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Museum MasterWorks, Inc
Success Story for SCORE Richmond
Guided by 20 years of experience in the museum gift industry, Doug Kline launched his own business, Museum Masterworks Inc. (MMI), in 2006. Specializing in museum reproductions, MMI has expanded its market to include some of the most prestigious institutions in the country, including the United States Senate, Library of Congress, National Archives, Monticello, Mount Vernon, New York Times, New York Public Library, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Art Institute of Chicago. In early 2010, MMI introduced a publishing arm of the business, specializing in illustrated educational puzzles and activity books. As the number of products and clients rose, Doug turned to Richmond SCORE for guidance.
Doug met SCORE mentor Art Mattox in May 2010 and was immediately impressed by his engaging personality, professionalism, and ability to focus on the core aspects of what make businesses successful. Art immediately suggested that MMI create a business plan, a task that was made less daunting with Art’s help on many fronts. The business plan caused Doug to take a hard look at the company’s current situation as well as its plan for the future. It also led to offers from banks to open a line of credit, thus helping MMI further develop its business goals.
Art also introduced Doug to other entrepreneurs and investors via the Venture Forum, and referred an expert in search engine optimization whose advice resulted in the recently redesigned company website homepage. Through Art’s contacts with the University of Richmond School Of Law, graduate students helped, and continue to help, MMI create new contracts and advise the business on copyright, employee/employer, and other legal issues.
Museum Masterworks continues to grow as its reputation for quality workmanship generates new business referrals. The company is the sole producer of Thomas Jefferson reproduction busts for Monticello, as well as a producer of several other historic busts, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. MMI recently won the 2011 Museum Store Association Buyer’s Choice Award for its reproduction of a Pablo Picasso sculpture in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Through its publishing arm, MMI has created custom books for the U.S. Senate, the MFA, Boston, the JFK Presidential Library, the Ellis Island – Statue of Liberty National Monument, and other sites. Also open-line books that can be found at several presidential libraries, museums, and national park sites. With Doug’s experience, a team of dedicated employees, and SCORE’s guidance, Museum Masterworks is poised, equipped, and ready for continual growth. Of SCORE, Doug says, “I couldn’t be happier about the progress my company has made since working with SCORE. Anyone looking to start or expand a small business should take full advantage of this organization.”
Dabney Properties Meet Slayton Dabney, President of Dabney Properties www.dabneyproperties.com, a corporate housing firm he started about four years ago. His niche is satisfying folks in need of upscale temporary housing. His clients include individuals on temporary business assignments and those who have their job relocated. Also, people displaced due to a property insurance loss, and Virginia legislators while the General Assembly is in session.
Tots on The Go Meet Ellie Venafro, wife and mother of two young boys, and “mompreneur” of Tots On The Go. A business that rents high quality strollers, car seats, cribs and other child care products, for example, to a visiting parent or grand parent who needs these items for a short stay in the area. The idea for the business model is a consequence of her own real world experiences traveling with small children.
WSI - We Simplify the Internet Howard Deskin is the President and owner of a WSI "We Simplify the Internet" Central Virginia office, working with small to medium sized companies. Their mission is to improve clients branding and ultimately increase their profits by delivering a full suite of Internet Consulting, Marketing, Web design & development, e-Commerce, and Social Media solutions, focused on driving visitor traffic to company websites and converting the visitors into customers.
O'Brien Financial Planning We are a small financial planning firm focused on individuals, families and small businesses. We have a focus on comprehensive financial planning and institutional investment management for individuals as well as qualified plans for small businesses – 401(k)s and profit sharing plans. I started this business after eighteen years as a senior leader at GE, in a number of businesses and industries.
Susan Campbell founded “More Than Moving for Seniors,” to assist families as their loved ones faced life-changing transitions. The company offers a wide range of services in every aspect of ahousehold move including packing, moving, unpacking and clearing the former home as well as a consignment shop, and an Estate Sale division to help dispose of unwanted household items. Approached to help improve the company’s profitability, Richmond SCORE counselors Art Mattox and Eric Sundberg encouraged more time be spent in sales related activities,and suggested changes to their website.As a result sales are up 70% over 2009 year to date.
Mansilla Medical Practice "SCORE provided my first step. If you don't know how to take the first step, you can't go anywhere. SCORE serves as the guide there."
Dexios Corporation Kyle Tucker started Dexios Corporation; a radiology based medical billing company, in 2007. He has a strong business background, having owned and operated another small business, and was familiar with this industry.With this background, why then seek the services of SCORE?
“I use SCORE like a pseudo board of directors,” says the 47-year-old entrepreneur.“I could hire a series of consultants and spend more of my limited start-up capital or I can utilize the experts from SCORE for free.I have a well-rounded business background so I don’t need basic Business 101 assistance. What I do need is a team of people that I can bounce ideas off of and dig deeper into those issues where I only have a surface understanding.”
Tucker was teamed with Richmond SCORE counselor Gray Poehler, a retired small business owner, and Emmett Richardson, a retired IT professional from a large consumer products company.“Between the three of us, we have about eighty years of business experience in different fields,” Tucker said.If we don’t know the answer, Gray and Emmett can find someone in the Richmond SCORE chapter who does.”
The three men have discussed a wide array of business topics including software evaluation, marketing strategies, financing alternatives, venture capital and business planning.To date, Dexios is right on track with its business plan, in terms of revenue, growth and operations.
In the midst of bringing up Dexios, Tucker created a second start-up, RadReferral, which is a free, niche business referral network that meets via teleconference.Kyle Tucker admits it is hard enough to bring up one new business, much less two at the same time. “This is where SCORE really came in handy.While medical billing is a traditional, mature industry with limited variables, the RadReferral idea is a whole new concept which required out-of-the-box thinking.There was no template to use for this business.We had to start from scratch.”Tucker says that Emmett Richardson’s IT background was especially helpful in starting up RadReferral as they not only had to build the business conceptually but make it work on the web. The team spent many hours discussing everything from how to monetize the concept, to telephony, to web design.
“I am very grateful that these two gentlemen took time out to help me.Their contributions have been considerable to my success.Could I have done it without SCORE?” muses Tucker.“Possibly, but that is not the right question.The right question is why would anybody want to go it alone?”
