Free Resources Abound for MD Business Owners

Part of making a business successful is recognizing when you need help, but you need to reach out to get that help.

With the way the economy has been the last few years, businesses have struggled. Even established businesses have struggled to stay afloat.

At the other end of the spectrum, a new business like Wear It’s At, an upscale consignment shop on Main Street, found itself needing to expand. According to owner Stephanie Torrible, she’s just finishing up the store’s third expansion since the business opened a few years ago.

Small business experts say that expansion is tricky business, with a lot of room for error. Expand too fast and you can kill your business as fast as if you’d underfunded it to start with. Expansions require more capital investment, as well as shifts in general business operation (more personnel, for example).  Those businesses need a plan.

Maryland offers programs for small businesses that range from general marketing and financial topics to specific needs of certain industries. The Service Corp for Retired Executives, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Maryland Small Business Development Center are among the resources available to Maryland business owners, regardless of what stage of business they’re in.

The Small Business Administration just unveiled a program that aims to integrate more female-owned businesses into federal contracting programs by setting aside 5 percent of federal contracts for qualifying businesses. The Contracting Program for Women-Owned Small Businesses was unveiled on Feb. 1.

According to Tiffani Clements of the SBA, the new program will be implemented over the next few months, with the first contracts being awarded by the fourth quarter of 2011. For information on the program check out the section dedicated to Women-Owned Small Business. 

“Implementing the Women-Owned Small Business contracting rule has been a top priority for the Obama Administration and SBA,” said Administrator Karen Mills. “Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy…Federal contracts can provide women-owned small businesses with the oxygen they need to take their business to the next level.”

To qualify as a WOSB, a firm must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S. citizens and the firm must be considered small according to SBA size standards. To be deemed “economically disadvantaged”, a firm’s owners must meet specific financial requirements set forth in the program regulations.

Beyond the WOSB federal contracting news, the SBA remains a major source of information and support for small businesses.

The MDSBDC (Maryland Small Business Development Center) Network supports entrepreneurs and small- to mid-sized businesses. It partners with the SBA as well as the University of Maryland College Park, then coordinates with local economic development organizations as well as local government to provide management, training and technical assistance to Maryland’s small businesses.

According to the Maryland Small Business Development Center, MDSBDC, 2010 was a busy year. “Through counseling and training activities, the staff assisted nearly 12,000 entrepreneurs, and helped businesses secure more than $37 million in loans,” according to its website said.

Among the ranks of one-on-one counselors MDSBDC offers are former bankers, accountants and business owners. They brainstorm with local businesses and serve up entrepreneurial counseling—all free. Of particular interest is help in putting together venture capital or additional funding for your business.

Most businesses rely on foot traffic, so odds are you can’t get away from your shop or eatery. If you can’t make it to a networking or training event, take advantage of the MDSBDC’s virtual training through online courses such as Analyzing Your Competition. All of this is free.

The Service Corp for Retired Executives, SCORE, calls itself a group of counselors for American small business. As the name suggests, SCORE is a group of retired business and financial executives who give their time to current business owners. The organization a nonprofit that aims spread education and help grow the nation’s small businesses. Nationally, the organization has helped 7.5 million small businesses and entrepreneurs, according to its website.

Like the other organizations, SCORE offers in-person advice from a person who has been in your shoes. It also offers low-cost training sessions on basic business principles. A unique twist of SCORE is the ability to enter a real-time question online and have information provided via email.

So, don’t be shy or too proud, go get some help.