Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2011. The services and contact details it lists for SECOT are as of then and may have changed.
SECOT was founded in 1989, yet very few entrepreneurs turn to this kind of help, simply because they don’t know it exists. To begin with, SECOT is a nonprofit organization in which retired business people help new entrepreneurs and younger business owners.
The services and support you can find at SECOT for your business include:
- Advice, mentoring and consultations on business management and development
- Business plan reviews
- Advice on managing NGOs
- On-site technical missions for identification and assessment
- Support for commercial relationships
It’s undoubtedly a great help, coming from professionals who have been active in business and have created companies and jobs throughout their lives.
A few months ago I heard some negative comments about this association, essentially asking how business “dinosaurs” could help you in a technological era they probably don’t understand.
Those people should know that when business gets so complicated that few people understand it, what ends up working is applying the old (more conservative) strategies to the new era.
As the Spanish saying goes, the devil knows more for being old than for being the devil. So I personally recommend getting support from this organization. Although I haven’t used it myself, a member of SECOT gave me completely sound advice when I was starting out, and I still consult him today on certain matters that only experience can address.
You can find the ways to get in touch with the organization on SECOT’s website.
Further reading
