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Biz-E Newsletter
www.sbdchelp.com
Serving Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's Counties
Tel.: 301.934.7583 Fax: 301.934.7681
March 2011
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| | In the Client Corner | |
 
Edwin and Teresa Burkhart,
co-owners of Tek-NiqueInk
Edwin and Teresa Burkhart are the founders of Tek-NiqueInk Office Supplies & Solutions, a service-disabled veteran owned and operated company. Tek-NiqueInk features over 30,000 office, imaging, and furniture supplies as well as in-house office design, and print management solutions that include maintenance and service bycertified technicians. They are also one of a few such companies offering "green" products that help firms meet or exceed their "green" initiatives, including two powerful environmental reporting tools "The Carbonneutronics Index Report & The Environmental Initiative Report."
Tek-NiqueInk opened in August 2008 as a small home business, and then later moved to their current location on Main Street in Prince Frederick, MD. Despite the economic recession which began around the same time, their company has experienced significant growth.
"Like every business, we have ups and downs, but with the help of several programs that are available through the SBDC, we have managed to continue that growth and become a profitable business," say the Burkharts. "The SBDC has helped us to access monthly PTAP (Procurement Technical Assistance Program) seminars, cash flow funding options, training grants, and most of all, the knowledge of various resource partners that truly want to make sure your business has every advantage to ensure your future success."
www.tek-niqueink.com
501 Main Street
Unit 102, Building #2
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
(888) 828.5338
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Women's Business Roundtable
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Please join us for our upcoming Women's Business Roundtable events in Southern Maryland.
St. Mary's County...
March 18, 2011, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
"Marketing and Your Elevator Speech"
featuring Connie Webber of Phoenix Marketing Consultants
St. Mary's Chamber of Commerce
44200 Airport Road, California, MD 20649
Cost is $20. Registration and payment will reserve your attendance.
Contact: Linda Craven at (301) 866-1923, Lindacr@csmd.edu or Lynda McDonald at (301) 934-7583
Calvert County...
The SBDC and Calvert County Economic Development Office will be co-sponsoring a Women's Business Roundtable on May 4, 2011, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Calvert Memorial Hospital. This event will be held in conjunction with Calvert County's Business Appreciation Week and is free. Please reserve the date and be on the lookout for upcoming details!
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| Keep More of Your Hard Earned Money in 2011 and Beyond | | The Calvert County Minority Business Alliance (CCMBA) is hosting a networking event, "Discover Strategies to Keep More of Your Hard Earned Money in 2011 and Beyond". It will feature panelists spanning the financial and insurance industries who will offer information on structuring your business and personal finances to help create wealth. Event details include:
Thursday, March 17, 2011, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
The Reid Building Reception Hall
7995 Old Solomons Island Road
Owings, Maryland
FREE
Contact the CCMBA for further information: (866) 517-0477, www.calvertcountymba.org. |
| Procurement Resource Day in Calvert County |
 Join the Calvert County Department of Economic Development and the Calvert Library for Procurement Resource Day scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. at the Calvert Library, Prince Frederick.
Howard McLain, Outreach & Training Coordinator with the Maryland Department of General Services, will be conducting an E-Maryland Marketplace Workshop from 9 until 11 a.m. Reservations are not required but seating is limited. Learn about accessing the many resources available in the Procurement Resource area and more: - Gain an understanding of the purchasing process
- Meet with a variety of procurement officials from local, state and federal levels
- Learn about upcoming bid opportunities
- Meet one-on-one with a variety of business resource organizations
- Network with other attendees
- Learn more about E-Maryland Marketplace
For more information contact Gypsy Stephenson, Business Retention Program Assistant with the Department of Economic Development, at (410) 535-4583, (800) 331-9771 or (301) 855-1880. |
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FREE Tax Webinars from the National Association for the
Self-Employed | |
The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is offering FREE webinars to SBDC clients and small business owners on topics related to tax preparation. To register, click on the titles below.
Top Five Tax Tips for the Self-Employed, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 3:30-4:30 PM EST
Tips for Saving on Your Taxes, Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 3:30-4:30 PM EST
Preparing an Audit Proof Tax Return, Wednesday, March 30, 2011 3:30-4:30 PM EST |
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| Training Grants from the State of Maryland |
 One of the most frequent questions we receive at the SBDC is whether any grants are available to small business. While grants for for-profit businesses are hard to come by, here is a grant program more business owners should know about: Maryland Business Works administered by Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) Division of Workforce Development. The state has been awarded $1 million of incentive grant funds under the Workforce Investment Act earmarked for training incumbent workers. The program encourages promotion, creates additional job opportunities and improves worker retention by increasing the skill level of the existing workforce. The employer-based training projects are targeted for small businesses, the healthcare industry and specific demand occupations requiring a dollar-for-dollar match from the employer. Demand occupations include: healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace, bioscience, construction, education, retail, finance/insurance, hospitality/tourism, information technology, professional/business services, transportation/warehousing industries and any green industry/occupation. For more information and eligibility contact Ruth Davis, Business Service Representative for Calvert County, Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, at 240.412.3602 or e-mail rdavis@tccsmd.org. Fact sheet available at: http://www.dllr.state.md.us/employment/mbw.shtml. |
| 2011 OSDBU Procurement Conference | |
The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) Procurement Conference is a national conference fostering business partnerships between the Federal Government, its Prime Contractors, and Small, Minority, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Veteran-Owned, HUBZone, and Woman-Owned businesses. Federal Government agencies and their Prime Contractors will be available for one day only at this conference, workshop, and Procurement Matchmaking Forum which will provide inform! ation on business opportunities.
In 2010, exhibit space sold out with more than 65 Federal Government agencies, 463 Industry exhibitors, and 2350 government and industry attendees.
The conference will take place on April 21, 2011, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Dulles Expo Center South Hall, Chantilly, Virginia. To register, contact Bob Jeffers at 800-878-2940 x226, bj@fbcinc.com. www.fbcinc.com/osdbu/ |
| Small Business Administration Commences Women-Owned Small Business Program |
 Women-owned small businesses can begin taking steps to participate in a new federal contracting program. The Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program will be fully implemented over the next several months, with the first contracts expected to be awarded by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011. The WOSB Federal Contract Program will provide greater access to federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs). The program allows contracting officers, for the first time, to set aside specific contracts for certified WOSBs and EDWOSBs and will help federal agencies achieve the existing statutory goal of five percent of federal contracting dollars being awarded to WOSBs.
The WOSB rule in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which is the companion to the SBA rule, is now going through final review and is expected to be issued by April. With that in place, SBA expects to see the first contracts awarded through the program by the fourth quarter, when the largest percent of federal contracts are awarded.
Every firm that wishes to participate in the WOSB program must meet the eligibility requirements and either self-certify or obtain third-party certification. At this time, SBA has not approved any third party-certifiers. Regardless of their certification method, WOSBs must also upload required documents proving their eligibility to a secure online data repository developed and maintained by SBA.
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.
Visit the WOSB website for more information on the Women-Owned Small Business Program or to access the instructions, applications or database.
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| Upcoming SBDC Workshops |
The SBDC course schedule includes many useful classes such as...
- Building a Successful Business Plan
- Financing Your Small Business
- QuickBooks
- Legal and Records Management
...and are offered at CSM's locations in La Plata, Lexington Park and Prince Frederick.
For a complete listing of courses, descriptions and fees, click here. To register, call the SBDC main office at 301-934-7583. | |
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Maria R. Dorsett
Small Business Development Center - Southern Region
The SBDC is part of the Maryland SBDC Network - an accredited member of the Association of Small Business Development Centers.
Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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