Date: 05/03/21
Type of Business: Graphic Design
Client Name: Lauren Hamilton, Big Mouth Creative Studio
Maryland Small Business Development Center
The Maryland SBDC has helped many Maryland small businesses achieve their dream of starting or expanding their business.
Date: 05/03/21
Type of Business: Graphic Design
Client Name: Lauren Hamilton, Big Mouth Creative Studio
Rich Moulton believes he has a gem of an idea.
A government contractor who retired from the Air Force last year after two decades in uniform, Moulton wants to create a luxury jewelry brand. Moulton came up with the idea after his wife, Zahide, expressed frustration about seeing the same mass-produced jewelry virtually everywhere.
"For a woman with refined, exotic tastes, this would be jewelry from around the world and it would be unique handmade silver and gold jewelry," said Moulton, a combat veteran and father of two who lives in Odenton.
"I stayed in the military for 20 years because I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I'm happy with my current job, but I'd like more freedom to carve my own path. I want to eventually be my own boss with my own entity and resources."
Moulton and 13 other active-duty and retired service members, mostly in their 20s and 30s, attended the Operation Boots to Business workshops offered Aug. 26-27 at the Fleet and Family Support Center.
Started in 2013, Boots to Business provides education, training and resources on entrepreneurship to transitioning service members, retirees and their spouses at military installations around the world. The program is administered through the Small Business Administration, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs as part of DoD's Transition Assistance Program.
The curriculum includes steps on assessing the viability of business concepts, the foundational knowledge required for a business plan, and information on resources for start-up capital and technical assistance.
"The people in the military are sacrificing a lot, and we owe it to them to do our best for them," said Mark Williams, veterans business development officer for the SBA's Baltimore office.
Williams is the coordinator of the Boots to Business workshops held six to seven times annually at Fort Meade. The free workshops are also presented regularly at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Detrick, Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the Naval Academy.
A retired Marine and former Defense Information School instructor, Williams said transitioning service members often are unaware of all the resources available to them for starting their own businesses. Such information is crucial.
"The two main things they need to know are what it takes to start a business and how to find the resources," Williams said. "Being a veteran doesn't give you much weight when you borrow money. It has to be a good business decision or a bank won't lend you money. The lenders try to give leeway to veterans, but it can't be a bad deal."
Among the topics at the workshops were an introduction to the entrepreneurial experience; understanding how to conduct market research and competitive strategy/analysis; an overview of the legal considerations affecting veteran-owned businesses; how to finance a start-up venture; locating resources to support a successful launch and sustainable growth; the pros and cons of franchising; and creating a viable business plan.
Williams said the SBA, in conjunction with the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University also offers a free, eight-week online business-plan development course as part of Boots to Business.
In addition to Williams, guest speakers and instructors at last week's workshops were David Buck of The Entrepreneur's Source, Bonnie Barresi of the Maryland Capital Enterprises Women's Business Center, and Gabe Omaru of the Corridor Region Small Business Development Center.
Omaru said he enjoys talking to service members and veterans about entrepreneurship.
"It's very rewarding," he said. "A lot of people take early retirement and want to run a business for the next 20 or 30 years.
from https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ph-ac-cc-fort-meade-0909-20150907-story.html
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 Airzooka is currently being marketed world-wide and has sold millions of units.
The company has also created a prosthetic finger called the Digitouch. This was created out of necessity, as the company president lost several digits on his left hand due to an accident.
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 with a focus on LinkedIn training with sales and marketing services.
Jessica was concerned on a life/work balance as a stay at home mom who homeschooled her younger daughter. Wynne designed a work schedule that allowed her to have the quality time she desired with family while maximizing her business hours for greatest impact. Now with the growth of her business revenue she was able to enroll her daughter in a local private school and have the flexibly she needs during the day for her business. “After 18 only months, it has been a joy to watch Jessica’s business grow and flourish. I enjoy seeing her at various business networking events and hearing of all the successes she is having knowing this is just the beginning!” says Wynne Briscoe, SBDC Consultant.
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.
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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 employee of an interior design store to owning her own interior design and staging business with three employees in less than 5 years. During this time, she has obtained her Maryland Home Improvement Contractors License which allows her to offer renovations and home remodeling services to her clients.
Last year during the Annual Business Showcase, Kera was honored by the St. Mary’s County Chamber of Commerce as the Winner of the 2018 Emerging Business Award. Chesapeake Staging and Interiors was awarded the Real Estate Staging Association Top Ten Rising Star Home Stagers of the year 2017.
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SBDC Offers Free Assistance, Advice and Resources
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