In the year since its launch, the Center for Minority Business Development in Largo has helped its participants score significant victories, while constantly adapting to suit their needs.

Crystal Faison, CEO of Shepherd Design and Construction in Bowie, landed a $50,000 contract with National Harbor.

Aaron and Shane Warren of The Warren Brothers Group, a construction company in Upper Marlboro, used the center's offerings on weatherization to start their own program for the county's Department of Housing, bringing in an additional $80,000 since April. They hope to expand the program enough to hire more trained county residents, Shane Warren said.

"We want to ensure folks are focused on the local available jobs, the ones that have been approved and funded," said Carl E. Brown Jr., executive director of the center.

The center operates out of Prince George's Community College through a $5 million grant from The Peterson Cos. of Fairfax, Va., developer of the $4 billion National Harbor resort and mixed-use project in Oxon Hill. The grant was part of the company's agreement with the county in exchange for its resources.

The center's goal is to enhance the skills and abilities of county residents, encourage collaboration between minority- and nonminority-owned companies and help close minority business participation gaps in the county. The latter ties into an initial concern that local minority-owned businesses were not getting fair contracting opportunities at National Harbor.

"The quality of the folks we have here is unbelievable," Brown said. "We have a lot of experts in each specific career and we're always looking to replenish with new ones."

Participants can use the center's Entrepreneurial Development Program seminars to sharpen their skills via online training and classroom instruction twice per month. The more popular seminars attract 50 people, Brown said. So far, more than 300 people have attended seminars.

The Local Minority Business Enterprise Accelerator Program also offers construction companies help in growing their business through classroom instruction, strategic growth counseling, management and marketing assistance, business plan development assistance, financial profile reviews and technical assistance. To be eligible, companies must be at least 3 years old and generate at least $100,000 in annual revenues.

"The key thing is that we pair companies with mentors who are in the field. For example, if a company has safety regulation problems, we get them a best-practices expert," said Michele Adams Proctor, an adjunct professor with the college.

The center has about 25 resource partners and a host of other consultants, Brown said. Seven companies currently are in the Accelerator Program; Proctor plans for 30 once applications are processed.

"The real success comes not just from building themselves up enough to work in National Harbor but having those skills to go out and find new opportunities, to build and grow," said Mark Mittereder, who represents the Peterson Cos. on the center's advisory board. "National Harbor is not complete; we have a lot more plans in the future."

National Harbor has provided about 400 new jobs in the past few months, with half of those going to county residents, Mittereder said.

Warren emphasized the "huge" benefit of the assessors the center provides to help businesses determine their strengths and weaknesses. He said some of these consultants could normally charge about $2,000 per visit.

The center also will be starting its six-week Contractors College in September, through a partnership with Turner Construction in Baltimore.

But the center's most important asset is its flexibility, Brown said, as its officials are always listening to participants to learn what they need, from computer design courses to business marketing specialists.

"I'd like to see more on how to structure a business proposal. It could be one whole class, even if it took two to three hours," said Vivian Powell, a participant and owner of Expressions ... A Card From My Heart in Fort Washington. Powell was attending a seminar on exit strategies.

She said she is looking forward to the course on Internal Revenue Service terminology, something that always has been tricky for her.

Minority business center helps companies succeed and grow

By Matthew Dembicki, ( Community College Times - Published July 22, 2010)

J. Aaron and Shane Warren—who operate a minority-owned construction and home improvement company in Maryland—needed a little professional guidance to compete better against other contractors for local projects, especially in the current tight economy.

This spring, the brothers turned to a new center at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) designed to help minority business owners develop and expand their enterprises. A few months later, the Warren Brothers Group is weatherizing on average two to three homes a week in Prince George’s County, which is bringing in an additional $80,000 a month for the company.

The work has prompted the 11-year-old company to hire seven employees trained through PGCC’s weatherization program.

“There are a lot of win-win situations in this,” Warren said.

Three other local construction contractors have also gone through the center’s weatherization program, and they too will hopefully get more contracts and hire workers—hopefully trained at PGCC. That kind of symmetry is what officials at the Center for Minority Business Development (CMBD) want to see.

“That’s how we connect the dots,” said Carl Brown, Jr., executive director of the center.

CMBD opened a year ago to provide local minority business leaders with education programs, business development and assessment tools, counseling and mentoring programs to help them compete for local, state, federal and private contracts. County and state officials helped to establish the center through a $5 million grant from the Peterson Companies, which isleadingseveral major construction and development projects in the county.

“The goal is for minority-owned companies to sustain themselves and to build a greater business,” said Brown, who this week provided a briefing regardingthe center.

