The mission of the Entrepreneur Council of Frederick County is to facilitate, support and encourage entrepreneurship in Frederick County through collaboration, outreach, education and research services.
With the guidance and support of the Entrepreneur Council, the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce hopes to provide several services and benefits to the business leaders in our community via participation in a variety of events, workshops, and business partnership and mentorship opportunities.
We strive to encourage leadership and direction from experienced Frederick County business owners, coordinate and work in alignment with public and other nonprofit organizations that have associations with the Frederick County business community to increase community service and partnerships, provide management assistance and counseling to entrepreneurs, educate entrepreneurs on how to seek and generate capital to enhance business growth and new businesses within the Frederick County area, provide mentor services to educate new and substantially young businesses which need guidance in matters such as, but not limited to, marketing and management, and provide a variety of informational seminars for new and young businesses in Frederick County.
One of the most impactful services we currently provide is our Brown Bag Lunch and Learn series in which business experts provide informative workshops and seminars about important topics that impact businesses in the area. Sessions so far have covered everything from cybersecurity to financial planning for your business.
We spoke to the Entrepreneur Council’s current committee chair, Darrick Bowens, owner of Colbert/Ball Tax Service, to find out what he feels his committee and the council as a whole can help accomplish for Frederick businesses and business leaders.
Bowens believes that the Council is able to provide several opportunities and services to its members and the business community in general. He shared that he was inspired to join the committee because it would allow him the opportunity to, “assist start up business with understanding the process of starting a business”.
Through its various workshops and networking activities, The Entrepreneur Council is able to support new business owners as they learn and grow by providing access to information and partnerships that would otherwise be largely inaccessible.
Bowens further noted that the Council, “serves as a resource for the small business community, and facilitates, supports and encourages entrepreneurship,” making it easier for new business to establish themselves in a community that is largely supportive of those endeavors.
The Entrepreneur Council has their next Lunch & Learn event scheduled for April 8th and a mixer planned for this June.
Darrick L. Bowens is a franchise owner with Colbert/Ball Tax Service, LLC. The Frederick, MD location is a tax preparation, accounting and financial management provider located in historic downtown Frederick. Darrick leads overall operations and staff development initiatives to include tax preparation/ tax strategies, debt reduction planning, payroll and bookkeeping needs for both individuals and small businesses. Darrick is the creator and member of the Maryland Minority Consulting Network. The Network concentrates on providing specific services and workshops for the minority individuals and small business owners in Frederick and throughout the state of Maryland. Prior to franchise ownership Darrick worked in the insurance industry since 1998 and the finance/tax industry since 2004.
Frederick Chamber Insights is a news outlet of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about membership, programs and initiatives, please visit our website.