Things are "brewing" up in Frederick County, MD

Frederick County, MD-June 13, 2011 - With a continued emphasis on business retention and outreach, Frederick County Commissioner Paul Smith joined representatives from the Office of Economic Development, the Business Development Advisory Council, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and other partner agencies to meet with representatives from Flying Dog Brewery.

Representatives from Flying Dog were Erin Biles, Public Relations Manager and Heather Benton, Sales Manager. Attendees were given a tour of the state-of-the-art facility and learned what it takes to manufacture their award-winning craft beers.

Flying Dog Ales originally started as a brewpub in Aspen, Colorado in 1990 and later opened a 50 barrel brewery in Denver, Colorado. In 2006, Flying Dog purchased a second brewery – located at 4607 Wedgewood Blvd, Frederick, MD. Now, all the production is being held at the Frederick facility. They currently produce 26 different craft beers including limited editions and seasonal brews. They are producing 700,000 barrels of beer a year and employ 60 people.

For more information on Flying Dog Brewery, visit their website at http://www.flyingdogales.com/.

Pictured Left to Right: Mike Kidder, BDAC; Drex Ryberg, BDAC; Frederick County Commissioner Paul Smith; Erin Biles, Flying Dog Brewery; Kathleen Shino, BDAC; John Fieseler, Tourism Council of Frederick County; Patrick Barnes, DBED and Gary Ventry, DBED

Half of U.S. Businesses Operated from the Home

When we think of a business, we often conjure up an image of an office park or perhaps a storefront in a strip mall. But in reality, according to new data on firms that responded to the 2007 Survey of Business Owners (SBO), slightly more than half of U.S. businesses — 51.6 percent — were home-based. Only 6.9 percent of these home-based respondent businesses had $250,000 or more in sales and receipts, while 57.1 percent brought in less than $25,000.

The SBO provides a wealth of national-level data on the characteristics of businesses and their owners. It looks at topics like the age and educational levels of owners, types of customers and workers, and sources of financing for start-up and expansion. For instance, 58.2 percent of women-owned respondent firms were home-based. And the majority of the Hispanic-owned respondent businesses (56.1 percent) were able to conduct transactions in Spanish; the same was true of only 7.4 percent of all U.S. respondent firms.

Another interesting aspect of the SBO data is that capital commitments were modest. For budding entrepreneurs, the initial investment is often rather small, as roughly three in 10 (30.6 percent) respondent firms requiring start-up capital needed less than $5,000. Instances of massive amounts of start-up capital are relatively rare, as only 1.5 percent of these firms required $1 million or more. Believe it or not, one in 10 (10.4 percent) were actually started with a credit card — although they may have also used other sources of capital.

Here are a couple of more notable points. First, the “little guy” is important to most business owners. In 2007, 72.7 percent of the nation’s businesses reported that individual customers accounted for at least 10 percent of their total sales of goods and services. And secondly, the dreams of immigrating to the United States and then starting or acquiring a business have become a reality for many, as 13.6 percent of owners reported they were born outside the United States.

Please visit the Census Bureau Web site at www.census.gov for more information on the characteristics of businesses and their owners.

Last Chance to Register

"Business at a Crossroads: Grow or Go?" Event
We've had a great response for the June 14th Kevin Mulvaney speaking event; there are a few remaining seats so REGISTER TODAY! Join us for breakfast and formulate a plan for your business future, as we hear from Mr. Mulvaney, senior lecturer and faculty member of the Entrepreneurial Studies Division at Babson College. Hope to see you there!

On Tuesday, June 14th from 8am to 10am at Dutch's Daughter Restaurant in Frederick, The City of Frederick Department of Economic Development and the Frederick County Department of Economic Development welcome keynote speaker Kevin Mulvaney to this event. Based on the recent findings of Professor Mulvaney's surveys, businesses are indeed at a crossroads:--What will it take to grow to the next level?--What are the various exit options available?Enjoy breakfast while formulating a plan for your business future. There will be a Q&A session following Professor Mulvaney's remarks.This event is FREE but registration is required. For more information, please call 301-600-1058.

"Business at a Crossroads: Grow or Go?" Event

On Tuesday, June 14th from 8am to 10am at Dutch's Daughter Restaurant in Frederick, The City of Frederick Department of Economic Development and the Frederick County Department of Economic Development welcome keynote speaker Kevin Mulvaney to this event. Based on the recent findings of Professor Mulvaney's surveys, businesses are indeed at a crossroads:
--What will it take to grow to the next level?
--What are the various exit options available?

Enjoy breakfast while formulating a plan for your business future. There will be a Q&A session following Professor Mulvaney's remarks.

This event is FREE but registration is required. For more information, please call 301-600-1058.

We've moved!

As part of the new Community Development Division reorganization, the Office of Economic Development has moved to the 2nd floor of Winchester Hall. Our new address is 12 E. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701. Phone numbers and other contact information remains the same.

We look forward to working out of our new offices in downtown historic Frederick!

Brunswick Main Street Receives State Award

On May 19, Maryland Main Street recognized the Brunswick Main Street program, under the leadership of Patrick Kay, Director, and Richard Pearrell, Chairman of the Board, with its award for Organizational Excellence - one of five awards presented annually.

The Organization Committee of Brunswick Main Street, chaired by Abbie Ricketts, was cited for results that included: a year that saw a 27% increase in membership money contributions, and a 200% increase in new members since 2009. As well, other fund raising efforts were cited for ensuring the continued operation and viability of the local Main Street program, and developing "consensus and cooperation among the various stakeholders."

The award was presented by Raymond Skinner, Secretary, Department of Housing and Community Development. Tim Murphy, Assistant State Main Street Coordinator, was the event's Master of Ceremonies, held at the Maryland Inn, Annapolis. City Councilman Angel White and Diane Ellis, Secretary of Brunswick Main Street, also were in attendance.

"Winning an award from the Maryland State Main Street program is such an honor for Brunswick Main Street," Abbie points out. "Our volunteers have put in many hours to build the capacity of the organization and their efforts have been outstanding. We thank them all. But most importantly, we thank all of our donors and sponsors. Without them we could not survive. Thank you for believing in our mission and having faith that we can reach our goals."

The Brunswick Main Street mission is to re-vitalize downtown Brunswick as an attractive and lively city center that improves the quality of life for everyone who lives, works or visits here.

"One of the main reasons we got this award is that we raised 87% of our budget ourselves with only 13% coming from the City of Brunswick," Director Kay emphasized. "In the State of Maryland the other 22 Main Streets keep an average donation from their City at about 40%. We haven't just maintained in such a bad economy; we have excelled. We have increased membership donations by more than 75% in the past 2 years. That's impressive in my book."

He added: "We are continuing to focus on growing the organization and bringing new businesses to Brunswick. To bring people downtown, we have a series of events planned under the title of 'Saturdays in Railroad Town.' The next event scheduled takes place Saturday, June 4 - 'Taste of Brunswick and the Downhill Mile Race,' the evening begins at 4 p.m."

2011 Frederick County Progress Report Now Available

The Daily Record has published the 2011 Frederick County Progress Report, titled "Open for Business." To read the online version, visit http://www.pageturnpro.com/The-Daily-Record/26644-Frederick-County-Progress-Report-2011/index.html#1