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Spark! After Dark: An Evening of Inspiration, Innovation and Impact

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Spark! After Dark: An Evening of Inspiration, Innovation and Impact

Wednesday, May 6, 2026 (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM) (EDT)

Description

A premier conference dedicated to equipping entrepreneurs and small business owners with the knowledge, resources, and connections needed to foster collaboration, drive innovation, and accelerate growth.


When: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 

Where: Hagerstown Community College Career Programs Building (CPB) 

Time: 5:00PM - 8:00PM

Register: FREE! https://incubatorhcc.com/spark-innovation-and-growth-conference 


Agenda 

*Please note: the agenda has not been finalized and is subject to change
4:45pm- Registration Opens
5:00-5:45pm- Register, Taste and Explore our Resource Fair
5:45-6:00pm- Opening Remarks
6:00-6:55pm- Session One
6:55-7:00pm- Break
7:00-8:00pm- Session Two

Resource Fair Participants
  • Washington County Department of Business and Economic Development
  • Maryland Tech Council
  • Maryland Comptrollers Office 
  • U.S. Small Business Administration
  • Patriot Federal Credit Union
  • Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education at Hagerstown Community College
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • Visit Hagerstown
  • Sum of the Digits Bookkeeping
  • TEDCO
  • M&T Bank
  • TriBridge Partners

Session One Options (6:00-6:55)
  • Stop Guessing With Money: How Owners Become Confident Financial Leaders
  • The 6 Reasons Most Small Businesses Stay Stuck
  • Fueling Business Success: How the HCC Incubators + Labs Can Support Every Entrepreneur
  • Automating the Boring Stuff
  • Keep Your Customer for Life: Designing the In-Person Experience


Session Two Options (7-8pm)
  • Build Your Financial Foundation: Systems Every New Owner Should Master
  • Intellectual Property Basics for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses
  • Build What Matters: Clarity Before Capacity
  • Doing More with AI
  • Marketing and Brand Building on a Budget

Session One Descriptions: 
Stop Guessing With Money: How Owners Become Confident Financial Leaders: Any owner could benefit from this presentation, but it's for owners who are already profitable and want to move from a reactive state to a real strategic financial leader. Learn common areas that keep owners reactive and strategies on how to create a solution to them.
Facilitated by: Jen Ward, Assigned Financial Solutions

The 6 Reasons Most Small Businesses Stay Stuck: Is your business working harder than ever — but still not growing the way you hoped? You're not alone, and the problem probably isn't what you think.
In this workshop, your will learn the six hidden reasons most small businesses stall, and how to break through them. You'll walk away with a clear diagnosis of what's holding your business back and a concrete path forward. 
Facilitated by: Mac Caldwell, A Better Way Forward Coaching

Fueling Business Success: How the HCC Incubators + Labs Can Support Every Entrepreneur: This session reveals everything the Hagerstown Community College Incubators + Labs can do to help business owners build, grow, and sustain momentum. Attendees will explore services available to startups, seasoned business owners, and even entrepreneurs who don’t need dedicated office space. From strategic planning and coaching to workshops, networking, and operational support, this session shows how our incubator acts as a powerful engine for long-term business success.  
Facilitated by: Maureen Kolb, Incubator + Labs Director

Automate the Boring Stuff: Small business owners wear too many hats. This session focuses on using AI to handle repetitive administrative tasks so the owner can focus on their customers. 
Facilitated by: Steven Wriston, PPT Consulting

Keep Your Customers for Life: Designing the In-Person Experience: 
Your customer experience doesn’t begin when a guest walks through your door - it begins long before that. But what happens once they’re in front of you is where most businesses either build loyalty or quietly lose it. In this workshop, you will learn how to identify and eliminate friction points, replace transactional interactions with meaningful ones, and create a seamless experience from start to finish.
Facilitated by: Sarah Ellwood, Alpine Plant Bar

Session Two Descriptions:
Build Your Financial Foundation: Systems Every New Owner Should Master: Running a business is exciting — but without the right financial systems, growth can quickly turn stressful. This hands‑on workshop gives new and early‑stage entrepreneurs the essential tools to build a strong financial foundation from day one. We’ll walk through the key systems every owner should have in place, including how to set up simple bookkeeping practices, create and manage invoices, track expenses, prepare for taxes, and price your products or services with confidence. You’ll also learn how to conduct a CEO‑level financial review to monitor your business’s health and make informed decisions. Whether you’re just getting started or finally ready to get organized, this session will help you replace guesswork with clarity, structure, and confidence — so you can spend less time stressing about numbers and more time building the business you love.
Facilitated by: Jen Ward, Assigned Financial Solutions

Intellectual Property Basics for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses: Understanding how to protect your ideas is essential to building and growing a successful business. This introductory session provides entrepreneurs and small business owners with a clear overview of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Participants will learn what each type of protection covers, how they differ, and when a business might need one or more of them. We’ll also walk through common IP pitfalls, how to avoid accidental infringement, and practical steps for identifying which assets in your business may be eligible for protection. Whether you’re developing a product, creating content, or building a brand, this workshop will give you the foundational knowledge needed to safeguard your business’s most valuable ideas.
Facilitated by: Tomeka Oubichon, U.S Patent and Trademark Office 

Build What Matters Clarity Before Capacity: Entrepreneurs often slide into overcommitment, mistaking opportunity for priority. This workshop helps participants untangle the noise by focusing on strategic clarity as the foundation for meaningful execution. Attendees will learn to identify true priorities, eliminate misplaced commitments, and build momentum through intentional, focused action. The session equips leaders with practical systems to reduce overwhelm, sharpen decision‑making, and channel their energy toward the work that truly matters.
Facilitated by: Kelly Shank, The Shank Company

Doing More with AI: For a small business, scaling usually means hiring more people, which is expensive and stressful. This session shows how AI allows you to stretch your current resources further, reaching more customers without burning out.
Facilitated by: Steven Wriston, PPT Consulting

Marketing and Brand Building on a Budget: When you're in the early years of business, visibility can make or break momentum. This hands‑on session shows startups how to move beyond word‑of‑mouth and build a predictable, effective marketing system—without overspending. Participants will learn the difference between branding and marketing, how to become the go‑to choice in their local market, and why simple, authentic “document, don’t create” content outperforms heavily produced ads. We’ll also explore follow‑up strategies that turn attention into leads and leads into sales.
Attendees will complete a Content Calendar Sprint, mapping a full month of social content categorized into Educational, Personal, and Sales themes to jump‑start their marketing consistency.
Facilitated by: Andrew Keller, Learnicity



Hagerstown Community College
11400 Robinwood Dr
Hagerstown, MD 21742 United States
Event Contact
Maureen Kolb
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Wednesday, May 6, 2026 (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM) (EDT)
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