Cape Cod Times Article: Celebrating businesses on Cape & Islands
YARMOUTH — What do a financial planning firm, a media publication and a center for training and education have in common?
The two businesses and one nonprofit were recently recognized by SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands for general excellence in 2022.
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a national nonprofit whose members provide mentoring, consultation and advice to business owners. SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands has been helping local businesses for 29 years.
More than 50 volunteer mentors have worked with more than 900 businesses this year alone, according to SCORE mentor Marc Goldberg. SCORE's Cape chapter collaborates with chambers of commerce to offer workshops co-hosted by Coastal Community Capital through a grant from the Cape Cod 5 Foundation.
What stood out about these three businesses
Beacon Financial Planning Inc., Cape and Plymouth Business Media, and Martha’s Vineyard Center for Education and Training are this year’s SCORE winners. Beacon was voted Best Small Business of 2022. Cape and Plymouth Business Media got the nod for Small Business Champion, and the Martha’s Vineyard Center was voted Non-Profit of the Year.
The awards are a way to let the community know that small businesses matter, Goldberg said.
“The community should value their small businesses, especially those that survived their first three to five years,” he said. “They hire employees. They’re profitable. And they are contributing to the community by being part of the community, not just as a business.”
There are 33.2 million small businesses in the U.S., according to the Small Business Administration. The Administration defines small businesses as firms with fewer than 500 employees. They make up more than 99% of all U.S. businesses and have accounted for 65% of new job creation since 2000.
The Cape and Islands have 8,679 small businesses operating, according to a 2020 report from the Cape Cod Commission. Michaela Herlihy, president and CCO of Beacon Financial Planning, considers small businesses the backbone of Cape Cod.
"Anytime you look at who sponsored the Little League jersey or gave a donation for whatever is going on in the community, its usually those small business owners,” she said. “Small businesses care about the community, but in return the community really cares about the small business. They take the idea of shopping local seriously. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”
Herlihy calls the award her company received a way for an all-female owned and operated financial planning firm to be recognized in an area that is normally male dominated. And the fact that the award highlights the business, rather than in individual, is an indication of the strong teamwork Beacon offers, she said.
The three SCORE winners joined 17 other Cape businesses in a breakfast ceremony on Oct. 26 that recognized their general business excellence.
Article Written by Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times
Published 4:50am ET Oct. 30, 2022