

BY TASHA CUNNINGHAM
Special to the Miami Herald
When most people think about the auto repair industry, they think about men poking around under the hood to diagnose the problem. It’s not a field that typically attracts women. But Margarita Hernández and her daughter aren’t your typical women. A strong connection to Cuba and a passion for classic cars from the 1950s led Hernández and her daughter, Cristina, to becoming owners of a 77-year-old auto repair shop in the heart of Little Havana.
“It all started with my father, José, in 1938,” Hernández said. “He owned a popular chain of car dealerships called Cadena Automovilista in Cuba.”
But that changed in 1961 when Hernández and her family fled Cuba.
“We left everything behind to come to Miami,” Hernández said. “It was a very difficult time for many in Cuba looking to flee a communist regime.”
When Hernández’s family came to Miami in 1961, her father was able to gather enough money to open AAA Million Auto Parts in Little Havana.
“When my dad opened the business here, it was very small and most of our business came in through word-of-mouth,” Hernández said. “He grew the business over the years, and when he passed away 10 years ago, he left it to me and my daughter.”
For Hernández, the prospect of owning an auto repair shop wasn’t daunting.
“I grew up in the auto parts business,” she said. “In fact, when my father passed away my daughter and I had been working for the business for years, so we knew the ins and outs of it.”
What Hernández didn’t know, however, was how to market the business and increase sales.
“We were so used to do business the old-fashioned way,” Hernández said. “But we knew we had to modernize our marketing to grow.”
To find answers, Hernández turned to the Miami Herald for a Small Business Makeover to help them determine how to incorporate social media, email marketing and take advantage of government contracting opportunities. The Herald, in turn, brought in Miami SCORE, a national nonprofit organization of retired volunteers who have been successful entrepreneurs and built thriving businesses. SCORE volunteers use their entrepreneurial skills and offer mentoring services to small business owners free of charge. SCORE identified three counselors to help AAA Million Auto Parts.
The SCORE team included Orlando Espinosa, co-founder of Emineo Media, who has more than 25 years of experience in branding and social media. He has also led training programs for entrepreneurs both in the United States and abroad. Althea Harris is the Assistant District Director for Marketing and Outreach for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Area 1 in Miami. She has more than 20 years of experience and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce. She assists small businesses looking for ways to take advantage of government contracting. Julio Canas is the business development director for Harbor Ithaka Wealth Management. Canas previously worked in banking for Banvalor Banco Comercial in Caracas, Venezuela. He has more than 10 years of experience in banking and business development. Raju Mohandas serves as a senior business consultant for International Services Inc., where he advises companies on how to grow their businesses through strategic planning and financing. He has moer than 30 years of experience in sales and marketing, operations and finance. Mohandas has successfully restructured and helped small businesses obtain capital for their assets and operational needs.
After working with AAA Million Auto Parts for three weeks, the counselors identified several major areas for improvement. First, the company needed to focus on its website and bolstering its online presence, particularly in terms of search engine optimization. Another issue was the company’s need for a business plan. The company also wanted help to understand what opportunities were in available in government contracting through the SBA and how to automate their business operations in an effort to maximize profit.
The counselors agreed that Hernández needed to first concentrate on the company’s website and improving its online presence. The counselors felt that developing a business plan focused on growth and taking advantage of SBA government contracting programs will help the company achieve increased sales. To accomplish these goals, the SCORE team had the following advice to offer:
Revamp the website: “This is key area for the company to focus on,” Espinosa said. “Right now, their website is pretty basic. They need to almost immediately revamp the site, optimize it for mobile devices and for search engine optimization.”
Espinosa recommended rolling out the new website in the next 60 days.
“For the company to achieve their goals and get into government contracting, they need a website that is well-organized and easy to navigate.” Espinosa said. “The company needs to view their website as a sort of digital business card. It’s where potential customers and government entities will go to learn about the company and decide whether to do business with them.”
