Businesses get their say at annual event

Economic Development crew sets up visits, seminars

Friday, May 9, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by KAYLEIGH KULP Ken Chrismond, left, talks with Calvert County Commissioner Jerry Clark (R), right, during a site visit for Business Appreciation Week. Chrismond and his wife Lisa, second from right, own Island Time Rental on Solomons Island. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

To prove it, the department launched its third annual Business Appreciation Week with a kick-off reception at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum on Monday night.

But more important than networking and meet-and-greets is the feedback the EDD says it and local companies will have taken away from each other through a series of site visits and seminars.

On Tuesday, five teams of county commissioners, EDD representatives and business leaders visited a range of companies to find out how they can better serve them — from restaurants to golf clubs, to real estate firms, to retail stores. It was a way for county officials to learn about small companies that may have previously been under their radar and for the county to learn about the issues those businesses face.

Ken and Lisa Chrismond, who own Island Time Rental on Solomons Island, were among those visited by county Commissioner Jerry Clark’s (R) ambassador team.

The Chrismonds told Clark and his team that they wish there had been more consolidated, transparent processes when they were in the planning stages of the business more than a year ago.

The couple said they also found planning and zoning regulations confusing, especially for its waterfront property and floating dock.

‘‘When we started this, we didn’t have any idea of what to do,” Ken Chrismond said. Although he said county personnel were wonderful, the Chrismonds recommend the county assign an advocate to each new start-up business. Jim Shepherd, business development specialist for the EDD, said the organization invited the Calvert County Planning Commission to come to on site visits so it could get feedback on such issues.

But now that Island Time is open for business renting Segways, kayaks, bikes and electric cars, the couple said the main target is advertising and accessibility on the island. And on Solomons Island, communication is needed between organizations so all businesses are prepared for mass events and other marketing opportunities.

‘‘This is what we saw as a market,” Ken Chrismond said. ‘‘We hope that it not only brings business to us but that we spread it around. We did very well [last summer] for no one knowing we were here and no advertising. We’re still here because we have deep pockets. As a small business, we need the Economic Development Commission and the Chamber of Commerce to support us because we are the backbone of the community ... in order for us to survive.”

But the Chrismonds are thinking of creative ways to pay the bills in the off-season, when the weather keeps tourists away from the island, by selling advertising on its home page and on the back of their electric cars.

‘‘Word of mouth will be the best advertising we ever get,” Ken said, noting that people came last year from Baltimore and Annapolis just to ride the Segways. High gas prices may mean more people are staying in-state for vacations this year, which could be good for Solomons businesses.

Clark agreed.

‘‘Your success is borne by yourselves,” he said.

Vincenzo D’Arista, owner of Vincenzo’s at Calvert Marina restaurant on Solomons Island, told commissioners’ President Wilson H. Parran (D) on Tuesday morning that his biggest struggle is also advertising and marketing. Tucked away at the end of Dowell Road, D’Arista said it’s been difficult to let people know his fine dining restaurant is there, especially since county ordinances prevent certain types of signage on major thoroughfares like Route 4.But with advertising help and ways to combine the area’s touristic features, D’Arista said he believes he’ll see his investment flourish sooner rather than later.

‘‘They can definitely help us out,” he said of Annmarie Garden, also on Dowell Road, and other Solomons attractions. ‘‘There’s this whole world back here.”

D’Arista told the commission president and Linda Vassallo, director of economic development, ‘‘it’s not easy” to obtain local produce like he would like to. But Parran said the board of county commissioners is thinking about training farmers to supply produce to restaurants.

‘‘This is a checks and balances that we did what we said we were going to do” for the businesses, Vassallo said of the site visits, which were chosen by delving into the EDD’s database for businesses that have attended its seminars or requested assistance.

‘‘This has created a good relationship between businesses and county government and the state. A lot of businesses are here because they want to be in Calvert County. In the long term it will pay off for everybody,” Parran said.

‘‘They took some advice,” D’Arista said after the meeting. ‘‘They seemed interested in what I had to say. I was impressed.”

Marketing was also the main theme at a seminar Wednesday at the EDD titled, ‘‘Marketing Your Main Street: Tips and Techniques for Cooperative Promotion.”

Stan Ruchlewicz, a Main Street Maryland manager who launched the Main Street program in Westminster, and Jillien Dube, a Main Street Maryland assistant coordinator, spoke to members of the EDD, the Small Business Development Center and local community members about the Main Street Maryland project — an economic development initiative that encourages clusters of businesses on ‘‘Main Street” to buy cooperative advertising and sponsor initiatives that promote and brand them as a destination spot.

‘‘It’s bringing a new concept to groups of businesses together to start thinking cooperatively. We’re starting to see that businesses are starting to get it,” said Kelly Robertson Slagle, business retention specialist for the EDD, of the purpose for the workshop.

Slagle said Calvert does have a challenge in that it follows the town center model versus the Main Street model, but the point was to take away technique ideas. To get funding from Main Street Maryland, communities must meet certain strict designations through the National Trust for Historical Preservation.

‘‘Our Main Street is not a retail area. We have a darling little Main Street area, but it’s three-quarters government. It’s a shame that some place in the past Prince Frederick wasn’t looked at in that perspective. How can we resurrect some of that in this area would be wonderful,” said Leslie Downs, owner of Bag-O-Beads in Prince Frederick.

‘‘You don’t have to be a main street to run like one,” Dube said. ‘‘You have to have a goal in mind of what you want to be. If you have your niche, you should exploit it for all it’s worth.”

The EDD also held other events centered on networking and promotion this week, including a ‘‘power networking” reception Tuesday evening in Owings, a women’s business roundtable event co-hosted by the Small Business Development Center on Wednesday night, a purchasing office open house Thursday morning, and a seminar on how to break into the growing tourbus market Friday morning at the Marriot Springhill Suites.

Vassallo said the week’s events are testament to the EDD’s goals.

‘‘Business retention is our bread and butter. It’s good for the business community to know that the government will come and help you,” she said.