Mentoring entrepreneurs in SC

By Mike Switzer

Published August 18, 2023 at 5:23 AM EDT

Over the years, we’ve come across many entrepreneurs who have utilized the free mentoring services provided by our next guest’s organization but it’s been a while since we’ve checked in with them. So today we’re ringing them up. Mike Switzer interviews Jim Helfgott, district director for the South Carolina chapter of SCORE.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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