Create a business plan: “Because the business has been around for so long, having a formal written business plan was not a priority,” Mohandas said. “But in order to grow and move toward modernization, it’s important for the company to create a business map that will be their road map to achieving the goals set forth by the owners.”
Mohandas recommended focusing on the things the company does and realizing what they don’t do.
“You can’t be all things to all people,” Mohandas said. “It’s important for this business to focus on their strengths — unique and antique auto parts for classic cars. That’s what makes them different.”
But Hernández disagrees.
“We do focus on the antique auto parts, but we also repair modern cars every day,” Hernandez said. “So we want to continue focusing on that and making sure our services are affordable.”
Mohandas also recommended looking for potential customers outside of the immediate area of the business.
“I suggest looking for new clients outside of the shop,” Mohandas said. “Research online for antique car dealers, collectors and others looking for parts. They don’t have to only sell to the public, they can also sell to the trade. The key focus is to increase their sales margins.”
Explore government contracting: Harris worked with the company to help them understand how government contracting works and the opportunities offered by the SBA. Harris recommended that the company register as a woman-owned business in the SBA contracting program and to get their 8a certification. Harris is also working with the company to determine whether they are eligible for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program, which helps small businesses in urban communities gain preferred access to federal procurement opportunities.
“These certifications will give the business several advantages in the $500 billion federal marketplace,” Harris said. “It will also make them attractive to large government suppliers who are required to subcontract to small business.”
Harris recommended that the company ask for introductions and referrals to federal buyers looking for auto parts or other related commodities.
Consider automating business processes: Canas recommended that the company look at areas where they can automate business processes.
“The company is using Quickbooks software for their accounting,” Canas said. “But they need to take a hard look at the business and see what other functions lend themselves to automation such as inventory and orders.
Canas also suggested reviewing their pricing model to ensure competitiveness.
“The way I see it,” said Canas. “Big competitors like Advanced Auto Parts and Auto Zone have made this business a commodity. When this happens, the only dimension of competition is price.”
With an annual revenue of $250K to $500K, Canas pointed out that the company does well for a small business, but there is room for growth.
Hernandez was grateful for the advice of the SCORE counselors.
“We always knew that we had to move toward modern times and increase our marketing,” Hernández said. “Thanks to the counselors at SCORE, we are well on our way.
THE MAKEOVER
The business: AAA Million Auto Parts has been in business for 77 years. The company was established in Cuba in 1938 by José R. Hernández. In 2005, Hernández passed away and his daughter, Margarita Hernández, and granddaughter, Cristina, took over the business, which provides auto repair services. The firm also offers a selection of rare parts for classic cars from the 1950s and ’60s.
The challenge: Modernizing the company’s marketing efforts to increase business sales
The experts: SCORE Miami-Dade counselor Orlando Espinosa, co-founder of Emineo Media, has more than 25 years of experience in branding and social media. Althea Harris is the Assistant District Director for Marketing and Outreach for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Area 1 in Miami. She is an expert in government contracting and has worked in the industry since 1993. Julio Canas is the business development director for Harbor Ithaka Wealth Management. He has worked in wealth and asset management for more than 10 years.
The makeover: In just under three weeks, the SCORE team developed a solid marketing strategy for AAA Million Auto Parks. They walked the owner and her daughter through strategies for improving their social media presence, automating their business processes and updating their website.
ABOUT SCORE
Based in Washington, D.C., SCORE is a nonprofit with more than 12,000 volunteers working out of about 400 chapters around the country offering free counseling to small businesses. There are seven chapters on Florida’s east coast, including SCORE Miami-Dade, with more than 90 volunteer counselors.
Counselors from SCORE Miami-Dade meet with small business owners and offer free one-on-one counseling, as well as dozens of low-cost workshops, such as “Leasing: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt Your Business” on Thursday or “Building and Funding Your Business Plan” on Saturday. To register or see more, click on “Local Workshops” on miamidade.score.org.
