Former BBJ Publisher Launches Business Development Firm

Former Baltimore Business Journal Publisher John Dinkel has started a business development consulting firm geared toward clients in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area.

Dinkel left the BBJ in June to pursue other opportunities after 16 years at the publication, including 11 years as publisher and president.

He officially launched his new venture, Dinkel Business Development, this week. The company aims to help businesses identify areas for growth with services including business development assessments, planning, networking seminars and executive on-boarding sessions.

With much of today's business development strategy centered on reaching out via social media, Dinkel said he wants his firm to focus on connecting face-to-face.

"In this day and age, you tend to get lost in the social media environment," he said. "What I want to concentrate on is the relationship-building side of business development, whether it's leveraging your current contacts for networking to doing roundtables (or) working your board positions."

The company's target audience will be small- to midsize businesses in the Baltimore/Washington region as well as Frederick. Dinkel said he is looking for a cross-section of clients, though he anticipates many will be from the technology and business services industries.

Dinkel's career includes more than 20 years in the media industry, including leadership roles at news organizations such as the Daily Times in Salisbury, the Altoona Mirror, the Record in Troy, New York, Patuxent Publishing and the Maryland Daily Record. He worked for five years as advertising director for the BBJ before being named publisher.

Dinkel, a Baltimore City resident, also serves on the board of Business Volunteers Maryland and on the President's Advisory Council at Stevenson University.