So, you want to start your own business in Austin, but you aren't really sure what you need to do.

Or perhaps you already own a business here and are having some problems, and you don't know how to cope with them.

In either case, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) of Austin can help.

The organization, which is sponsored by the small business administration, consists of 10 retired business people who counsel people who either want to start their own business or people who already have their own business but are having problems. Since the group started in 1978, they've assisted more than 600 businesses or people wanting to start a business.

"We try to give them direction if it is asked for. We don't tell anyone what to do, we let them make their own decisions," says Roger Svejkovsky, a SCORE counselor who owned and operated a jewelry store in Austin for 34 years. "We make a lot of suggestions, but give very few orders. If we think the client is going in the wrong direction, we'll tell them, but they're free to do whatever they want."

"People come to us because they've gotten behind in their taxes and they don't know what to do or they have all these bills piled up and they don't know what to do," he said. "We try to steer them around the pitfalls."

"A big percentage want to know how to get started," said Dewey Noel, secretary of SCORE and retired district manager for the United Builders Center.

No matter what reason you have for contacting SCORE, everything discussed during a counseling session is confidential, including your business' name.

However, you can't get help with out first turning in an application, which are available at the Chamber of Commerce. Once your application clears, a member of SCORE will contact you and set up an appointment for a counseling session.

Not only does SCORE offer counseling from business people of very diverse backgrounds, but all their services are free. Even an hour of counseling from SCORE would equate to a fee of $100 somewhere else, Noel said.

In addition to wanting to assist businesses or help prospective business people, SCORE is always looking for more counselors. "At one time, we have probably 20 counselors," Noel said. "We had a couple of female counselors at one point, but now we don't have any. We're not about having a retired lady join us. We would encourage it. We're always open to volunteers."

The process for becoming a counselor also involves picking up an application from the Chamber of Commerce. Once the application is submitted, it is sent to the district office in Rochester, then to the national office in Washington, D.C. If it is approved, the new counselor shadows an experienced one until the new volunteer has enough experience.

The group meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month at the Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call the Chamber at 437-4561.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto: amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com