubs of everyday life, so they could discover the whole kit
and caboodle of opportunities awaiting them throughout the
nooks and crannies of the Woodlands and Forests that
figuratively cover the entire World.

Importantly, as 4H'ers are taught, a forest is more than just a group of trees. Thus, we would certainly be
wrong if we thought that only trees make up a forest. A forest is a living community of trees,
plants, and animals. A forest is a place of endless activity and diversity, full of nooks,
crannies and wonders just awaiting discovery. But to truly understand and harvest
the forest, your focus must be broadened, and your imagination engaged and given free
reign. The same is true for an organization such as SCORE, which must be imaginative in
navigating the socio-economic "forest" within which it operates, to harvest the hidden, obscure and non-
obvious opportunities awaiting it and its clients there. To find the 4 leaf clovers!

Thus, the leadership of SCORE-like organizations must
engage their imaginations and heed the wisdom of such as
author Jo Ann Ferguson (a/k/a Jocelyn Kelley), who, when
she narrowly focused her concentration on workaday details,
found that:

"Im like the guy who cant see the forest for the trees
[woods from the trees in England]." Who is "unable to get
a general understanding of a situation"; who focuses "only
on small details and fail to understand larger plans or
principles" (as arguing "about petty cash and overlook[ing]
the budget")."I need to step away from it. I need to give my
imagination or subconscious or whatever you want to call it a
chance to do its job" (Ferguson, Write of Passages, Sunday,
July 22, 2007; Cambridge Dictionaries; et al).


26

This is not to say trees are unimportant, they must be
tended to, maintained and their growth encouraged.
But in seeing to it that these tasks are done, no matter
how unique individual trees may be, organizational
leadership must at all times be and remain broadly
focused, sensitized and attuned to the forest and its
cornucopia of opportunities.

Some examples of SCORE harvesting the forest over the past two years may help illustrate this point and
help inspire and lubricate such future exercises of the imagination, which in my humble opinion are essential
for SCORE to Score!!!

As long as I have been associated with SCORE our offices have been in the old Chamber of Commerce
Building at the offices of the SBA, but no one would know it from the entrance way. We now have our name
attractively appearing on the glass of the SBAs front door so that those visiting the SBA know that we are
also there to serve them. (Please, someone, have the No Guns sign under it moved!)

Our incoming Chair of two years ago was
(and is) active in the Senior Mens Club
of the Sewickley YMCA, with
approximately 300 members, of which
nearly a quarter to a third attend each
meeting. This gave us the opportunity of
having the SCORE Pittsburgh installation
of officers conducted at their meeting by
the SBA Regional Director, who came to
Pittsburgh specifically for this purpose.
Newspaper coverage was arranged and a
large picture of the SCORE and SBA
officials involved appeared in the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a picture
being worth a 1000 words. To this day
SCORE publicity is exhibited at each
Mens Club meeting.

Then too, an entire issue of Federally Speaking (Number 54) was
dedicated and devoted to SCORE. This issue of Federally Speaking,
which is an editorial column for ALL interested in the Federal Scene,
was published under the headline Scoring With SCORE! on the website
of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
(http://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/Pages/federallyspeaking.htm), and various
examples of entrepreneurs who Scored With SCORE, ideal success
stories that deal with start-up businesses and/or concern going business
concerns, whose SCORE Counselors Scored For SCORE, are included.
It also can be found using Google and other search engines.

Additionally, we entered into discussion with the Better Business Bureau to obtain publicity and help and
recruit their business members through their BBB Newsletter. Not only were we successful,
but this has expanded into the BBB announcing in their Newsletter that: "Your BBB and
SCORE have partnered to provide assistance to our Accredited Businesses. SCORE is a
resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. They are dedicated to


27
entrepreneurial education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses. Their public service
mission is to provide face-to-face and email business counseling to help small businesses evaluate plans,
stabilize, grow, innovate and succeed." And National SCORE's reaction? "Excellent work ... It would be
interesting to see if we could get other BBBs to do the same in other markets. Now, when we get BBB
referrals we must make sure they receive out best efforts and that their successes are carefully followed,
recorded and reported.

