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Garden Glove Design, Harriet Zbikowski
Harriet’s SCORE mentor worked with the Westchester business to update its business plan. Obtaining financing for small businesses is always challenging. SCORE was able to help Harriet’s team obtain an S.B.A. guaranteed loan to finance their relocation to their own building in Beacon, N.Y.
From Start-Up to Success
It all started when Harriet Zbikowski’s gloves didn’t fit. Harriet is a landscape architect and horticulturist. She was frustrated with gardening gloves that were too big and bulky. Even worse, conventional garden gloves wore out too quickly. Necessity is the mother of invention, and after much research, Harriet designed her own snug-fitting durable garden gloves. They look and feel great, and they’re made to last.
The next step? Harriet needed to bring her product to market.
SCORE Westchester: Success That Fits Like A Glove
Harriet realized she needed professional guidance to assure the future of her Westchester-based business, so she came to SCORE Westchester. Here at SCORE Westchester, we try to pair our clients with a small business coach who has experience in a similar business or industry. The “fit” here was very unique – a perfect pairing!
Harriet’s small business coach had been a highly successful manufacturer and retailer of gloves. With his assistance, Harriet and her business partner Chance O’Connor developed a detailed business plan. Working with SCORE Westchester, Harriet and Chance set up a website and arranged for a toll-free phone number.
Their small business coach served as their close-contact mentor through the first few years of Foxgloves’ operation.
As Foxgloves grew, Harriet’s SCORE mentor worked with the Westchester business to update its business plan. Obtaining financing for small businesses is always challenging. SCORE was able to help Harriet’s team obtain an S.B.A. guaranteed loan to finance their relocation to their own building in Beacon, N.Y.
Harriet Zbikowski of Foxgloves, Inc. says SCORE Westchester is “an excellent resource with dynamic people who want to help. They offer a great mentoring program.”
