We were very excited to welcome our 100^th guest on the Carroll County Buzz, Carroll County Commissioner Richard Rothschild!  Commissioner Rothschild, from district 4, is our 3 out of 5 commissioners to join us on the show. Rothschild focused on his concerns with the Plan Maryland Forum, which is a state wide plan that will define how Maryland grows, developed by the Maryland Department of Planning in Annapolis. Planning was typically handled by local officials and locally made decisions. The concern is this plan may not be in the best interest on individual, local levels. Other counties agree and they are joining forces to propose a more balanced prospective and approach in the Plan. All Maryland counties have unique needs, strengths and weakness. Having a “blanket” plan may not address issues within each county and may even make some situations worse.

Commissioner Rothschild believes that all information is not accurately portrayed and there must be a way to tailor the Plan to address the correct issues. There is an upcoming meeting to discuss and dispute the Plan by public officials by several county officials.

We reviewed our 100 guests that have joined us on the show and although all of them were very different in their own ways, they have all found ways to succeed in their business or field. We enjoy providing a platform for business owners, non-profit organizations, community leaders, etc. to share how they have succeeded and give their personal advice to others.  We have also enjoyed our on-location shows and we look forward to many more!

Speaking of success, we shared tips from one of the most successful men in history, Steve Jobs!

Steve Jobs 12 Rules of Success:

1. Do what you love to do. Find your true passion. Make a difference. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
2. Be different. Think different. Better to be a pirate than to join the navy.
3. Do your very best at every job. Don’t sleep! Success generates more success, so be hungry for it!
4. Perform SWOT  (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper. Don’t hesitate to throw bad apples out of the company.
5. Be entrepreneurial. Look for the next big thing. Find a set of ideas that need to be acted upon quickly and decisively and jump through that window. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one. Just take it. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
6. Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful or simple tings to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. Put a ding in the universe.
7. Strive to become a market leader. Own and control the primary technology in everything you do. If there’s a better technology available, use it regardless of whether or not everyone else is using it. Be the first, make it an industry standard.
8. People judge  you by your performance, so focus on that outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. Advertise. If they don’t know about it, they won’t buy your product. Pay attention to design. We made the buttons on the screen look so good you‘ll want to lick them. Design is not just what is looks like and feels like. Design is how is works.
9. Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you’re at the top of the chain, sometimes people won’t give you honest feedback because they’re afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources.  Focus on those who will use your product – listen to your customers first.
10. Innovate. Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate. Let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% of your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don’t get on the wrong track…
11. Learn from failures. Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations
12. Learn continually. There’s always “one more thing” to learn. Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company. Learn from customers, competitors and partners. If you partner with someone whom you don’t like, learn to like them – praise them and benefit from them.

 Marlene Titus of the Miller Center for Small Business at Carroll Community College and Matt Day of the Business Training Group at Carroll Community College explained some exciting programs that can help business owners and entrepreneurs. First, Marlene explains the services provided by the Miller Center for Small Business. Basically, they provide courses, resource center, marketing data base, etc. for new business owners and those trying to grow their own business. Most of the courses are taught by other business owners or retired business owners. They offer advice and guidance on how to successfully run a business. They hold events for networking and creating opportunities within the business communities.

 Guidance on funding is also a great resource that Miller Center for Small Business can provide. There IS funding available, its limited, but its out there. There are also tips on how to apply correctly for a business loan, despite the difficulties right now, there are correct and incorrect ways to approach the loan process.

 Mall explains the Pathways to Cyber Security Careers program, a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Labor that provides cyber security training to local businesses. There are also marketing training classes to guide users to properly guide social media and technology.

We also wanted to touch on all of new technology for the technologically challenged out there. There are a lot of great tools to use to stay connected to friends, family & your community: cell phones, social media, email, etc. But, there are many rules that you should follow to stay safe. Also, to avoid being a public nuisance.

 Technology Tips 101

1. When your on the cell phone or texting, the world does not go away. Pay attention to your surroundings and when using a phone is appropriate.
2. On Facebook, don’t advertise where you ARE.
3. When you are talking on a cell phone, you don’t have to talk 10 times louder
4. If an email thread or texting conversation is getting fiery, pick-up the phone and speaks to the person. This can avoid misinterpretation.
5. You don’t have to tweet about everything. Great sign to remember: “In case of a fire, exit building BEFORE tweeting about it”
6. If it has to do with computers, when in doubt, ask a 12 year old.

