Wow, you have a start-up! 

A square corned brief case appears behind the words "Career Success Month."

by Rohini G.

Do you hope to hear exclamations about your new business from everyone you meet? Would you like to give a concrete structure to your passion project? We have all the tools and resources to answer your questions and concerns through a series of programs presented by experts during Career Success Month, which runs through the middle of February. 

To learn about the steps necessary to put your business vision into action, enroll in our virtual workshop Documentation 101: How to Form Your Business. We cover the primary steps to forming your business within Maryland, including the details you need to consider to ensure regulatory and legal compliance. Vanessa Bright speaks from her two decades of experience re-engineering non-profit organizations, setting up systems, and creating opportunities for success.  

Along with business documentation, you need to have vital legal protection for your brand, invention, design, and artistic or literary work, as well as avoid infringement or violations. Supervisory Patent Attorney Leigh Callander discusses trademark law and how this differs from patents and copyrights in Trademark Law: The Basics.  

Ley de propietario – inquilino: conoce tus derechos y responsabilidades (Landlord-Tenant Law: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities). Paula Lino, voluntaria de la Oficina de Protección al Consumidor del condado de Howard, brindará un taller informativo sobre los derechos y responsabilidades del inquilino.

Hosted by libraries throughout Maryland, Career Success Month provides library customers with guidance from experts on a wide range of business and job advancement topics, as well as help in navigating everyday life while pursuing career goals. Classes include Lawyer in the Library, Trademark Law, Goal Setting for Success, and more. A complete list of events can be found on the Maryland Libraries Together webpage through the Maryland State Library Agency website

Rohini is the Adult Curriculum Specialist with HCLS. She loves literature and rainy days.

Author Works with Kathryn Finney

Thursday, Jan 19
6:30 – 7:30 pm
online  
Registration and more information at bit.ly/hclsfinney

Turn your passion into profit! If you have ever dreamed about starting a business, you need to know about Kathryn Finney. She encourages you to not wait for the system to let you in. Her new book, Build the D*mn Thing, is the essential guide to knowing, breaking, remaking, and building your own rules of entrepreneurship.

She explains how to build a business from the ground up, from developing a business plan to finding investors, growing a team, and refining a product.  

Finney, an investor and startup champion, is the founder and managing general partner of Genius Guild, a Chicago-based venture fund that invests in scalable businesses led by Black founders using innovation to build and promote healthy communities. Build The D*mn Thing: How to Start a Successful Business if You’re Not a Rich White Guy made the Wall Street Journal bestsellers list in its first week of release.

In partnership with Columbia Inspired magazine and The 3rd, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, co-created, community of Women of Color entrepreneurs.