January 2023 Director’s Note: The Value of Making & Keeping Connections

Making and keeping connections – building a network – is an important part of business. You have networks within your organization, your customers and clients and vendors are part of your network, and without them, you won’t be in business.

Connections outside of your organization are essential also. One would be hard-pressed to find a community that does it better at making connections than the Caroline County business community. There have been a number of times when I’ve overheard that business A was reaching out to business B about something – real estate, business advise, even sharing employment information. And because the businesses are made up of the people, those connections and networks are found in church and civic organizations, at the sports fields and local grocery stores.

I’ve been fortunate to participate in structured network building activities, most recently through Leadership Maryland. And it paid off immediately. One of the members of that cohort works for Coca-Cola Consolidated, and at the beginning of November, he reached out to let us know that there were pallets of products available for local nonprofits. I forwarded the information to two Caroline County nonprofits, and Aaron’s Place was able to take possession of multiple pallets of product to give to their clients.

A shout-out to the local Chamber of Commerce who provides many forums for networking. There are plenty of opportunities to meet and greet with local business representatives. Social networking through Facebook and Instagram (and TikTok for the younger folks) is another way to stay connected with local businesses – and not so local businesses also.

Let me offer this call to action for 2023 – build your network.

FYI – Consider discovering more information on the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education through the Caroline County Public Schools. Essentially this program helps certain students learn what it takes to prepare for college and career, and some of those students could be eligible for higher education grants. Contact the coordinator Morgan Cox, who can be reached at 410-788-0333 or morgan@mbrt.org.

 

Caroline County Economic Development and Tourism is an office within Caroline County government. For updates on any future business support, sign up for our newsletter and follow Caroline County Economic Development on Facebook.