Likewise, in pursuing educational information on the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Councils
Pro Bono Legal Counseling Program for limited income artists and art
organizations, I learned that they were instituting a similar Arts Business
Counseling Program. I alerted them to the similar mission of SCORE and the
potential availability of SCORE Business Counseling, and they expressed the
serious desire to also explore partnering with SCORE.

We have also forged links with the U.S. Congress. This year
on July 2, 2009 U.S. Representative Jason Altmire
(Democrat) will speak with us on current business concerns.
Congressman Altmire follows U.S. Representative Timothy
Murphy (Republican), who spoke with us on November 29,
2007 on similar matters. Might we speculate that U.S.
Senator Arlen Specter, long-time Republican turned
Democrat, will also join us, perhaps before the Democratic
primary? [He didnt and he lost!]

Another useful vehicle for exploring the harvesting of forest opportunities has been
our Annual Meetings. Our last Annual Meeting was at the Pittsburgh Glass
Center, where after exploring the actual making of glass with the help of the
ancient elements of fire, water, air and earth/sand, we explored with the
Friendship Development Association, the development of the Lawrenceville Arts
Corridor, the new opportunities there for small arts businesses and the dedicated
funding available there for that purpose. This has led to our Unique Funding
Sources Workshop, which is now being actively planned. This years Annual
Meeting is still in the planning stage. One possible venue is the brand new August
Wilson Center for African American Culture, hopefully with similar results.

A special metal lapel pin/tie tack, stating I Scored for SCORE, has
been prepared and awarded to those dedicated SCORErs who perform
Desk Duty at HQ, which was a dying service at that time, but is now
quite healthy. We also awarded this pin to the late Don Carter of the
SBA and to SBA Pittsburgh District Director Carl Knoblock, on condition
that they would wear them, which they both gladly agreed to do. I
personally wear this attractive pin whenever I can and it does get
favorable attention.

My personal congratulations to each of our newly elected officers who assume their new offices at our
Annual Meeting, Stephen Cohen, Chair; Mike Mohajery, 1st. Vice Chair; Ron Cox, 2nd. Vice Chair; Dale
McCall, Treasury; and William Moffitt, Secretary. May each and everyone of you be inspired by Mr. I.
Magination, and take your place on his inspirational train to ride through fruitful forests, rising above the
pedantics of narrowly focusing on the "trees" and scrubs of everyday life, and discovering the fabulous
opportunities awaiting you there.

Barry J. Lipson
Chair


28
MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR JULY 2009
Altmire, Jopp and the Job To Be Done!
As many of you know, U.S. Representative Jason Altmire (D-PA), Chairman of the House Small Business
Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, which has oversight responsibilities over the Small Business
Administration (SBA), spoke at our July 2, 2009 Membership Meeting (thanks to Tom Hayden and Steve
Cohen for making the arrangements). Congressman Altmire followed U.S. Representative Timothy Murphy
(R-PA), who had shared his views with us on November 29, 2007.

At this July 2009 meeting, Congressman Altmire stressed that the reason SCORE is so "de minimisly"
funded is because it is viewed as "a volunteer organization, not a Federal program." What was most
disturbing was that the Congressman not only gave us this "explanation," but it seemed clear that he bought
into it himself!

However, the truth is that SCORE is, indeed, a federal program! "On October 5, 1964, SBA Administrator
Eugene P. Foley officially launched SCORE as a national volunteer group with 2,000 members, uniting
independent efforts into a national force to, on a national basis, provide small businesses, and those
considering entering small business, with unique entre to experienced business practitioners (see Federally
Speaking No.54, http://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/Documents/Misc/fsp54.pdf).