To volunteer or learn more about SCORE, go to www.score.org or www.miamidade.score.org
How to apply for a makeover
Business Monday’s Small Business Makeovers focus on a particular aspect of a business that needs help. Experts in the community will provide the advice. The makeover is open to full-time businesses in Miami-Dade or Broward counties open at least two years. Email your request to rclarke@miamiherald.com and put “Makeover” in the subject line.
A call for nominations
The SCORE MBL Awards provides a platform to celebrate the achievements and entrepreneurial spirit of Miami’s businesses and organizations. Nominations are now open and can be submitted by anyone by Aug7: employees of the business, business associates, friends, family, clients or customers. Awards will be presented at the 2015 SCORE Miami Business & Leadership Awards on Oct.15.
For a list of award categories, please go to miamidade.score.org/localworkshops/2015-score-miami-business-leadership-awards.
Margarita Hernandez’ AAA Million Auto Parts, Inc. PATRICK FARRELL – MIAMI HERALD STAFF


Margarita Hernández, right, owner of AAA Million Auto Parts, and daughter Cristina Hernandez in July. SCORE counselors spent three weeks at the Little Havana company. PATRICK FARRELL pfarrell@miamiherald.com
BY TASHA CUNNINGHAM
Special to the Miami Herald
In 2015, Miami Herald makeovers gave small business owners across Miami-Dade County the opportunity to work, free of charge, with retired business experts to make their companies better. The Herald partnered with certified counselors from the Miami-Dade Chapter of SCORE, a nonprofit organization of volunteers who have been successful entrepreneurs. SCORE volunteer counselors use their experience and expertise in business to offer free mentoring services that help small businesses grow, improve and succeed. For each makeover, SCORE put together a team to dispense advice and assistance that helped small businesses like AAA Million Auto Parts in Little Havana, A-KiD’s Party Express in Hialeah and C.S. Orchids in Miami to develop comprehensive business plans, embrace social media and find new ways to engage their customers.
Recently, the Herald sat down with Orlando Espinosa of SCORE to take a look back at how a few of these small businesses that received a makeover in 2015 are doing today.
A-KiD’s Party Express
Back in March, SCORE counselors Doug Shavel, CEO of Galante Studio Distribution; Jorge Gonzalez, founder and principal of Vermis Analytics; and Senen Garcia, a Miami-based attorney, helped Daniel Guzmán and Isabel Arias, owners of A-KiD’s Party Express in Hialeah.
As often happens with small businesses, the owners do multiple jobs within the company. Guzmán and Arias were no different. They were so busy running the business day-to-day that marketing often fell by the wayside. They purchased the company from its previous owners in 2004 and never looked back. The SCORE team recommended that Guzmán and Arias use social media to market their business. The team advised Guzmán and Arias to create a Facebook page and to get a Twitter account. They showed Guzmán and Arias how easy it is to use these free options to reach out to customers. The team also suggested that Guzmán and Arias revamp their website and enable online payments.
Although the business had been around for over 25 years, Garcia also recommended a name change to take advantage of the history of the old name, A-KiD’s Party Express, while introducing a new one. Garcia recommended rolling out the name as a new division of the company as this would enable a slow transition out of the old name while building the brand of the new one. Guzmán and Arias were hesitant about changing the name and weren’t committed to doing it.
“This business is a great story of what you accomplish when you buy a company from someone else,” Espinosa said. “They have revenue between $500K to $1 million annually and that is due to their hard work. With the SCORE counselors as part of their team, Mr. Guzmán and Ms. Arias were able to get a clear picture of what they needed to do to grow their company and promote it using social media, which is relatively cheap to do.”
At their first meeting with SCORE, Guzmán and Arias admitted that they did almost everything related to their business, which was tough. After talking with the counselors, they both realized that social media would be a great way to get their business out there without incurring much cost.
