Small Business

Judy K. McCauley, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's West Virginia District Office, recently announced that nominations are being accepted for West Virginia's small-business person of the year for 2013. The award recipient will compete for the national title during National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C., in May. Nominees also are being sought for various other SBA champion and special award categories. The deadline for nomination submissions is Friday, Dec. 7. Small-business person of the year nominees will be judged on a variety of criteria, including staying power, growth in employment and sales, innovation of product or service and evidence of contributions to the community.

The United Way and Community Foundation of Washington County are writing monthly columns in The Herald-Mail to keep the Strategic Community Impact Plan (SCIP) process in the forefront of the community's conscience and to report on the progress that is being made toward the SCIP goals. We are pleased to report that the community is engaged.  With all of the talk in the community recently about economic development and jobs, we felt it was timely to reconsider the goal that was established by the SCIP Jobs and Economic Development Focus Group.

Q: Because of the time demands of my small business and family, I really need to find some low-cost online training related to growing my young business. Do you have any tips? A: First of all, here are a few tips for how to get the most out of online training, regardless of the source: • Online training can be an affordable alternative to classroom training. Companies and individuals can save up to two-thirds of what classroom-based courses cost. • Many technical training vendors are offering courses.

Q: Our small business really benefited from SCORE's “How to Really Start Your Own Business” seminar series several years ago at Hagerstown Community College. Now, we need help growing the business. Any suggestions? A: In November, a new seminar series titled “Simple Steps to Grow Your Business” will be presented at HCC. The sessions are Thursdays, Nov. 1, 8 and 15, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in room 323 of the Technical Innovation Center. The series focuses on hands-on strategies for planning and organizing a business, marketing and sales management, and general growth management.

Q: We have seen April and May designated as Small Business Month 2013. Please enlighten us. A: The U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE have small-business events spread over both months. Watch your local media for specific times and locations. In Hagerstown, the local SCORE chapter has designated the month of April for celebration of Small Business Month. This will be part of its yearlong celebration of local small businesses, along with recognition of the chapter's 30th anniversary in Hagerstown.

A small-business conference on how to do business with the National Security Agency will be Tuesday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to noon at Carroll Community College, Building K Conference Center, in Westminster, Md. Keynote speakers for the event hosted by U.S. Rep. Roscoe Barlett, R-Md., will be William Reybold, deputy senior acquisition executive with the NSA Directorate of Acquisition, and Joe Balsamo, chief of the IT Enterprise Contracting Office at...

Q: I have been trying to talk my small-business partner into attending some networking events with me. We are wondering if they are really worth the time and the effort. Can you help us? A: The most effective form of marketing is word of mouth. But people can't spread the word about you and your small business if they don't know you. On Thursday from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Landing Restaurant and Pub at 710 Dual Highway in Hagerstown, a number of area business owners will gather to get to know each other and share some new ideas.

Q: Small Business Month is this month. Does SCORE Hagerstown have any public events scheduled that you can tell us about? A: Yes!  Thursday is SCORE's business roundtable, featuring Hagerstown's Downtown Manager Andrew Sargent, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Always Ron's, 29 N. Burhans Blvd. in Hagerstown. The event is free; lunch is available for purchase. Sargent will share plans and programs the city has to assist startup and existing businesses. Bring your questions and concerns to share in this open-forum discussion.

A few snowflakes and decidedly cooler temperatures Saturday didn't seem to slow holiday gift buying at least at a few businesses in downtown Hagerstown. Bikle's Ski Shop on North Potomac Street was abuzz with activity as customers tried on ski boots, while others browsed the store and still others picked up merchandise. Inner BeYouTy owner Veeda Bassette said many regular customers had visited her South Potomac Street store Saturday, apparently in response to special activities planned, but added she still was “surprised” by the uptick in business.