Accordingly, we stressed to the Congressman that while we SCORE Counselors are volunteers, receiving no
personal compensation, to do our job properly we needed proper administrative, clerical and technological
support, which cost money, and that not to have to charge for workshops would be most helpful.

While, he seemed to recognize that SCORE brought something special to the table, to wit "battlefield
experience" (our words) by experienced unpaid business professionals, and not just primarily academic
knowledge by paid academicians, as the more adequately "funded" programs did (to wit, the Small Business
Development Centers or SBDCs), this did not seem to overcome SCORE being "a volunteer organization,
not a Federal program." He did not even seem to be open to economic recovery funds being directed to
SCORE to assist the newly unemployed to start small businesses, and existing small businesses to survive.

Though not mentioned at this meeting, it seems strange to be taking such positions on the same day that the
media started reporting that a relatively very high percentage of baby boomers are seeking to start small
businesses as an alternative to forced retirement on depleted retirement funds (and as their personal
"economic recovery" program).

With regard to our reporting of this to National SCORE, Dr. Devin Jopp, Chief Operating Officer of National
SCORE, thanked SCOREPittsburgh "for all of your efforts on Congressman Altmire. I don't buy his
argument at all about why SBDC is funded and SCORE is not. That makes no sense. When you look at the
numbers in terms of efficacy -- that tells the story. Dollars are not being appropriated based on efficacy in my
mind. That's the issue. If we're serious about job and biz creation, congress has a real opportunity to invest
in a program that no other can deliver - bang for buck."

Devin further advised "that we have, for the first time, retained government affairs counsel that is working for
us up on the hill and have a group involved in working with specific members of the small business
committees and approps committees in the house and senate. The call to action, that I have mentioned on our
chapter chair calls and DD calls, is to get our reps to write a dear colleague letter that supports SCORE at a
10m level. They address those letters to the chair of the approps committee. Letters are good, but honestly,
we probably need face-to-face pushes with key staffers ...."

I shared with Devin Jopp that "I like the energy I am seeing in SCOREPittsburgh on this and other matters;"
and summed up the job as I see it: "We support your current effort for a slightly larger piece of the pie, but
we are looking forward towards SCORE obtaining enough slices to 'score' for SCORE's Chapters true
financial needs and, most importantly, for small business in general.


29

MESSAGE FROM CHAIR BARRY J. LIPSON FOR SEPTEMBER 2009

Doozy

Shall one take on the Ed Gerstenhaber Challenge?

"The farewell column from Barry
I bet it will be a doozy!"
or silently douse the tapers and dolefully depart?

But from whence cometh, and what be'est, "Doozy"?

Merge, from the early days, the "daisy," symbolizing
beauty, truth, loyal secrecy, and other positive things
("I raised a four year old colt once, a real daisy, a
perfect doll," Haliburton, The Clockmaker [1836]),
with the 1893 New York appearance of Italian femme
fatale Eleonora Duse (a real "Dusey," a perfect doll),
and voil you have a Doozy -- a pip, a beaut, a lulu, a
humdinger, a lollapalooza, to wit, something
wonderful, a remarkable or excellent thing.

But then again,doozy is sometimes used to denote
something less than daisyish, something that is
difficult or daunting or troublesome or
problematic (Man that history exam was a doozy! I
think I failed.); or is a wasted bash ("Remember last
New Years? Me neither, it sure was a doozy.").

So, I guess this column could be a doozy by either alluding to a two-year blankety-blank
bash, or two daunting difficult years of troubles and problems.

But that has been already blown in the April 2009 column, TIME FLIES .., where we
looked back with some pride from our putting our SIGN on the SBA Door, to an on-site
Desk Duty program and procedure THAT WORKS, a reinvigorated Assignment and
FOLLOW-THRU function, TOP-RATED Workshops, SATISFIED Clients, SOLID CBE
(Continuing Business Education) for Counselors at Monthly Meetings, and the attracting and
training of a bevy of HIGHLY MOTIVATED new Counselors; and again spiffily
spifflicated in the June 2009 Chairs Column, where further spiffy Daisy-Doozys were
recounted.

