Five quick 2015 business tips from DBED

Building on its brochure guide for small businesses and entrepreneurs — with an exhaustive roundup of business incubators, financing resources and tax credits — the state Department of Business and Economic Development is dispensing new-year advice with a pithier list of quick tips.

They are:

1. Take a class, with an upcoming export finance workshop held by the U.S. Small Business Administration Baltimore District Office as an example

2. Expand your network, pointing to the Baltimore-based TechBreakfast meetup for the startup- and techie-minded in particular

3. Revamp your finances, perhaps by taking advantage of a loan or grant

4. Contact a counselor, whether through DBED itself or an organization like the Maryland Entrepreneur Resource List and

5. Investigate an incubator, like FastForward at Johns Hopkins University