Alexis “Lexi” Amy Bryan received a bachelor's degree in business supply chain and information systems from the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University.  Bryan spent four years at the main campus in University Park, participating in Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity.  She served an internship in 2012 with IBM and will begin her career with IBM as a consultant in July. She is the daughter of Tim and Kendra Bryan of Williamsport.

Q: Small Business Month is this month. Does SCORE Hagerstown have any public events scheduled that you can tell us about? A: Yes!  Thursday is SCORE's business roundtable, featuring Hagerstown's Downtown Manager Andrew Sargent, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Always Ron's, 29 N. Burhans Blvd. in Hagerstown. The event is free; lunch is available for purchase. Sargent will share plans and programs the city has to assist startup and existing businesses. Bring your questions and concerns to share in this open-forum discussion.

Small businesses rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy will get immediate and long-term help laying a foundation for economic recovery thanks to expanded services funded by a $19 million emergency appropriation. Small businesses can take advantage of free expanded counseling, training and technical assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration's resource partners - Small Business Development Centers, or SBDCs, SCORE and Women's Business Centers, or WBCs. Funding was made available as part of a package approved by Congress in January to meet the demand for SBA assistance.

Q: I haven't heard anything yet this year about Small Business Month at either national, state or local levels. Are there any events planned? A : According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the signature National Small Business Week will be June 17 to 21. This year's events will take place across the country and will feature exciting and informative events designed to help small businesses start, grow and succeed. Locally, area residents are encouraged to participate in SCORE Hagerstown's Small Business Community Awareness Program, principally during the months of April and May. Scheduled events include: • Educational workshops at Hagerstown Community College.

Q: We have seen April and May designated as Small Business Month 2013. Please enlighten us. A: The U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE have small-business events spread over both months. Watch your local media for specific times and locations. In Hagerstown, the local SCORE chapter has designated the month of April for celebration of Small Business Month. This will be part of its yearlong celebration of local small businesses, along with recognition of the chapter's 30th anniversary in Hagerstown.

Do you sell bowling balls to Bangladesh or dish towels to Delhi? If you export your goods or services around the world and have used a federal government program or assistance to get there, the U.S. Small Business Administration and Visa Inc. want to see your story. The 2013 SBA-Visa Export Video Contest offers participants the chance to win up to $10,000 in prize money. Eligible small-business exporters may submit a video that highlights how the business became a successful exporter, the benefits of exporting and government programs available to help them export.

Hub Scrap Metals LLC Hub Scrap Metals LLC was named a recipient of the Injured Workers' Insurance Fund's Premier Safety Award because of the company's safety record over the past three policy years. The company will be recognized at an awards breakfast March 13 in Linthicum, Md. Hub Scrap Metals LLC, founded by Gregory Dahbura in 2008, is a mid-Atlantic company based in Hagerstown that specializes in business-to-business scrap metal trade and industrial structural demolition.

Women-owned small businesses will have greater access to federal contracting opportunities as a result of changes included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, or NDAA, to the U.S. Small Business Administration's Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program. The NDAA removes the anticipated award price of the contract thresholds for women-owned small businesses and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses to allow them greater access to federal contracting opportunities without limitations to the size of the contract.

A strategic plan commissioned for the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission suggests a greater effort to market the small towns and rural areas of the county, an idea Hancock Mayor Daniel A. Murphy welcomes. “I certainly would agree. They need to become familiar with us on the fringes of the county,” Murphy said recently. “It's not the Hagerstown Economic Development Commission.” Communication between the county and Hancock has improved in recent years, but Murphy said he could remember a time not so long ago when it seemed that the town at the western edge of the county was mostly forgotten.

A local Greencastle business is doubling the size of its operations by moving to a new 12,000-square-foot facility in Antrim Commons Business Park this summer. Gate 7 Ltd., a company based in Newcastle, England, is moving from its 6,500-square-foot building at 145 Pine Drive, Greencastle, to a state-of-the-art facility on Armada Drive in Greencastle. “We are pleased to expand our operations in the United States as a result of our continued growth,” company vice president John Reay said.