As a result of working with SCORE, Guzmán and Arias created a Facebook page and integrated their existing website with PayPal to take online payments. They did not, however, change the name of the company.
AAA MILLION AUTO PARTS
In July, SCORE counselors spent three weeks working with Margarita Hernández and her daughter Cristina, owners of AAA Million Auto Parts in Little Havana. The SCORE team included Espinosa; Althea Harris, assistant district director for Marketing and Outreach for the Small Business Administration Area 1 in Miami; Julio Canas, business development director for Harbor Ithaka Wealth Management; and Raju Mohandas, senior business consultant for International Services Inc.
Hernández was tasked with accomplishing three key things to grow her business: revamp her website; create a business plan; and consider automating the manual processes that were consuming a great deal of her time.
“With Margarita, we were able to take someone who had an interesting business with a long history that began in Cuba and work with her to do the things that were needed to see real future growth in her company,” Espinosa said.
Today, nearly five months later, Hernández has taken the SCORE counselors’ advice and is working with the team to implement their suggestions.
“We are helping Margarita develop a new brand identity and a new business plan that serve as a road map for her in the future,” Espinosa said. “We are also working on a new logo, a new website and delegating the work that is involved with running the company day-to-day so that she can concentrate on marketing her business.”
“Working with SCORE has been an amazing experience,” Hernández said. “The caliber of experts that small business owners get to work with is excellent.”
C.S. ORCHIDS
In September, SCORE worked with Carmen and Carlos Segrera, owners of C.S. Orchids in Miami. When they contacted the Miami Herald for a makeover, the Segreras were looking to expand their company, which offers a variety of services including custom arrangements that can be purchased or leased and maintenance of private orchid collections. They also wanted advice on how to develop a business plan, use social media to engage their customers on a consistent basis and apply for government grants and contracts.
The SCORE team for this makeover included Sandi Abbott, the owner of Xpresso Content Café, a digital marketing agency that specializes in helping small businesses grow their sales and referral network by using the latest online marketing tools; Lorinda Gonzalez, a grant writer and owner of Grant Ink, a firm that provides clients with access to quality grant-writing services; and Sam Shirley, an associate with Prudential who has worked in the financial sector for major banks including Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
“It was great working with the Segreras,” Espinosa said. “The SCORE team is working with them on improving their cash flow so that they can expand in the future. We’re also helping them apply for grants and identify opportunities for government contracting.”
Now, anyone interested in orchids can check out the company on Facebook. “The Segreras were able to get their Facebook page going quickly,” Espinosa said. “We helped them with a content strategy and they have been posting on a consistent basis, which has resulted in an increase in followers for them.”
WHAT’S AHEAD?
For his part, Espinosa is looking to seeing what the 2015 class of makeovers will accomplish in the future.
“It’s exciting to see these companies take the advice they’ve been given and run with it,” Espinosa said. “What’s great about SCORE is that businesses don’t just get advice, they get a partner. Our counselors are with the business owners every step of the way, offering guidance and support.”
ABOUT SCORE
Based in Washington, D.C., SCORE is a nonprofit with more than 12,000 volunteers working out of about 400 chapters around the country offering free counseling to small businesses. There are seven chapters on Florida’s east coast, including SCORE Miami-Dade, with more than 90 volunteer counselors. Counselors from SCORE Miami-Dade meet with small business owners and offer free one-on-one counseling as well as dozens of low-cost workshops. SCORE Miami-Dade also offers a Season Pass, which includes the opportunity to attend an unlimited number of workshops during the year. To register or learn more, click on “Local Workshops” on miamidade.score.org. To volunteer or learn more about SCORE, go to www.score.org or www.miamidade.score.org.
How to apply for a makeover
Business Monday’s Small Business Makeovers focus on a particular aspect of a business that needs help. Experts in the community will provide the advice. The makeover is open to full-time businesses in Miami-Dade or Broward counties open at least two years. Email your request rclarke@miamiherald.com and put “Makeover” in the subject line.