The Economic Development Administrator, Stan Ruchlewicz joined that show to update us how the recession has effected downtown Westminster businesses, how it has NOT affected business and the ways that seem to have saved many small businesses and shops. Stan has been the Administrator of Economic Development for the City of Westminster for the past 10 years, beginning in June of 2001. Mr. Ruchlewicz explained that A LOT has happened in the past 10 years; there have been building added, new businesses that have flourished and also the disappearing of several old businesses.

The purpose of the Office of Economic Development is to promote and enhance the economic growth and development of the City of Westminster. As well as attracting and stimulating new businesses to the area while supporting the retention and expansion of existing employers. We were very curious to inquire about how the current state of the economy has effected local businesses. According to Mr. Ruchlewicz, there has been a mixture of positive and negative changes since the “recession”. For starters, we did lose some long-time, well-known businesses; such as, Locust Books and Houck Florist on Main Street, the large Hallmark store on Englar Road, and various restaurants including, Cactus Willies, Timeout Sports Grille and more. On the other hand, some businesses have gown and even flourished despite the economy’s uncertainties. These businesses have taken advantage of low-cost advertising and media touches through the internet and social networks. They have learned to listen to the needs of the customers and provide good service. That is what helps the many successful businesses in the area “stay afloat”.

Stan also explained how going “above and beyond” in services by offering new and unique services can help tremendously. He gave the example of the fun and inexpensive cooking classes offered by the Italian Deli, Giulianova’s on Main Street has helped bring traffic to the business, but also sets them apart. Being proactive during a recession is the key.

There are a lot of great places to be discovered in Westminster. There are great local restaurants and shopping and it seems like those attractions are doing very well. Stan also explains how city events such as the Annual Flower & Jazz Festival, outdoor concerts and the Fall Fest also bring traffic and interest into the great businesses of Downtown Westminster, which is key in creating a successful community.

Five Things to Remember as You Begin to Grow Older

1. At some point, you will not be able to do the same things as well as you once did. Example: Driving. There are many factors that can affect your ability to drive when you reach a certain age or condition.
2. Your hearing ability may change. Do something about it. Many people are reluctant to acknowledge this and they may put themselves in danger or miss something important.
3. There may come a time when you cannot take care of your own needs. Be prepared for the need and cost of custodial care.
4. Some people want to help you, some people want to hurt you. There are many people out there who seek to take advantage of the elderly. Find people that you trust to take care of you, your finances and your possessions.
5. Be prepared financially. Don’t want until its too long to have a retirement plan to have income once you are no longer working.  

April 20^th, 2011

Segment I Guest: Mike Fox, Bonds Meadow Rotary Club

Segment II Guest: Delegate Justin Ready(R-5A)

We welcomed two guests today! Our first guest, Mike Fox explained what the Bonds Meadow Rotary does and their important role in the community. Rotary is an international organization dedicated to help the community. There are over 200 different Rotary clubs around the world, Bonds Meadow being one of them. There are over 1.2 million members in the various Rotary clubs. The Bonds Meadow chapter has 35 members who meet on Tuesday morning at 7:15am for breakfast. Their focus is to assist the community by raising funds for local non-profit organizations, as well as assisting people in need in other countries. One of their biggest projects was to Combat and Control River Blindness in Tanzania and Enhance Delivery of Health Services, for which Rotary Foundation support of nearly $300,000, together with District and Club support of $25,000 was received in 2001.  That project, completed by June 2006, protected about 500,000 people from the parasitic worm that causes river blindness, as well as providing 14,600 insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) to prevent malaria and 6,000 latrine slabs. They also sponsor a child in Haiti and have a large part in the fight against Polio.

In Carroll County, the Bonds Meadow Rotary has assisted 13-15 organizations with fundraising opportunities and support. They will be hosting a Bull Roast on May 6^th to benefit Target Community and Educational Services. Mike Fox explained how he enjoys being a party of the Carroll County Community because he has lived several places throughout the US and Carroll County is the most community oriented place that he has lived.

