When it comes to paving the way for female business owners, Linda Zangrilli, of Northampton Township, is something of a trailblazer.
Not only was she one of the first women to become a mentor with SCORE Bucks County – the local chapter of the national organization that provides free workshops and one-on-one counseling to small businesses – Zangrilli is the first woman in the history of the chapter to serve as chair.
She was recently appointed to this leadership position and replaces David Boster, who served as the chapter’s chairman for the last two years. Zangrilli, who recognizes the importance of a woman’s perspective and the growing number of female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses in Bucks County, is excited to inspire and unite this thriving community.
“I recently convinced a colleague of mine to come onboard. She was hesitant at first, but is now fully committed to the SCORE mission of helping to foster small businesses. I need more people like her, experienced business professionals who are free enough to commit their time and believe in what we do,” she said. “Most importantly, I hope to create an environment that promotes member engagement. We need all members, whether male or female, to participate fully in the chapter. And I’ve got to find the magic to make that happen.”
Based on Zangrilli’s track record, finding this “magic” shouldn’t prove too difficult of a task. When the chapter launched its annual Women Building Businesses workshop and networking session in 2016, Zangrili, along with a handful of SCORE mentors, led the charge to organize the event.
Zangrilli helped line up keynote guests and breakout session speakers to tackle a myriad of relevant topics for women. Held each year in June at Parx Casino, Women Building Businesses was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns. While the event is expected to return in April 2021, SCORE has temporarily switched the format of its in-person educational workshops to virtual webinars.
In addition to bringing back the highly anticipated event, Zangrilli plans to collaborate with other SCORE chapters to discover best practices for chapter operation. She also hopes to maintain, and improve upon, the chapter’s positive momentum.
SCORE Bucks County was recently awarded Platinum Level Status – the highest recognition possible for any local chapter. The primary measure in qualifying for platinum status is customer satisfaction as shown by positive client feedback, volunteer satisfaction and the number of client services provided to the community.
For Zangrilli, customer service has been a core pillar throughout her professional life. For more than 25 years, she worked in operations management, customer service and management, and spent most of her career running both large and small call centers that handled customer service and sales support for many different business segments.
After retiring in May 2016 from Schiller Grounds Care Inc., Zangrilli sought an impactful use of her free time, and stumbled upon SCORE during an online search.
“I’m used to going 100 miles per hour,” she said. “I couldn’t just stop.”
Though she never owned a business, Zangrilli quickly discovered an innate knack for mentoring. According to her, business skills – whether learned through owning your own business or through working in corporate life – translate the same.
“I tend to keep my clients for a long time. Several of my clients have been with me since I started to mentor,” she said. “SCORE mentoring does not have an expiration date. If you need us, we’ll keep mentoring you.”
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 8.5 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, it provides mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000 new and growing small businesses. With 50 members across the county, SCORE Bucks County provides more than 1,500 free mentoring services annually to local small business owners through one-on-one counseling and seminars.
Visit buckscounty.score.org/ for more information.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
