“Governor taps two Prince George's locals for small business commission” |
| Governor taps two Prince George's locals for small business commission Posted: 09 Feb 2011 01:33 PM PST  Photo courtesy of Riche Holmes Grant. Riche Holmes Grant was named to the governor's newly formed small business commission. Published on: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 By Andrew Damstedt Two Prince George's County residents were appointed to Gov. Martin O'Malley's commission on small business recently. Riche Holmes Grant and James A. Dula were named among 17 people to serve on the newly formed commission. "I think it's a great opportunity to provide a voice for other small businesses," Holmes Grant said. Holmes Grant started her business, Innovative Study Techniques in Prince George's County eight years ago and said it means a lot for her to be able to provide a voice for the county on the commission. Dula, who was listed as executive director of Image Consulting Group on the governor's press release, could not be reached for comment. "I'd like to see more opportunities for entrepreneurs in small business, voicing their concerns and needs," Holmes Grant said. Providing a voice for small business is exactly why the commission was set up said Jorge Austrich, the office of business services program director in the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. While Austrich said that mission is very important, the commission mainly will look at issues that impact small business regulations. Commission members will serve two-year terms, but since this is the first year of the commission, some of the members' terms expire in July. The commission was formed after the Small Business Task Force provided it in its recommendations to the governor. The other recommendations are expected to be used as a starting point for the commission to tackle its mission, Austrich said. Those recommendations were to establish a center for small business excellence, rework state financing programs to complement federal and private sector offerings, extend the state's small business reserve program, streamline regulatory review processes and centralize and effectively market workforces. He said this is one of the ways the governor is ensuring the state is responsive to small business owners, as Austrich said the governor repeatedly says that small businesses are the foundation of Maryland's economy. The commission met for the first time at the end of January and is expected to have another meeting this month. The commission will then meet on a quarterly basis and will provide an annual report, with the first one due in July 2012, Austrich said. Holmes Grant said she wants to share her resources and experience in starting up a small business with others. She started her business after she graduated with a law degree from Columbia University. "I come from a family of entrepreneurs; I didn't know I would do it until my last year in law school," she said. "My grandfather said, 'You should come back home and contribute to the world.' It stayed with me. It's the last conversation we had." After taking the bar, she came back to Prince George's County and noticed people were leaving the county for SAT preparation. So, she decided to fill that gap and has grown her business since then to include all the standardized tests. "Owning a small is more than a job for me — it's become a way of life," she said, and she expects to bring that passion to the commission. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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