Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
During his 18-plus years with SCORE, Lou has helped hundreds of business owners develop the basic skills that lead to success. “I’ve learned that developing a financial plan, forecasting cash flow, and developing balance sheet forecasts are the places where the vast majority of clients hit the brick wall. It’s one thing to develop the business concept and plan, and another thing to translate that into numbers,” he says. This North Carolina native also functions as a turnaround expert, guiding entrepreneurs through financial difficulty. Lou states, “I try to help existing businesses pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and turn the business back around into profitability.” SCORE Leader Lou Davenport In 2009, Lou took a leadership role in SCORE Lancaster’s implementation of the highly regarded Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation FastTrac® FirstStep™ entrepreneurial learning series. FirstStep™ is a 12-week series of workshops designed to guide serious entrepreneurs through a feasibility process … to make confident go-no go decisions about their business concepts. Lou became a certified facilitator and managed the program with the help of other SCORE members. Lou served the SCORE Lancaster Chapter as Chairman, and later as a SCORE Association District Director, guiding sixteen central and southern Pennsylvania SCORE chapters. He also serves on several committees, including the Advisory Council, for the national SCORE Association in Washington, D.C. Lou says that after his marriage and family, the experience of mentoring SCORE Lancaster clients “has been the most satisfying and gratifying experience, one that I value more than anything else I’ve ever done.”