Blog

MCE Celebrates Black History Month

According to the US Census bureau, there are more than 1,000 businesses owned by African Americans located on the Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Most of these are “micro-businesses” being led by entrepreneurs. They are owned and operated by one person and he/she is the only employee.         They are truckers, DJ’s, real estate

What happened to my paycheck?

After receiving the first paycheck this year many employees had a moment of shock and awe. The immediate response was likely a desire to run to whoever processes payroll and demand to know why they had received a pay reduction. However, the decrease in take-home pay was not a result of a bad work ethic

Develop an effective performance appraisal process

Employees and employers often think of the performance appraisal as a once a year, one hour long (or less) meeting. However, the most effective program is one that is administered throughout the year and is a process rather than just a review. The performance appraisal process will be more effective if you understand its underlying purpose—to provide

Crisfield Clinic serving vital community need

MCE sits down with nurse practitioner Kerry Palakanis, DNP, FNP-BC, who has opened a health clinic in Crisfield to serve a chronically underserved community. Tell us about your background. Are you a local? How did you end up in Crisfield? I have been a nurse for over 28 years and a family nurse practitioner for

Three new businesses come to Eastern Shore thanks to business plan competitions

EASTON, MD – A recent Harvard Business Review blog described “action” as what differentiates an entrepreneur from an inventor. Three Maryland entrepreneurs were recently awarded a total of $35,000 to turn their innovations into business enterprises on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The startup cash and services were awarded through the inaugural Eastern Shore Business Plan Competition,

Year-End 2012 Tax Planning For Business

The wise taxpayer may have to consider more than one tax strategy as we come to the end of 2012. Running the numbers under two or more scenarios may be the necessary for a year filled with significant tax uncertainty. Much of the tax uncertainty is due to: Many popular business tax breaks that either

3 Biggest Myths Broadcast About Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing, for the most part, has an enticing entry fee – Free! For that reason social media is ubiquitous and popular. Its use grows exponentially each day. Facebook alone has 600 million users and yet it is just one small segment of a very expansive revolution in how customers communicate and make decisions. Two billion

Small Businesses Have Hiring Advantages

The biggest recruiting mistake that start-up companies and small business make is bringing a knife to a gunfight. Start-up companies often don’t realize they have a competitive advantage. These smaller companies, along with many small businesses, are more innovative, more nimble, and more exciting places to work. That is a huge opportunity when trying to

Two Students Taking Off With Scooter Business

Client Profile Necessity is the mother of invention, according to Plato. And most good businesses are born that way. John Churchman, 21, and Navid Mazloom, age 20, were working in Ocean City and needed to get around town quickly during the busy summer tourist season. So they began looking for alternative forms of transportation, and