Ah yes, the Forest. I re-iterate here the charge that our new Officers, each and everyone
need to be inspired by Mr. I. Magination, and take your place on his inspirational train to
ride through fruitful forests, rising above the pedantics of narrowly focusing on the trees and
scrubs of everyday life, and discovering the fabulous opportunities awaiting you there. And


30
since that was originally iterated it appears that they are, indeed, booking their reservations
on this Magination Express.

All aboard! But even as one boards, management must still attend to the needs for flexibility,
diplomacy and arboracy (to wit, the assuring that the trees/details are tended to properly).
Flexibility -- If lightening strikes a tree blocking the tracks, without delay one needs to be
able to re-direct actions, to simultaneously both stop the train, and either clear the way or find
alternative transportation, and this is true across the board. Diplomacy Knowing what one is
really doing and its affects on others and again being flexible. Arboracy -- For
management to be able to rely on their Arborists, the Arborists must be able to eliminate
tree borers; to, for example, forward e-mail to valid addresses and with subjects that will
encourage them to be read; and to otherwise efficiently care for details/trees, so that
management can focus on the Forest. Otherwise, guess who must bore into it, think it through
and do it, no matter how boring? Abhor blank-minded, problematic, troublesome, daunting
doozyness. Strive for the daisy!

The last two years have laid the groundwork and developed the personnel for a doozy of a
leap forward. From the pre-planning, of which I am aware, over the past few months the
future seems bright. Again my personal congratulations to each of our newly elected officers
who assume their new offices at our Annual Meeting, Stephen Cohen, Chair; Mike Mohajery,
1st. Vice Chair; Ron Cox, 2nd. Vice Chair; Dale McCall, Treasurer; and William Moffitt,
Secretary. May they have a doozy of a ride strewn with dandy daisys. Then, each of us can
proudly say:














CHAPTER CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER 2009
Things You Really, Really Don't Want To Miss!!!
ANNUAL CHAPTER MEETING & BRUNCH
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2009, Allegheny HYP Club
10:00 am - Brunch and Guest Speaker
Veronica Corpuz, Director of Public Relations,
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
11:30 am - Visit to an art venue in the Cultural Trust District



31




ADDENDA
Sample Form Documents Developed During 2007-2009

a) Business Plan Request

Subject: Your Request to SCORE - Help With a Business Plan

My name is ________________. I am a SCORE counselor and have been asked to respond to your request.

SCORE's mission is to counsel you on your potentially exciting new venture, help you avoid pitfalls and
strive towards your success as you proceed. To aid in your orientation SCORE provides reasonably priced
monthly Small Business Orientation Workshops that are not required for you to receive no cost SCORE
counseling, but help accelerate the process of giving you the knowledge base you need for operating your
own small business.

You can learn more about these Workshops at: http://scorepittsburgh.org/workshop.html .

SCORE does not write your Business Plan for you, that would deprive you of the most important learning
experience of doing this yourself, for the most important role of a Business Plan is to help you understand
and plan for your business, and to provide you with benchmarks against which you can evaluate your
progress and success. For these reasons alone it is worthwhile for you to prepare a realistic Business Plan for
yourself and your new enterprise.

SCORE does review and make suggestions to Business Plan written by you. You can find excellent
information on business plans at our website www.scorepittsburgh.com Click Business Resources then
Writing a Business Plan. You will find a tutorial on writing a plan under Develop a Business Plan. You can
also link to sample Business Plans and websites enabling you to do market research (the marketing part of the
business plan is particularly important).