A call for nominations
The SCORE MBL Awards provides a platform to celebrate the achievements and entrepreneurial spirit of Miami’s businesses and organizations. Nominations are now open and can be submitted by anyone by Aug7: employees of the business, business associates, friends, family, clients or customers. Awards will be presented at the 2015 SCORE Miami Business & Leadership Awards on Oct.15.
For a list of award categories, please go to miamidade.score.org/localworkshops/2015-score-miami-business-leadership-awards.
Carlos and Carmen Segrera took their hobby and turned it into an orchid business called C.S. Orchids. PATRICK FARRELL pfarrell@miamiherald.com


From left: Alvin Hayes from SCORE Miami-Dade, Raju Mohandas from SCORE Miami-Dade (seated), Alex Varela, and Nikki Howard, bookeeper of Alex Electric in Hialeah. Hector Gabino hgabino@elnuevoherald.com
BY TASHA CUNNINGHAM
Special to the Miami Herald
A passion for tinkering with electronics as a young boy and a stint in the Marine Corps Reserve as a teen paved the way for Alex Varela to own a small business as an adult. Varela, who was born and raised in Miami Springs, always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but he knew early on that it wasn’t going to be easy to accomplish.
“Being a small business owner really is a 24-hour job. It consumes all of you,” Varela said. “I saw that firsthand growing up when my dad, Emilio, had his own business working as an accountant,” he said. “There were definitely struggles along the way, but my dad worked hard and became successful in his business. He inspired me, and I knew that no matter how hard it was, I wanted to do it, too.”
When he was 19, Varela joined the Marine Corps Reserve and served for six years. During that time, he worked as a technician repairing small missiles. It was an intricate job that required discipline and attention to detail, both of which would serve Varela well on the road to owning a small business. But Varela didn’t jump right into entrepreneurship when he left the Marines. Instead, he started working on construction sites in Miami fixing computer equipment and machines. Varela knew that he loved electronics, but he wasn’t as confident about his skills as an entrepreneur.
“I needed to see what being an entrepreneur was like,” Varela said. “I wanted to know what running a business would entail and whether it was something I would really like doing before I made the leap to actually owning one.”
Varela wasn’t an employee for long. Just shy of a year of working for someone else, Varela decided to strike out on his own in 1991. He opened Alex Electric Services in Hialeah the same year. The company provides a range of services from repairing consumer products to installing and repairing electrical systems for buildings and homes.
“Back then, I really didn’t know how I was going to grow a business,” Varela said. “But I knew that I was good at what I did and that I was born and raised here.” He took a grassroots approach to getting the word out about his new company. “Early on, we got a lot of referrals through friends and family,” he said.
As a graduate of La Salle High School in Miami, he had quite a few friends in the area who eventually became his repeat customers. The clients at his father’s accounting firm were also good customers.
Business boomed for a long time, according to Varela. But in 2008, at the start of the economic downtown, Alex Electric Services took a hit financially. “It was a rough time,” he said. “But I didn’t want to lay people off.”
So Varela began pouring his own money into the business to keep it afloat. The economy improved, and the business eventually recovered, thanks in part to his decision to expand into commercial and industrial projects.
Today, he has 14 full-time employees and one who works part time. He owns five trucks that electricians take on service calls. And, according to Varela, the business is profitable.
While many small businesses need help with marketing or customer relations, Varela has an entirely different problem: His business can’t run without him.
Varela, who is married and has two children, wanted to be less hands-on with the day-to-day business and spend more time with his family and on increasing sales of commercial accounts. But to do that, he would need to structure a solid management team and streamline existing processes for things like invoicing and record-keeping.
To get help, Varela turned to the Miami Herald for a Small Business Makeover to help him find the best way to achieve his goals. The Herald, in turn, brought in SCORE Miami, a chapter of the national nonprofit organization of retired volunteers who have been successful entrepreneurs and built thriving businesses. SCORE volunteers use their entrepreneurial skills and offer mentoring services to small-business owners for free.
