Southern Success Stories

Kera has been working with Small Business Development Center since February 2016 from the beginning stages of her business to the grand opening events. We are now focusing on the strategic marketing, growth and expansion of the business.
Kera Cherrey has grown from working as an emplo...

Emily has been working with Wynne Briscoe of the Small Business Development Center since April 2017 from the beginning stages of business planning to the grand opening of her own agency. We are focusing on the strategic marketing, growth and expansion of the business. As a long time employee i...

Rubing connected with the SBDC from an event Wynne Briscoe created called “Small Business Love Day” in February 2017. A collaborative open house style event between the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development and her SBDC office to connect with the local community. There he met the o...

Jessica’s first session was filled with lots of hesitation and a few tears on starting the endeavor she knew she was meant to launch. The strategic planning session gave her the clarity she needed and a process to start and grow her business. From the beginning, Jessica’s business grew rapidly wi...

Jordan Research and Development, LLC is an innovation-based company with a primary goal of creating solutions to the world’s biggest problems. These solutions are created in the form of new products, ideas and innovations. The Airzooka is the company’s most successful product to date. The Airzook...

Gerrie LHeureux has been working with Wynne Briscoe of the Small Business Development Center since April 2017 from the beginning stages of business planning to the grand opening events. We are focusing on the strategic marketing, growth and expansion of the business.

It was 2002 when Deborah Taylor attended SBDC's Start Right for Success class. One week later she met with Business Consultant, Bill Hitte. Deborah came to the meeting with industry experience, a business plan including researched startup costs, a tentative location and family support. In th...

"As I entered into the program . . . I thought of Mr. Hitte's advice - and how right he was! got the experience I needed to run a spa from the ground up and acquired my aesthetician's license for the State of Maryland in May 2016. In Sept 2016, I opened my business. In July 2017 I ...

When it came time to find a special person to be the new owner in 2008, then owners confided in their SBDC Business Consultant, Bill Hitte. They had been relying on SBDC for advice and education to grow Fran's Nu Image since 2001. It was a natural progression and a great fit for another SBDC Client.

Although this is a relatively new business, BEKÔZ has wasted no time in fulfilling their mission of being a business that is willing to tackle any challenge; no job is too small or too big as long as it has a cause and mission to reach others.

Terri St. Cloud found that she had a passion for short writings which would help women with "emotional healing" concerning challenges in their lives. She called them "Bone Sighs", so she started Bone Sigh Arts in April 2002. She also fou...

No Thyme to Cook began as a personal chef service in 1999. Owned and operated by Gwyn Novak, it provides in-home personalized gourmet meals to clients, and has evolved to include a robust series of seasonal cooking classes and additional streams of income. Beautifully situated on the Patuxent Ri...

Wynne Briscoe, Business Consultant So MD SBDC, discusses the various avenues for drone companies to monetize as a business, work in their niches, and create income streams.

Lowell Cade’s invention of the RYG Light, a portable, handheld device is used to control pedestrian and auto traffic. His patented device won first place in the 2018 Southern Maryland Innovation and Tech (SMIT) Initiative finals of the 4th annual Crab Pot Pitch Contest.

On October 20, 2016, the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce recognized Heather Maertens, owner of Maertens Fine Jewelry & Gifts in Lusby MD, as the 2016 "Chamber Member of the Year".