If you are planning to use a Business Plan to help obtain financing for a start-up business, you should be
aware that commercial lenders make their decision on whether to provide a loan primarily on the borrower's
personal credit history, and that the Business Plan plays only a minor role. These lenders also require a
borrower to provide approximately 20% to 30% of the total funds needed from their own funds - the lender
will virtually never finance 100% of the funds needed. They also generally require collateral for the loan and
your personal guarantee.

The SBA (Small Business Administration) is a loan guarantee agency of the Federal Government. They do
not make loans but rather guarantee loans made by commercial lenders and such loans have similar
requirements.

If you would like to discuss this further please either call or email me. A meeting can also be arranged. I can
generally be reached during the hours of ___________________on ___________________.

[Name:} ____________________
[Telephone:] ________________
[e-mail:] ____________________




32


b) Legal Counseling Request

Subject: Your Request to SCORE Legal Advise

My name is ________________. I am a SCORE counselor and have been asked to respond to your request.

SCORE's mission is to counsel you on your potentially exciting new venture, help you avoid pitfalls and
strive towards your success as you proceed. To aid in your orientation SCORE provides reasonably priced
monthly Small Business Orientation Workshops that are not required for you to receive no cost SCORE
counseling, but help accelerate the process of giving you the knowledge base you need for operating your
own small business.

You can learn more about these Workshops at: http://scorepittsburgh.org/workshop.html .

A SCORE Counselor, whether by profession an attorney or not, may discuss matters with you generally, but
may not practice law or give you legal advice, and must refer you to legal counsel of your choice on
legal matters. No one attorney is knowledgeable in all areas of the law, so you must be careful to select a
lawyer or lawyers knowledgeable in your particular area(s) of concern.

If you can not locate an attorney by other means,, through the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA)
Lawyer Referral Service, you can be referred to an attorney or attorneys practicing in the field(s) you desire
counseling.

There is a Referral Service fee that has been $25.00 (which is not a fee to the attorney), which entitles your
to up to 30 minutes of consultation with that attorney. Anything above and beyond this is then between you
and the attorney, and at the attorney's normal rate or a rate you negotiate. You are under no obligation to
hire/retain this attorney, nor the attorney to take the matter/case.

If you are interested in obtaining such legal referral you may call the ACBA Lawyer Referral Service office
Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm at (412) 261-5555, and speak with the Referral Service operator.

Please feel free to contact me if you desire to discuss matters generally, by either calling or emailing me. A
meeting can also be arranged. I can generally be reached during the hours of ___________________on
___________________.

[Name:} ____________________
[Telephone:] ________________
[e-mail:] ____________________











33

c) Introductory Letter

Subject: Your Request to SCORE for Counseling

My name is ________________. I am a SCORE counselor and have been asked to respond to your request.

SCORE's mission is to counsel you on your potentially exciting new venture, help you avoid pitfalls and
strive towards your success as you proceed. To better serve you, before we discuss your business venture, it
would be best if we had the information requested in the attached SCORE Background Information
Questionnaire. Please e-mail your responses to the attached Questionnaire to my attention at your earliest
convenience.

Also, are you aware of SCORE's monthly reasonably priced Small Business Orientation Workshops that are
not required for SCORE counseling, but aid in your orientation and help accelerate the process of giving you
the knowledge base you need for operating your own small business? You may want to attend one before we
meet.

Visit http://scorepittsburgh.org/workshop.html to learn more about these Workshops.

If you would like to discuss this further please either call or email me. A meeting can also be arranged. I can
generally be reached during the hours of ___________________on ___________________.

[Name:} ____________________
[Telephone:] ________________
[e-mail:] ____________________



d) SCORE Background Information Questionnaire
SCORE Background Information

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________

Address ________________________________________________________________

Home Phone ______________ Cell Phone ____________ Work Phone _____________

Email __________________________________________________________________


In order to best support you and to facilitate our first meeting, we need more information
about you and your business ideas. Please answer, to the best of your ability and to the
extent pertinent to your business, as many of the following questions as you can.

