In John Pandiscio's case, the answer was a resounding yes! He noticed how his wife's casual question to his two children elicited more conversation than he had ever heard from them over a typically busy dinner hour.
John initiated several more conversations with his kids incorporating the idea of games and rewards when they answered his questions with more than a yes or no. He started thinking about printing these games on bottles of catsup and milk - two staples that were always on his dinner table.
After John started talking to food product companies, he decided to initiate counseling sessions with SCORE. He met with SCORE counselor Jack Calkins who quickly suggested that working with a large food distributor would not be as productive as following his idea in another way.
John then thought about printing his dinnertime game ideas on laminated cards that could be stored in a small tin box - small enough to fit on the dining room table. Jack Calkins, and several other SCORE counselors worked with John on packaging ideas, and marketing strategies for several months before John found a manufacturer who could make up both his cards and the recipe-style tin box.
He contacted a manufacturer's representative in the toy industry who loved his idea and took some of his first run of 5,000 game boxes to a toy fair. The first day they sold eight stores, and within months had 80 stores carrying his products. Currently, he has four different dinner game products that are sold in over 1,000 stores and are shown in many toy catalogues.
John credits SCORE counseling with giving him both positive and negative feedback, and making sure that he could afford to support his family while he grew his business. To see more about John's Family Time Fun Dinner Time Games, go to his website.

How about you? Have you had any recent dinner conversations that would bring you to a SCORE counselor?