The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its 2012 Small Business of the Year Awards. Nominate your business, or another deserving business, today. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, March 30.

The finalists and winners will be recognized during the Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon on Thursday, June 7 at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve. Charm City Cakes founder and Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman will be the event’s keynote speaker.

The Awards program recognizes the dedication, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by Maryland’s small businesses. Nominations are being accepted in five categories:

• Small Business of the Year (1-10 Employees)
• Small Business of the Year (11-50 Employees)
• Small Business of the Year (51-200 Employees)
• Nonprofit Partner in Business Award
• Partner in Business Award – Large Business

Nominees must be a member of the state or a local chamber of commerce, have a permanent business location with employee(s) in Maryland, and have been in operation for a minimum of two years. The judging panel for the Small Business of the Year Awards program is comprised of representatives from Maryland’s business media.

For more information and to download the nomination forms, click here. If you have any questions, contact Greg Buckler at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or gbuckler@mdchamber.org.

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Duff Goldman

Charm City Cakes founder and Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman will keynote the Maryland Chamber’s Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon on Thursday, June 7, at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve in Hanover.

Inspired by his work with a number of notable chefs in California, Colorado, and Washington, DC, Duff’s entrepreneurial sprit took him back to Baltimore in 2000, where he finally realized his dream and opened Charm City Cakes… in his apartment. He wasn’t there for long, and as word of mouth spread, he moved into a small bakery and then an even bigger location, an old church he retrofitted into his current modern bakery, a converted church in the Remington area of Baltimore.

His out-of-the-ordinary team is known for producing highly creative cakes that range from Star Wars characters and vehicles, to a replica of the Stanley Cup, to a working life-size motorcycle, a Hogwarts Castle for Warner Bros and more. Following several appearances on its cake competition Challenge series, in 2006, Food Network tapped Chef Duff and his fellow cake baking artists at Charm City Cakes to star in Ace of Cakes. Four years, and nine seasons later, the show is still wildly popular.

Mark June 7 on your calendar and be sure to join us to hear Duff’s entrepreneurial story. Event details will be available soon.

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The Maryland Chamber’s Business Development Council will continue its series of BDC On the Road meetings on Wednesday, January 25, at 8:30 a.m., when the Council meets with Kelly & Associates Insurance Group.

BDC On the Road is a series of small group meetings to provide senior executives from small and minority owned businesses the opportunity to network with some of the region’s top leaders. Learn more about their leadership styles and what makes them tick. The events also provide attendees the opportunity to learn how small and minority owned companies can compete for business with some of the state’s large and mid-sized companies and institutions.

If you are interested in attending, register online or contact Gail Lemke at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or glemke@mdchamber.org.

In addition to the January 25 meeting, upcoming BDC On the Road meetings include: 

• February 16: with Giant’s Jamie Miller, Manager of Public Community Relations and James Sturgis Jr., Director of Supplier Diversity.
• March 22 with Under Armour’s Director of Strategic Procurement, Mark Gillen.

The Business Development Council is the Chamber’s committee that works to assist small, medium-size and minority-owned businesses to grow and prosper. Special thanks to Wells Fargo for serving as the 2012 sponsor of the Chamber’s small business program. If you’d like to attend an upcoming meeting or would like more information, contact Greg Buckler at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or gbuckler@mdchamber.org.

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Colleen McKenna

So, you’ve set up a profile on LinkedIn, added a few connections, and maybe uploaded a photo. Now what?

Join us on December 13 to learn more about optimizing your LinkedIn presence and using this B2B social media platform to initiate new business. The Maryland Chamber is partnering with Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI) to present a seminar on LinkedIn best practices featuring Colleen McKenna, Principal of Intero Advisory and a member of the Maryland Chamber. Colleen teaches business executives strategies to achieve business success using LinkedIn. Don’t miss this opportunity to:

• Learn how to search and initiate new business opportunities
• Incorporate LinkedIn’s new features
• Optimize your time with five LinkedIn To-Do’s in five minutes a day
• Join the right groups

The event will be held on December 13, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at PSA Insurance and Financial Services in Hunt Valley. Chamber members can attend at the partner rate of $20 per person. This will be an outstanding opportunity to network with sales and marketing executives from throughout the Baltimore region and learn more productive using LinkedIn. Register online here.