The SCORE team included Rosa Arboleya, owner of Perpetual Message, a Miami-based design studio. Arboleya has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, Web and graphic design. Alvin Hayes is SCORE Miami’s director of development and has built a long career in sales with companies like Robert Half International and the Kelley Law Registry. He recently was chairman of the 2015 SCORE Miami Business Leadership Awards. Raju Mohandas owns BridgePoint Financial Group. For the past decade, he has worked with small-business owners to obtain financing. He helps businesses restructure and obtain working capital. He recently was named SCORE Miami’s volunteer of the year.
After working with Alex Electric Services for about three weeks, the counselors put the company on the road to running efficiently without Varela at the helm day-to-day. The counselors agreed that Varela had to focus on finding ways to get things running more efficiently by identifying staff members who could manage the process. To accomplish these goals, the counselors recommended the following:
• Delegate nonessential administrative tasks: “In this business, Mr. Varela is very hands-on,” Hayes said. “He needs to delete some of his nonessential tasks that are administrative in nature. I suggest that he create a list of the things he does in a day and determine what can be delegated to someone else.”
Varela agreed. “I’ve been so involved in the day-to-day running of this business that it’s difficult to transition away from it,” he said. “But I need to do it because I need to be focused on the bigger picture in terms of sales and on quality time with my wife and two great kids.”
“To increase sales, the company needs to focus on developing a solid sales team,” Hayes said. “Mr. Varela can’t do it on his own. He needs to identify the people in the company that can lead by taking on core managerial tasks.”
To further streamline sales-related processes, Hayes recommended that the company create a contract or estimate agreement for both commercial and residential customers. “Because the company services two distinct sectors, there needs to be agreements in place that take into account the specific needs of each type of customer,” Hayes said.
Mohandas agreed. “When you’re looking at how to improve efficiency, it’s important to examine where you are today,” he said. “Mr. Varela has two key goals in mind, but he needs to put the procedures into place to support what he’s trying to do.”
Hayes recommends developing a procedure manual for office staff and electricians. “Every employee should have input into what goes into the manual,” he said. “The company’s staff does the work every day and have valuable insight into what can be done to improve the system.”
Mohandas recommends making improvements to the system for collecting payment from customers. “Right now, residential clients are on the same billing cycle as commercial customers,” he said. “The company needs to collect payment on residential jobs as soon as the work is complete. Otherwise, they’re waiting three to four weeks to collect on residential jobs. The business reported that their average residential sale is around $600.”
Varela noted that he spent a lot of time doing things the old-fashioned way. After working with the SCORE counselors, he recognized that one aspect of the business he could improve right away is the way he collected invoices.
“I have five trucks,” Varela said. “Each truck does about five calls or so per day, which means five invoices to process per truck. We don’t take credit cards out in the field, so my staff is spending time manually producing invoices. Or if a customer wants to use a credit card, the electricians have to call the office to process a transaction over the phone.”
Hayes recommended using a mobile service like Square to process credit-card transactions in the field.
• Implement procedures and protocols to improve inventory control: Mohandas recommended that the company take a hard look at its inventory control procedures to reduce loss.
“Right now, Mr. Varela doesn’t know about every item that goes into each one of his five trucks,” Mohandas said. “He needs to review and manage the inventory by standardizing and limiting the inventory that goes into the truck.”
Mohandas also encouraged Varela to stop using debit cards to make purchases while on a job.
“They need to plan ahead of time the possible parts needed before a job is going out to be executed,” Mohandas said. “This would reduce and possible eliminate the use of debit cards for the purchase of parts and equipment. I would recommend getting some job costing software in place to help the company plan purchases ahead of time.”
Mohandas was confident that by making the recommended changes, it would help the company streamline the purchasing process: “Presently he needs to get control of his business so that he can put the people and tools in place to run it instead of the current status where the business is running him.”
