Starting a Business

The Harford County Office of Economic Development provides information and support to entrepreneurs and small business owners of new, existing and start-up companies. The Financial Manager works with individuals to develop and/or review business plans and discuss financing options, including the Economic Development Opportunity Fund (PDF).

Partners

The office partners with the county’s financial institutions and various local, state and federal programs to determine the financial resources available to Harford County businesses. Our partners include but are not limited to:

• Army Contracting Agency
• Department of Defense
• Harford Community College
• Harford County Banks and Credit Unions
• Harford County Public Library Small Business Resource Center
• Harford County Small Business Technology Development Center at Harford Community College
• Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
• Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
• Maryland Department of Transportation for MBE and DBE certifications
• Maryland Procurement Technical Assistance Program
• U. S. Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Small Business Administration - loan programs and certifications

The Office of Economic Development leverages information and dollars from private enterprise, government and higher education to assist companies in obtaining capital and creating jobs to achieve success and continued growth.

OTHER RESOURCES

The following websites are excellent resources for researching and defining your business strategies, skills and risk-tolerance, along with your industry, market and product. These websites also offer links to additional information and support for your efforts:

• The Harford County Public Library Small Business Center: Offers resources to start, run and grow a small business.
• The Small Business Technology Development Center: Located at Harford Community College, this center will help establish and expand business by providing a variety of management and technical assistance programs and tools.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration: Home page leads to a wealth of programs and services to start, grow and succeed in business.
• Maryland Small Business Resource Guide (PDF): The 40-page Maryland Small Business Resource Guide is located on the Maryland SBA webpage.
• State of Maryland Small Business Assistance: Maryland values the significant contributions the state’s approximately 443,000 small businesses make to our economy. Of that number, some 128,000 are women-owned, and nearly 115,000 are minority-owned. This important sector of our economy employs 47% of all Maryland workers.
• The Governor's Office of Minority Affairs: The Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs acts as a small and minority-owned business liaison in cooperation with the State of Maryland’s various departments.