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The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development will hold a free webinar on state supported finance programs on December 6, from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

We are teaming up with our friends at the Maryland Association of CPAs to help spread the word. Attendees will learn what financial products are available and the application process for each. Programs include:

• Credit and equity investments
• Specialty bonds
• Contracts and guarantees

Space is limited. Register for the webinar today.

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Governor O’Malley issued an executive order calling for a 60-day review of state regulations. He said his intent is to change or eliminating regulations in order to spark faster job creation.

Part of the review will be a review by Cabinet Secretaries, who have already started the process. The Governor is also encouraging business people to submit their feedback about regulations that hinder your ability to operate efficiently and grow your business. A website has been established through the Maryland Made Easy program where you can submit your suggestions. More than 200 have already been submitted. Share your suggestions here.

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The Maryland Chamber’s Business Development Council met with Jim Fakult, President, Maryland Operations for FirstEnergy Service Company, and Toby Stanislaw, Supplier Diversity Coordinator for FirstEnergy Service Company, to talk about how to do business with the company.

Company representatives outlined the products and services the company purchases, including:

• Corporate Services – IT, Telecommunications, Facilities, Logistics, Office Supplies, Office Equipment, Consulting Services, Staff Augmentation, Energy Efficiency & more
• Energy Delivery – Distribution hardware, transformers, engineering, fleet services, fuels, metering, high voltage line construction, street lighting, vegetation management, wire & cable
• Fossil Generation – Boiler parts, coal handling, motors, pumps, chemicals, gases
• Nuclear Generation and Supply Chain Support Services – Procurement card, transportation, travel and investment recovery.

To maximize your opportunity, FirstEnergy representatives said you must be prepared and know about FirstEnergy. Understand its internal corporate policies, buyer expectations, how decisions are made and how it chooses a supplier. Be prepared to clearly articulate your value proposition and what differentiates you from your competitors. Be patient but diligent, develop relationships, be professional and most importantly expect and ask to earn their business.

Learn more and register as a supplier by visiting FirstEnergy’s supply chain page.

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Deborah Stallings, President and CEO of HR Anew, with Ackneil Muldrow II, CEO of Parker Muldrow & Associates, LLC and Chair of the Governor’s Commission for Small Business. Photo Credit: DBED.

The Governor’s Commission for Small Business is seeking input from Maryland small businesses as it works to craft recommendations to present to the Governor. The Commission was created to identify issues and concerns affecting small business owners statewide such as access to capital and procurement, workforce/education and regulatory reform.

The Commission is Chaired by Parker Muldrow & Associates’ CEO Ackneil Muldrow. Deborah Stallings, President & CEO of HR Anew, represents the Maryland Chamber on the Commission. Complete the survey by October 24.

Click here to complete the survey.

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Many Maryland Chamber member companies are using blogs to showcase their expertise and share useful information. Here are some recent highlights from member blogs:

• We’ve all heard the saying, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.” Well, our friend Karin Schwartz recently provided a more thought out explanation of why outsourcing works on Springboard’s blog.
• David Utts posted a video on his Leading Thoughts blog that makes the case that vision is the antidote for many of today’s business challenges.
• If your company is looking for tips to optimize its presence on LinkedIn, Colleen McKenna of Intero Advisory posted a great five-part series on best practices for LinkedIn company pages.
• Brad Davidson of SPARDATA discussed the lesson he learned from a trip abroad. In short, face value is not real value.
• Our friends at the Maryland Association of CPAs had an interesting post earlier this month on how well thought out sustainability initiatives make good business sense.

If you are a Maryland Chamber member with a blog that isn’t listed in the blogroll to the right, please let me know and I will add you to the list. Email me at wburns@mdchamber.org

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Here are a few photos from last week’s Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon. Thank you to everyone who attended. It was a fun event. We had an impressive group of finalists and winners, and I hope you enjoyed hearing their stories as much as I did. Special thanks to John Coyle of Coyle Studios for the outstanding photos.

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