Micro Loans for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs in MD

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

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

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

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,

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

All parents treasure that first photo of their new baby and can’t wait to show it off to family and friends. These days – that happens long before birth. With new ultrasound technology, parents are able to see even the tiniest features of their developing babies. Martha Foster saw that as a business opportunity. She

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

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

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

When you think premium vodka, you don’t usually think made in Maryland. But that’s about to change. Jon (age 34) and Chris (age 42) Cook have spent the last seven years learning how to make the best tasting vodka possible right here on the Eastern Shore. But Vodka wasn’t their first choice. “Our first product