Wednesday's Entrepreneur Tour Still Open for Registration

The Entrepreneur Tour will be held at the Bel Air Reckord Armory on Main Street on Wednesday. The event will feature a presentation from the Director of Harford County's Office of Economic Development, Jim Richardson, on the impact of BRAC in Bel Air, MD.

Scott Walker, Executive Director of Bel Air Downtown Alliance and organizer of the Entrepreneur Tour is looking forward to the event.

"Typically we get people that are looking to open a business," Walker said, adding that already established businesses that are looking to expand or grow also participate.

There will be representatives on hand from small business lenders (People's Bank and M&T Bank), the Small Business Development Center at Harford Community College, commercial realtors RKS Realty, the Town of Bel Air and local business owners (HeartBeat, Tiny Toes and MD School of Ballet/Pilates on Main). There will also be a tour of several available properties in Downtown Bel Air followed by a complimentary networking lunch at MaGerk's Pub & Grill.

Walker said that the last Entrepreneur Tour was in May 2009 and "25 to 30 individuals participated, and I expect about the same this year."

While there are no statistics available on local businesses that have started as a result of the Tour, Walker estimates that a number of the businesses opened in 2010 can be traced back to the previous tour.

"Since January, we've had more than 10 new businesses open… and a few can be connected back to that [May 2009] tour," he said.

Walker thinks that local businesses participate as "a kind of philanthropy on their end," as well as out of support for their community and for the Downtown Alliance.

He also notes that these businesses benefit from the time and knowledge that they contribute to the event.

"Yes, they're giving their time, but they know it's a valuable asset for new business owners to have this information available to them," Walker said. "It's in their [own] best interests to donate their time to bring businesses to the area."

Walker said that participants can still register for the free event to have an opportunity to meet with power players in town.

"[There will be] one-on-one time with stakeholders in the community to help them get their businesses off ground and make face-to-face connections," Walker stated.

To register, e-mail Walker at swalker@downtownbelair.com or call the office at 410-638-1023. Additional information is available at www.downtownbelair.com.