By: Alison Lane, Business Advisor & 2021 State Star I used to own a restaurant, and January meant a lot of slow days. When there weren’t any coffees to pour, dishes to wash, or Quickbooks to update, I would ask myself: “How can I not waste this time?” “What else can I try to generate… Read more »
Posts Categorized: News & Events
Minimum Wage Increase in 2022
Get Ready for the Minimum Wage Increase: 3 Practical Tips Minimum wage is increasing to $12.75 on January 1, 2022. (Maine law requires minimum wage adjustments annually based on the cost-of-living index.) Here are some practical tips to help you get ready:
Maine Jobs and Recovery Small Business Grant
The Maine Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) has launched the Maine Jobs and Recovery Small Business Grant. This funding is available to businesses who were open before the COVID-19 pandemic began AND to new businesses who were in business as of January 1st, 2021. The full grant description is available on the DECD… Read more »
Exporting Series
Considering “Small and medium-sized companies account for almost 97 percent of U.S. exporters, but still represent only about 30 percent of the total export value of U.S. goods”, you may have asked yourself… How do I even start? I don’t know what I don’t know! How do I write an international business plan? Where do… Read more »
October Objectives and Events
With a successful summer season for many businesses coming to a close; now is a great time to check in, assess how things went, and decide where you would like to go from here. Remember our Recovery and Relaunch Resource Center is always available to help with our built-in assessment tools as well as our… Read more »
Lessons Learned: Disaster & Crisis Planning
By Tina Oddleifson The sixth and final part of an ongoing series of blog posts on lessons learned from COVID 19. Nobody likes to think about a disaster or crisis impacting their small business. But the Covid 19 global pandemic brought the importance of disaster planning to the forefront. Properly preparing for a crisis means… Read more »
Happy Retirement to Business Advisor Brad Swanson
As a Master Certified Business Advisor at CEI located in our Brunswick & Augusta offices, Brad has been an integral part of the Maine SBDC staff for 30 years. He’s helped over 2,977 entrepreneurs and small business owners to start 158 new businesses, save or create 1, 682 jobs and obtain over $85 million in… Read more »
Lessons Learned: Top 6 Trends Impacting Businesses
By Tina Oddleifson The fifth part of an ongoing series of blog posts on lessons learned from COVID 19. The pandemic created new trends and business models that changed priorities and planning for small business owners. These are the top 6 business trends that will impact your business in 2021 and beyond. As the pandemic… Read more »
Maine SBDC names Alison Lane as 2021 and Shannon Byers as 2020 State Stars
Portland, Maine –The Maine Small Business Development Centers (Maine SBDC) has selected Alison Lane as the 2021 State Star and Shannon Byers as the 2020 State Star. The awards, given annually, recognize a member of the Maine SBDC staff that has shown exemplary performance and a strong commitment to small business success.
Lessons Learned: Online Sales and Marketing
By Tina Oddleifson The fourth part of an ongoing series of blog posts on lessons learned from Covid 19. This week we focus on how the pandemic created new opportunities for small businesses to expand their customer base and increase sales. E-commerce has been steadily increasing for years, but when the pandemic hit in 2020… Read more »