For lifelong Montgomery County resident Carol Rivadeneira, 50, opening Synergy Business Center this summer was the culmination of a lifelong vision of creating a gathering space for business, community, and families.
“Black women entrepreneurs like myself in Montgomery County often struggle to receive funding and resources. I am not aware of any other business center owned by a woman of color in the entire county. Seeing the lack of gathering spaces specifically for POC (people of color), I formed the center to create a safe space for meetings, education, business and community events,” said Rivadeneira.
Synergy Business Center, located at 18630 Woodfield Road Gaithersburg, MD 20878, conveniently sits next door to the Montgomery County Airport. Measuring 5,200 square feet, the center houses two large conference rooms, eight private offices, and a kitchen and breakroom. Designed specifically with the needs of Montgomery County residents in mind, the center is perfect for workshops, conferences, parties, pop-ups, weddings, and quinceañeras.
Welcoming residents of all ages, the center may also be utilized for podcasts or photography. Open to the many needs of the local community, musicians are invited to rent the facility as a rehearsal or show performance space.
For businesses needing a physical address or regularly scheduled office meeting space, Synergy offers monthly subscriptions for virtual addresses and office hours booked specifically for your business or organization.
Born and raised in Montgomery County, Rivadeneira noted, “I know what we have in the county and what is critically needed.”
Growth Strategist Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn explained that Synergy provides a welcoming workspace not just for people to have local events, but which allows people to meet with others and form a cohesive work environment.
“The benefit to the community is that as the business grows, jobs will be created for the community that allows people, even those of low income, to work in capacities they may have never imagined.”
“As a Black woman, my journey to business ownership has been anything but easy,” Rivadeneira said. “As a single parent raising three kids on my own, life was hard. It was an extremely lonely journey. Even with Section 8, food stamps, WIC and public housing, I still struggled. I worked several jobs at once. I didn’t have any support so I stayed in my local church.”
“Looking at my children, I had to fight,” the entrepreneur continued. “I knew that at some point I would become independent if I kept my faith and stayed focused.”
Rivadeneira credits meeting her current husband, Jose Ricardo Rivadeneira, in 2010 as a pivotal turning point in her personal and business journey. Married in 2012, they opened Joselos Auto Services in Rockville, Maryland, a full-service repair shop that also installs court-ordered interlock breathalyzer systems.
This first venture proved to be a raving success. In 2014, she began working on a creative invention soon to be released to market. She received a patent on her invention in 2018.
Despite a thriving auto repair business, Rivadeneira expressed frustration at her inability to receive business resources, assistance, or financing in Montgomery County. Continually denied by local lenders, financial institutions, and even SBA loan programs for people of color, desperate, she finally used her personal credit to fund Synergy Business Center.
“My credit score went down. It was a lonely journey,” she said. “People shouldn’t have to feel lonely and desperate in order to accomplish something in business.”
Husband, Jose Ricardo Rivadeneira, 44, explained that when the couple acquired the Synergy that was a lot of work to do.
“It was a shell which had sat abandoned in complete disrepair for three years due to the pandemic,” he said. “Clearing out the trash and debris, cleaning, painting, flooring, repairs, and final build out, we did that manually with our own hands. Regardless of any obstacle, my wife always saw the vision of what this center would become and what it would mean to the community.”
Singer and producer Maurice Randolph emphasized the center’s value to the community.
Randolph, struggling with complications of diabetes, underwent five surgeries last year. During his final surgery, doctors removed his right foot.
“My world changed. The one constant I had was music. Through treatment, pain, and emotional devastation, I kept making music, even performing in a wheelchair.”
As the Music and Entertainment consultant for Synergy, Randolph said, “our center is a place that holds the same potential for the youth and community of Montgomery County. A safe space to create, sing, perform, collaborate, and in many cases, emotionally heal.”
Since opening, Synergy Business Center has housed weddings, parties, repasses, conferences, and even church services. The center is also great for businesses or nonprofit organizations to host youth or community development programs.
The local Chamber of Commerce has plans to hold future functions at the center and there is availability for youth and educational programs, study and tutoring groups.
“The business center is just one part of it,” said Dr. Rickey Payton, Sr. of Urban Nation, Inc., “t It is more than just that. It is an educational center, an after care center, a teaching center, a place for youth to learn, grow, commune, play, and thrive.”
Local schools and organizations are highly encouraged to hold GED, ESL, or SAT classes at the center.
“If we don’t give youth safe places that they can go to learn and grow, then they will pick it up from the streets,” Payton continued. “Many of our greatest leaders became so because someone formed a center and took specific interest in them. This area has long needed a space where arts and humanities are allowed to thrive.”
Carol Rivadeneira emphasized that she always saw Synergy as a place to help local residents grow.
“When I came across the location that would become Synergy Business Center, I thought of all of the people in Montgomery County needing opportunity, lacking jobs, needing outlets, requiring knowledge,” she said. “As a Black woman and business owner, my journey has not been easy. Really, I opened the business center for community members like me who need a place to hold events, conduct business and sometimes just be.”
Her husband weighed in on the significance of the location for Montgomery County’s diverse community.
“Being here as an immigrant I have seen my people struggle,” he said. “Many immigrants come to this country well educated and are able to assimilate into American life and economics. Others due to economic hardships may not have the same opportunities.
“Synergy is for all of us. America is the land of opportunity. However, sometimes you need someone to teach and guide you to that opportunity,” Jose Ricardo Rivadeneira continued. “Through my wife’s vision of Synergy Business Center, there finally is a place for people to conduct business, receive resources and knowledge, and ensure that they, unlike my wife’s business journey, don’t have to do it alone.”