GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Walk down Ottawa Avenue near Pearl Street in downtown Grand Rapids and you’ll notice some new signage at a local gift shop.
Periwinkle Fog , a gift shop that opened in February of 2022, installed its new signs Wednesday, spurred on by the owners’ mentor at SCORE.
SCORE, a nationwide organization that has a chapter here in Grand Rapids, offers small business owners free resources, workshops and mentorships from people with years of business experience.
Susan Coombes and Lisa Radeck co-own Periwinkle Fog. The shop offers pieces from 32 local artists — 29 of whom are women — as well as pieces from around the world, one-of-a-kind jewelry, Michigan-themed products and more.
“We’re pretty happy that the shop has been successful,” Coombes said. “We’ve made it through our first year and it’s continued to grow … and people are more and more aware of it as we move forward.”
The two women wanted to bring the store to the next level, so they turned to SCORE around the time they hit the one-year mark.
Their mentor, Robert Cribbs, had done his “due diligence” before meeting with them, Coombes said.
“He had done his research and gave us some really great tips that we’ve already acted upon and has made a difference for us,” she said.
He recommended a redesign of the website, new signage for the store and getting involved in pop-up markets.
“(SCORE) confirmed some of our suspicions,” Coombes explained. “We knew our website needed to be redesigned, but he just really confirmed that it didn’t reflect the uniqueness of the store, the dynamism of my partner, myself, and he just said, ‘You know … there’s a disconnect.’”
Cribbs also got them in contact with another SCORE volunteer, who helped them work through some software questions.
Periwinkle Fog is already starting to get more traction, Coombes said.
“We’re getting more website hits, we’re getting more traction on our social media. We just put our new sign out (Wednesday) based upon some of the advice from Robert,” she said. “So we are seeing some growth. “
Periwinkle Fog will also be at Lowell’s Flea on the Flat , its first pop-up market, after Cribbs helped them figure out how to make participating in markets feasible.
Cribbs is one of around 50 volunteers in the Grand Rapids chapter. Each mentor has extensive experience in the business world, and Chapter Chair Rob Hughes said they have a strict vetting process for mentors.
“Just because you want to volunteer for something doesn’t mean you qualify,” Hughes said. “We want to make sure that you have the passion, the gift of empathy. … Most importantly is the fact that you’ve got some business knowledge and you want to help and give back and be patient.”
Hughes started volunteering for SCORE after his retirement.
“I got a call from a business colleague after I’d retired and sold my business. ‘What are you going to do now, Rob?’ I said, ‘I don’t know yet.’ He says, ‘Have you ever heard of SCORE?’” Hughes recalled.
He said the colleague told him SCORE had helped with his business and suggested Hughes would be good at it.
“So I called and here I am eight years later and enjoying every minute of it,” he said.
SCORE has helped a variety of businesses, like Ahh! Venture Cruise, a business that just started offering private cruises along Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan. Its clients range from food trucks and a veterinarian to a leather craftswoman and a professional balloon decorator.
Some meet with a mentor just a few times, while others stay on for a while. Hughes has one client he has been mentoring for six years, he said.
“What we do best is we help small businesses thrive and survive,” Hughes said.
SCORE also helps business owners who are ready to step away create an exit strategy.
The Grand Rapids chapter was recently named the chapter of the year in its district, Hughes said.
“We are proud that … we were awarded that,” he said, adding that having their work acknowledged was gratifying.
Both Hughes and Coombes encouraged interested entrepreneurs to sign up.
“What differentiates us over a lot of other organizations in the country is that we donate our time. We don’t charge for what we do and we care,” Hughes said.
“The first six months were a huge, steep learning curve. And then working with SCORE, it helped us level out that learning curve because they were able to give us some great advice,” Coombes said.
To learn more and to sign up to be a mentor or client, go to score.org.