Small Biz Bulletin December (2)

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Small Biz Bulletin - December 2017


Jimmy Rhee

Message from Special Secretary Rhee

The holiday season is a time of celebration and reflection on the closing of another year. What a year it was! Our legislature expanded the Small Business Reserve (SBR) Program from 23 to 70 participating agencies/departments, increased the SBR set-aside from 10% to 15%, and reauthorized the Minority Business Enterprise Program for five more years. This office was renamed the Governor's Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs which expanded our role to the entire small business community, including those firms owned by minorities and women. We're working hard to spread the good news that Maryland is indeed OPEN for business. We participated in 110 outreach events, reaching 13,700 small businesses. In addition, we hosted eight Ready, Set, GROW! procurement connection workshops across the state, and 11 Technical Training Classroom sessions at the Governor's Coordinating Offices in Crownsville. Combined, these two initiatives reached nearly 1,500 people. We are committed to our mission of connecting small businesses to greater economic opportunities and look forward to working with you in 2018. 

Sincerely,

Jimmy Rhee

Special Secretary


For Your Business

Maryland OPEN for Business

Maryland is Open for Business

For the past three years, Governor Larry Hogan has been focused on several key economic drivers stemming from his administration: strengthening the private sector, creating more jobs, and turning our economy around. Based on how these organizations are looking at Maryland, we'd say the progress is undeniable.

  • Most innovative state in America (WalletHub)
  • 3rd in the nation for entrepreneurial growth (Kauffman Foundation)
  • 7th in the country for overall economic performance (Governing Magazine)
  • 8th best state to live in (24/7 Wall Street)
  • 130,000 new jobs created under the Hogan Administration (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Maryland is OPEN for Business 

Mentor


Score Your Own Personal Mentor

Entrepreneurs have access to a steady flow of  information from publications, industry analysts, online resources, and even friends and family members. That's all well and good, but when a business owner wants to share wisdom in a way that can actually impact the growth and development of his/her business over time, only a mentor can fill that role. Mentoring is a long term relationship focused on supporting the growth and development of the person mentored. SCORE, formerly known as the Service Core of Retired Executives, has the largest network of expert business mentors with 10,000 volunteers in 300 chapters. They've helped 10 million entrepreneurs over the past 50 years. How can a SCORE mentor help you?

SCORE

 

Maryland flag with state house dome in background

SDAT To Streamline Annual Business Filing Process for 2018

The Maryland Department of Assessments & Taxation is streamlining the annual business filing process in Maryland by updating the paperwork all entities are required to file with the state. The current “Form 1” will be separated into an “Annual Report” and a “Personal Property Tax Return,” which more clearly distinguishes the dual purposes of this filing. The majority of Maryland entities do not have personal property and will not be required to complete that section. Additionally, three forms that pertain only to entities with personal property will also be eliminated, simplifying the filing process and reducing the amount of paperwork to be completed by most Maryland business owners. Once Maryland Business Express is updated in January to reflect these improvements, businesses may file their 2018 Annual Reports and Personal Property Tax Returns online. Visit the website or attend our January Technical Training Classroom session, Understanding Your Small Business Filings with SDAT (details below), for all the details.

SDAT

Adult training


Technical Training Classroom

 We're rolling out the new year with two great sessions of our Technical Training Classroom. We want to see Maryland's small businesses compete with confidence in both the public and private sectors. These small group sessions let us "get into the weeds" on topics that can help small business owners increase their managerial proficiency, and gain an insightful understanding of the state procurement process. All classes are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Governor's Coordinating Offices in Crownsville. There is never a cost to attend, but seats are limited, so sign up early!

January 23, 2018 
Understanding Your Small Business Filings with SDAT @ 10 am
Procurement 101 @ 2 pm