From Victoria Pearson, intern

Hey Westminster! I am excited to share my experience meeting with the President of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, Mike McMullin.

I had the pleasure of speaking with President McMullin and asking thoughtful questions about the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, the organizations it supports, and the Carroll Biz Foundation. His insights were both informative and valuable, especially for those interested in gaining a better understanding of how the Chamber operates behind the scenes and serves the local business community.

I found President McMullin’s perspective to be incredibly helpful and engaging, and I invite you to read his insightful comments below.

How does the Chamber support local businesses and economic growth in Carroll County?

The Chamber has been working for over 100 years to build relationships among the business community, the residents of Carroll County, and our elected officials. We are driven to build relationships. Carroll County is very unique from other areas in Maryland and in the USA, as the businesses here are extremely supportive of other businesses and of the local community itself.

As President, what are your primary responsibilities on a day-to-day basis?

I work with our Board of Directors and staff to establish our vision. I work to include our members as volunteers in our mission. This is how we are able to accomplish so much with the Chamber and the newly formed 501c3 Chamber Foundation. We have only three full-time employees for almost 700 business members, so member involvement is critical. It is my role to bring new events and/or programs into the Chamber and the Foundation.

What has been the most rewarding part of your role so far?

The most rewarding part of my role has been to see new ideas blossom and become mainstays of what we do. I am very proud of the events and programs that we have instituted during my 16 years as president. Events like: the Carroll Biz Challenge is in it’s 15^th year; our Young Professional group, Launch Carroll, has been growing for about 14 years; the Foundation’s annual Public Safety Awards is celebrating 10 years of honoring police/fire/first responders; our annual Drug & Violence Awareness Expo for 8^th graders in CCPS schools has been happening for over 10 years.

What challenges have you faced, and how have you navigated them?

COVID was a major curveball we had to deal with and we hit it out of the park. We still navigated our Leadership Carroll program and had a class of about 40 people still meet live every month with zero cases of COVID reported. Other counties canceled their leadership program, but we kept it going. We filmed a Zoom weekly show to highlight local restaurants where you could pick up food. This was fun and it got exposure for restaurants who were suffering at that time.

What kinds of internship opportunities are available within the Chamber and its branches?

We will be advertising to members to see who would like to have interns. We currently have about five interns engaged with members. I look for interns who are self-motivated and who have great communication skills. Communication is the key to building relationships and to success. Real life work experience is critical to being prepared for the eventual long-term career.

Does the Chamber offer support to those interested in doing something for the community without already being established?

Absolutely, yes. Our annual Carroll Biz Challenge is a local startup business competition like Shark Tank. Anyone who is 18 or older can apply for free and compete to win $10,000 in cash and other prizes. More importantly, when someone applies they enter a community with numerous established businesses who are only too happy to give guidance to a new business.

What advice would you give to a young person interested in starting a business or community project?

Enter the Carroll Biz Challenge and join the Chamber or other business groups. Surround yourself with successful business owners and build a network of support. Just because someone knows how to build a product or make a delicious meal doesn’t mean that they know how to run all aspects of a business.

For those who may not be familiar, what is the Carroll Biz Challenge, and what inspired its creation?

About 15 years ago, a young man, named Jason Stambaugh, approached me with this idea and it sounded good enough to me for the Chamber to take a risk. Jason coordinated it and ran it for several years before it was given to the Chamber to run. The beauty of the Chamber is that we are designed to be able to move quickly with new ideas.

What skills do participants typically gain from going through the Carroll Biz Challenge process?

The application process makes people really look at all aspects of their business idea. I have heard multiple times that the application helped them to really drill into the finer points of opening and running a business.

From your perspective, what separates a good business idea from a winning one in this competition?

A well-thought out approach to how you are going to sustain the business in the long run.

What advice would you give to someone who’s considering applying but may feel intimidated or unsure?

If you have a passion for your idea, do not let anyone talk you out of it. This life is short and those who take chances and risks normally achieve more than those who doubt themselves.

How else does the Chamber support innovation and entrepreneurship at a young age?

Our Launch Carroll Group is designed for people between the ages of 21 to 45. We have preliminary plans through our Foundation eventually reach out to much younger potential entrepreneurs. Stay tuned!