This is not a quiz; it is to help us help you!


1. Have you already started this business? ______ Yes; ______ No.



34
If yes, please mentally revise these questions, if necessary, and answer accordingly.


2. Briefly describe your business/business idea. ________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. Do you have/ have you consulted on this business idea with any of the following:
Governmental/Academic/Non-Profit Business Advisor(s): ____ Yes; ____ No.
If yes, name(s): _________________________________________________________
Attorney ---- Have: ____ Yes; ____ No. Have consulted with: ____ Yes; ____ No.
Accountant - Have: ____ Yes; ____ No. Have consulted with: ____ Yes; ____ No.
Banker ------ Have: ____ Yes; ____ No. Have consulted with: ____ Yes; ____ No.

4. Please describe any business education and experience that you have had.__________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5. Why are you interested in this type of business? ______________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

6. What legal form of ownership does/will this business have? ____________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

7. Do you/are you planning to have co-owner(s)/partner(s)? ______ Yes; ______ No.
If yes, what qualifications, skills and resources will he/she/they bring to the venture?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________



35
8. What are your short-term goals? ___________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

9. At the end of 5 years, what would you like to accomplish with this business? _______
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

10. Have you chosen a location for this business? ______ Yes; ______ No.

If yes describe its advantages/disadvantages; if no describe your ideal location. ____
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

11. Have you/are you planning to hire employees? ______ Yes; ______ No.
If yes, how many and what qualifications are you looking for? ___________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

12. Do you have an estimate of your one-time start-up costs? ______ Yes; ______ No.
If yes, please describe. ___________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

13. How much cash do you and/or your partners have to invest in this business? _______


36
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

14. Have you/do you intend to apply for a loan? ______ Yes; ______ No.
If yes, how much and what collateral do you have? ____________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

15. Approximate/estimate your monthly cost of sales and operating expenses. ________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
___ Can not do so yet.

16. Project/estimate your monthly sales. ______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
___ Can not do so yet.
17. Are you aware of SCOREs monthly reasonably priced Small Business Orientation
Workshops that are not required for SCORE counseling, but help accelerate the process of
giving you the knowledge base you need for operating your own small business?
_____ Yes; _____ No; _____ I have already attended.
_____ I am going to http://scorepittsburgh.org/workshop.html to find out more.
18. Next Step:
______ I will contact you for SCORE counseling after attending the SCORE Workshop.
______ Contact me at ______________________ to start SCORE Counseling now.

Thank You


37
And there are kind words:

National SCORE Chief Operating Officer:

From: Dr. Devin Jopp <devin.jopp@score.org>
To: bjlipson <bjlipson@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Subject: SCOREPittsburgh Chair's Final Column

Well put Barry very well put!

Thank you for all of your leadership and dedication Barry.

SCORE is built on leaders like you.

Best Regards,
Devin

Dr. Devin Jopp, Devin.Jopp@score.org
Chief Operating Officer
SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business"

Phone: 1-800/634-0245; Fax: 703/487-3066
www.score.org and www.score.org/women
http://askanexpert.score.org and http://womensblog.score.org
http://twitter.com/scorementors

SCORE District Director:

From: Dave Seyboldt <dave@erietel.com>
To: bjlipson <bjlipson@gmail.com>,
"W. Kenneth Yancey, Jr." <kenneth.yancey@score.org>,
"Dr. Devin Jopp" <devin.jopp@score.org>
Date: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 1:28 PM
Subject: SCOREPittsburgh Chair's Final Column

Barry

Nice job with the column.

I have always looked forward to reading your material; never quite
sure what will be found.

Thanks for all of your good work. I believe that you have done a very
good job, and moved ahead to address the issues, most of which you
mention.

I personally appreciate your contributions and your dedication.

I also know that Steve will continue to need assistance as he takes over
from you. -- Thanks again.

Dave Seyboldt