• Move beyond word-of-mouth marketing: While Alex Electric Services relied primarily on word-of-mouth to drive sales, Arboleya recommended taking the company’s Facebook page — which had just three likes — and concentrating on building a following of existing customers. “It’s not just Facebook,” she said. “Across the board, the company needs to devote time to growing their social-media platforms.”
This is an area where Varela admitted that he has not had much time to explore. “As the SCORE counselors saw from our Facebook page, we weren’t really putting much effort into social media,” Varela said. “That’s another reason why we sought the help of SCORE — to help us find the right direction.”
Arboleya also recommended developing email campaigns for discounts and promotions that are sent to customers using a free service like MailChimp. “It’s free to send to a list of 2,000 names,” she said. “It’s a free way to get your feet wet. You can also segment your contact list into commercial and residential subscribers for more targeted campaigns.”
Arboleya encouraged Varela to create a branded email newsletter. “Ask all clients, vendors and professionals you meet to join your newsletter,” she said. “To grow your business, it is important to always stay top of mind. Structured emails with informative content is a perfect, inexpensive way to do so. Collect as many email addresses as you can and send out at least one email every two to three weeks with helpful and interesting industry content.”
Timing of the newsletter and its content are key. “Scheduling biweekly or monthly emails keeps you in contact with clients and potential new ones,” Arboleya said. “Newsletter content should be 80 percent useful information and 20 percent specials, discounts or services offered.”
Varela said he was committed to taking the SCORE counselors’ advice: “I learned a lot of things through this experience. I was able to work out ways to delegate and shift responsibility to people who I know can lead. I just had to change my overall approach, and the counselors really helped me with that.”
And he’s hopeful about the future. “My wife is a teacher at Coral Gables Elementary,” he said. “And I know that she is looking forward to me turning the reins over to others so that I can spend more time with my family.”
Tasha Cunningham can be reached at Tasha.Cunningham@cg.mgs.com.
THE MAKEOVER
The business: Alex Electric Services has been in business for nearly 25 years and is located at 2245 W 10th Court, Hialeah, FL 33010. The company was established in 1991 by Alex Varela. The company specializes in providing electrical services to residents and commercial structures.
The challenge: Finding ways to streamline internal processes so that the company’s owner, Alex Varela, could get out of running the business day-to-day and spend more time with his family.
The experts: Rosi Arboleya is the owner of Perpetual Message, a Miami-based design studio. Alvin Hayes is SCORE Miami’s director of development. Raju Mohandas is the owner of BridgePoint Financial Group. He helps businesses restructure and obtain working capital. He was recently named SCORE Miami’s Volunteer of the Year.
The makeover: In just under three weeks, the SCORE team identified several ways to help the company streamline its processes and run it more efficiently. They worked with the owner, Alex Varela, to implement strategies and restructure the way the company runs.
ABOUT SCORE
Based in Washington, D.C., SCORE is a nonprofit with more than 12,000 volunteers working out of about 400 chapters around the country offering free counseling to small businesses. There are seven chapters on Florida’s east coast, including SCORE Miami-Dade, with more than 90 volunteer counselors.
Counselors from SCORE Miami-Dade meet with small-business owners and offer free one-on-one counseling, as well as dozens of low-cost workshops, such as ‘Leasing: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt Your Business’ on Thursday or ‘Building and Funding Your Business Plan’ on Saturday. To register or see more, click on ‘Local Workshops’ on miamidade.score.org.
• To volunteer or learn more about SCORE, visit score.org or miamidade.score.org
How to apply for a makeover
Business Monday’s Small Business Makeovers focus on a particular aspect of a business that needs help. Experts in the community will provide the advice. The makeover is open to full-time businesses in Miami-Dade or Broward counties that have been open at least two years. Email your request to rclarke@miamiherald.com and put ‘Makeover’ in the subject line.