For ten years, Dandelion Catering has been providing fresh, quality prepared food that celebrates the local resources that Maine and New England have to offer. The business had
experienced a surge in growth due to their focus on top-shelf service and creative, attractive food offerings. Business 
owners Christian and Christine Hayes had big plans to scale up the operation and reached out to Brad Swanson, business advisor at the Maine SBDC at CEI, for guidance.Read More
Heather Lux was disappointed with the skincare products on the market. She wanted a natural, effective, and luxurious product that would help her skin look its best. This is why she created True North Beauty.
True North Beauty is a blossoming skincare and lifestyle brand that utilizes the unique benefits of Chaga, a wild Maine mushroom. Chaga grows on birch trees in cold weather climates and is especially prominent in Northern New England. It is known for its anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties and is dense in anti-oxidants. True North utilizes a patent-pending process to extract these diverse properties to create a Chaga Infused Formula™. The formula reduces acne and redness, helps with fine lines, boosts elasticity and collagen, and helps repair sun damage.Read More
Ever since he can remember, John Fuhrman’s “mutha” had a real knack for cooking. In DownEast Maine, her kitchen skills were almost legendary. One day, after tinkering around with spices in the kitchen, “mutha” developed a special blend of spices that needed to be shared. The blend combined a Maine attitude with local ingredients such as organic blueberry powder, maple crystals, and even Raye’s Mustard (the oldest mustard company in America made right here in Maine). Read More
Lindsay Ware has a passion for wildlife and conservation. That is why she started Science Dogs of New England. This new business creates opportunities and solutions for conservation and environmental research in New England using highly trained dogs for efficient, low-impact data collection and conservation processes. Read More
Lacey Clark had been a co-owner of a successful daycare in Houlton, Maine for a number of years. From her experience, she understood that childcare in Aroostook County is extremely limited with most providers at 100% capacity. When she saw that another existing daycare across town was going to be closing its doors, she understood what this would mean for families and the community.
Lacey made the decision to leave her business partnership and go out solely on her own. She wanted to purchase this existing daycare and keep the doors open. She turned to Josh Nadeau, Maine SBDC business advisor located at Northern Maine Development Commission. Josh helped her craft a business plan and accompanying financial projections. With seller financing and some owner investment, she was able to purchase the Grasshopper Academy. Located on Hillview Ave in Houlton, Grasshopper Academy provides childcare for children ages 6weeks to 12 years of age. Read More
Nicole Stanford is the owner of Freckle Salvage Company, a business located in the Western Maine foothills that features unique vintage mixed with new home goods. Alongside her husband and son, she had been selling her products successfully online and at markets and decided it was time to expand her business. Her goal was to leave her full-time job and open a retail location in Winthrop, Maine.
To understand her next steps, Nicole reached out to Raynor Large, business advisor at the Maine SBDC at AVCOG. Raynor helped Nicole understand the steps to starting this new venture. He provided information on the different business entities and insurance options. The pair also worked to get a better understanding of the business’ finances. They were able to build out a set of financial projections that helped her understand how much she would need to sell in order to stay profitable and continue moving forward.
Freckle Salvage Company opened its doors in August 2019. Located at 129 Main Street in Winthrop, the business has received rave reviews. Reviewers comment on the amazing products (“treasures”), the affordable pricing and the friendliness of Nicole and her family with phrases like “Incredible shop & lovely owner”, “This is what the downtown needs!”, and “Awesome store with awesome finds!”
Nicole continues to work with Raynor to control costs, discuss new opportunities for growth and work on marketing strategy.
Business Advisor: Raynor Large
Erin Sheehan and her husband Carson James first approached the Maine Small Business Development Centers (Maine SBDC) with an idea and a draft business plan. They needed help refining their plan and creating financial projections in order to secure financing.
Erin and Carson started working with Business Advisor Susan Desgrosseilliers. Susan helped the pair to understand and create helpful and realistic financial projections. They also worked together to fine-tune their business plan and understand the lenders that could meet their needs. Susan introduced Erin and Carson to Chris O’Brien from Southern Maine Finance Authority (SMFA). They submitted their application and received the funding they needed to start their business.Read More
Rachel Sagiroglu is passionate about all that Maine has to offer. That is why she decided to start Experience Maine, a new full-service travel concierge and event planning company. Rachel knew that tourism is Maine’s largest industry, but noticed that the corporate meetings and events segment of the industry has only grown by 50,000 business-related travelers in the last three years. With over 20 years of experience in event planning, she wanted to help expand Maine’s corporate meeting and events market.
For guidance on the steps to starting this exciting new business, Rachel contacted Business Advisor Susan Desgrosseilliers from the Maine Small Business Development Centers. Together they worked to price Rachel’s services, create financial projections and develop a business plan that would help understand her business and obtain a loan from Coastal Enterprises.Read More
After losing their father to cancer in 2016, Renée Ledoux began to question her career choice as an emergency room nurse. Jason Ledoux began to question his career path after spending time working a desk job, quickly realizing pushing papers was not for him. Neither felt passionate about their career paths and wanted more. One night over dinner with their mother, they were discussing how their father had worked for himself for many years and they got an idea. Why couldn’t they start their own business? The business could combine Jason’s talent and knowledge of woodworking with Renée’s outgoing personality and attention to detail, it would be the perfect partnership. They decided to give it a shot!Read More
Terri Swanson has successfully held several professional roles over her career. In March 2018, she decided it was time to fulfill her dream and utilize her experience in a new way. With a passion for helping people, she started her own Human Resources consulting business, Swanson Consulting & Associates.
Terri was in the beginning stages when she met Certified Business Advisor Shannon Byers. In Shannon, Terri found someone who could give feedback, ask questions that would generate ideas, and be supportive of her new business. Together, the pair worked through the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition. This work together provided a visual guide to better understand the business and helped identify critical areas of focus in order to be successful.Read More
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