Business group launches mentoring program
By Marcus Moore Published
February 23, 2006 www.gazette.net
Bruce Chatman has high aspirations for the Arthur W. Wilmer Foundation LLC — a Brandywine development company — but wants more exposure for his 3-year-old business.
The Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable in Lanham, and its brand-new Emerging Entrepreneur program, may be the answer.
"I hope to gain insight into some of the processes that developers use in this county,” said Chatman, the first program recruit and a Business Roundtable member for two months. "Development is helter-skelter in Prince George’s, and the process needs to be changed.”
Derek A. McDaniels, president and CEO of McDaniels Development Corp. in Lanham and a roundtable member, said many emerging businesses begin with a great idea and new program — a brainchild of McDaniels —aims to right those wrongs, he said. The program has two members, but wants to recruit 40 entrepreneurs for the initiative, McDaniels said.
"We’ve got to figure out how to break these cycles,” McDaniels said. "You hear about a new business, but then two years later, it’s gone.”
The program pairs fledgling entrepreneurs with the roundtable’s established CEOs to help them cultivate their businesses. The roundtable would hold two to four meetings per year with recruits to discuss general matters important to all entrepreneurs, according to a group announcement.
"Not only will emerging entrepreneurs see improvements in their business opportunities, they will have a significant effect on the future of Prince George’s County through participation in this vital organization,” the announcement said.
As president and managing partner of the company, Chatman has big development plans for Wilmer’s Park in Brandywine, a historic 80-acre concert venue created in the 1950s by entrepreneur Arthur W. Wilmer. Chatman wants to build a 6,400-seat, open-air amphitheater, a recreational cultural center, senior housing and a police substation on the site.
Chatman admits that he was initially apprehensive about joining the Roundtable — with more than 23 CEOs and entrepreneurs on its board — because of ‘‘mixed reviews” on the group’s progress. But after meeting with M.H. ‘‘Jim” Estepp, the roundtable’s president and CEO, he was sold on the group and the new program, he said.
"I knew Jim was a good guy, and I thought maybe this wouldn’t be a bad thing to do,” Chatman said.
The Emerging Entrepreneur program is new in name, but not in concept.
The Prince George’s Economic Development Corp. in Largo launched the Small Business Initiative last February to provide assistance to small, minority-owned county businesses to help them grow.
The initiative provides access to capital, contract awards, entrepreneurial training, management consulting and technical assistance, according to its Web site.
The Prince George’s Board of Trade in Forestville also represents, promotes and supports small businesses, according to its Web site. Each year, it presents its Small Business of the Year award in recognition of a successful small business.
The Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce in Lanham, a nonprofit representing more than 850 businesses, operates a Small and Minority Business Committee, which meets the second Thursday of each month, its Web site said.
E-mail Marcus Moore at mmoore@gazette.net.
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