Bonds Meadow Rotary also provides Safe Mother Packages to third world countries to promote safe pregnancy and delivery for those who may not have the best resources. In the county, many of the Bonds Meadow Rotary members volunteer their time at local public schools. Recently, Mike Fox was at Elmer Wolfe Elementary School to read Dr. Seuss stories to the kindergartners on Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

For more information about the works of the Bonds Meadow Rotary, or for information about becoming involved, visit. www.bondsmeadowrotary.org.

Next, we were joined by Delegate Justin Ready! He recently attended the Legislative Wrap-Up Session in Annapolis and we were eager to hear about that experience. But first, we asked him how his new leadership has begun. Delegate Ready explained that he has enjoyed the learning process and his experience working as an aid for the Senate and House prepared him a lot as to what to expect. He was surprised at the number of meetings per day that he had to attend! He explained that there was a magnitude of positive changes going on, but after going from one meeting to another, he had to do lots of homework for keep himself refreshed on the content. There were some issues that disappointed Delegate Ready. The issue of the budget seems to be getting increasingly unsteady. But he is hoping that there will be positive changes soon.  On a good note, Justin shared that he was happy there were positive changes regarding Government Transparency Laws and human trafficking. Ready went on to explain that although there was no progress made in the efforts to lower taxes, there was a great hearing held discussing the issue. He supports lowering taxes, but the motion was shot down by the Democratic majority. Delegate Ready’s main concern is that Maryland is raising taxes to help generate funds to aid lower income families, but by increasingly taxing residents, they are hurting the same people that they are trying to help. In recent years, Maryland has increased sales tax and implemented a higher alcohol tax. They did by pass the proposed gas tax increase, a motion that Delegate Ready was opposed to. The next major issue that needs to be address is how to reduce budget spending without cutting back necessary funding. Delegate Ready explains that he feel Maryland should spend less, but it seem difficult to stop the rate of growth and increasing needs of funding to be able to cut back.

Next, we discussed his first Session in Annapolis. He explained that though there were some heated conversations and a mix of personalities, everyone seemed to work well together and make an effort to hear one another. An important topic discussed was a requirement by the Federal Health Care Reform, which is currently under review for being unconstitutional, to implement a health care exchange in Maryland and all states.  There was a study group to examine this approach, Delegate Ready explains that he is in favor of the original idea, but there are many aspects that will not be ideal for the residents of Maryland.  He is also feels that if there are too many mandates, health care costs will end up increasing. But on the other hand, more options available will give citizens the opportunity to get health care on their own terms and not rely on employers. It has been found that many people stay at a “dead end” job or position in order to maintain their health care.

On a local note, there was a bill passed to give wineries in Carroll County 12 permits to be able to sell and market their products at farmer’s markets. This is in addition to the 3 permits available for events, such as the annual wine festivals. This is a good thing for the agricultural community.

Another bill that was reviewed requires any repeat drunk driving offenders to have a mandatory Interlock system installed in their vehicle. If there blood alcohol level is about 1.5, this may also be a mandatory action, regardless if it was the first or repeated offense.

Lastly, Delegate Ready explains his opposition to the decision to make state tuition and aid available for illegal immigrants to attend college. Justin fears that this will increase costs in colleges and take away the funds available for tax-paying residents. Though, the bill states that the immigrant be a tax payer for at least 3 years, it is very difficult for schools to be certain of this. Montgomery Community College has already faced a monthly increase of $6million dollars due to the immigrant policy that they have allowed for the past 3 years. Ready says that there will be a petition in the near future opposing this recent change, it is an issue that will be put on the ballot to get a public vote on.

We asked Delegate Ready about his feelings on the recent passing of Governor William Donald Schaefer. He explained that he has made an effort to learn more about Governor Schaefer because he was fairly young while Schaefer was in office. Delegate Ready admires how hard he worked to fix problems and really cared about addressing the peoples’ issues. He strives to vote correctly to make positive progress. Delegate Justin Ready represents district 5A, which covers northern Carroll County (excluding Taneytown), Westminster – Silver Run, Manchester and Finksburg. Log on to his website, www.justinready.com for more information about Delegate Ready and to access his contact information.

7 Things Today’s Politicians – And All of Us – Can Learn from William Donald Schaefer

1. Sincerity counts.
2. If you believe in your vision, you can make it happen.
3. It’s also about the “little things”
4. Focus on what you are doing NOW, not on climbing the ladder
5. Get it done today.
6. People will believe you are, if you REALLY care
7. Be yourself, not who everyone else thinks you should be