Two tracts to help businesses

CMBD currently runs two programs and will open a third one this fall. Selected businesses participate in the year-long Local Minority Business Enterprise (LMBE) Accelerator Program, which provides courses and business assessments and counseling.It focuses on 10 educational modules—construction, leadership, information technology, operations, finance, procurement, legal and regulatory issues, customer service, marketing and human resources.

The costs of the program for participating businesses are paid through the Peterson grant. But the criteria for eligibility are stringent. For example, companies must be certified, in business for at least two to three years and bring in at least $100,000 in gross revenue annually. They also must commit to taking courses and provide a public service. Warren said his company will mentor youths in the community who might be interested in construction jobs, which can pay starting annual salaries of $30,000 to $50,000.

Brown said he expects participating companies will serve as mentors to future businesses in the program as part of their public service.

The center’s Entrepreneurial Development Program runs workshops, seminars and consultations that are open to the public. It mirrors the LMBE modules with programs on human resource management, estimating, bonding and insurance, project management and succession planning. A workshop scheduled for next month will address human resource management, discussing issues such as hiring and retaining good workers, aligning roles and responsibilities with the corporate mission and managing and addressing performance and behavioral problems, among others.

In September, the center will open a six-week Contractor’s College. It is being developed with Turner Construction, which will provide instructors for courses such as estimating and business information modeling.

Measures of success

The program’s success is gauged by participants’ winning contracts and hiring new employees, Brown said. Several of the businesses in the program have started to work together to win contracts, he said, noting two companies recently partnered to win a $50,000 contract at National Harbor, Peterson’s premiere development project in the county that includes shops, restaurants and hotels along the Potomac River.

Although it may seem contradictory, the current economic climate is a good time for minority-owned and small businesses to re-evaluate themselves to better position their businesses for when the economy turns around and developers look for contractors, said Mark Mittereder, a senior construction manager at Peterson who serves on the CMBD advisory board.

There are currently seven companies participating in the Accelerator Program, with others looking to join. Christopher Williams, who is scheduled for an interview with center officials next week,said he hopes to be selected so he can tap the counseling available with leaders in the local construction industry and improve his business through the program’s assessment services.

“It’s the kind of thing that an entrepreneur needs at this time,” said Williams, who started Grace Management & Construction LLC in January after his land developer employer went out of business.

PGCC—whose student population is 79 percent African-American—is working to ensure the center continues to operate when the grant expires, said PGCC President Charlene Dukes. The college is looking to strengthen relationships with current partners and develop ones with new partners to sustain the center.

“This not just a five-year programthat when the grant is gone, the program is gone, too,” she said. “We’re looking at all the channels available to us.”

Program offers guidance to minority business owners in Prince George’s County

By Josef Jablecki — ( Corridor, Inc., Summer 2010 edition) - As a business owner, Mark Marina knows he can ill-afford to pass up an opportunity to improve his company.

So, when Marina, the president of On the Mark Construction LLC learned about the services offered at Prince George’s Community College’s Center for Minority Business Development, he jumped at the opportunity to get involved.

“If you don’t participate, you don’t take advantage of the opportunities handed to you,” Marina said.

Opened for about a year, the center offers several programs, including the Local Minority Business Enterprise program, which is designed to help local construction companies compete for large-scale contracts. There is also the Entrepreneurial Development Program, which helps existing businesses hone in on certain aspects of their company.

Industry experts train construction company owners through specialized, catered consulting, on-site help and review and with one-on-one coaching as part of the Minority Business Enterprise program. During this one-year program, participants learn strategies to help grow and market their business better.

They also get a financial profile review, an important step to come closer to meeting industry standards. Marina is one of seven business owners currently involved in the program.

“We don’t just go on the site and do the job for them,” said Carl Brown Jr., executive director of the Center for Minority Business Development. “If we feed you a fish, you can eat. If we teach you to fish, you can feed yourself.”

However, not every business needs an entire year worth of expert advice. The Entrepreneurial Development Program is designed specifically for an existing company that wants to better itself, but doesn’t need an entire overhaul.

Once accepted into this program, a consultant meets with the owner to assess the company by looking through the financial records and other aspects of the company to hone in on what needs to be improved. For example, if the company could use a more colorful marketing plan, then the owner comes in for one of the 2-hour workshops on marketing, Brown said.

“I went to a seminar and registered,” said Cecilia Jones, partner of Press, Potter and Dozier LLC. “After that, they started to send me announcements every time they were having a workshop.”

Jones has attended multiple workshops from general business to government contracts.

“I think it’s fabulous,” Jones said. “The workshop about financing in particular was helpful to me. They provided information to me that isn’t very widely known.”

The Center for Minority Business Development is already making plans for expansion. It continues to hold concentrated workshops, such as those concentrating on commercial insurance and bonding and project management.

“Last June no one knew about us,” Brown said. “I’ve seen our workshops grow from 12 people to 45 since the start.”