Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X I X S E P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 8 12 Keeping bugs at bay the natural way Sisters Heather Peel, 40, and Crystal Hamlin, 45, are moms and outdoors enthusiasts who have cre- ated a water-based tick and insect repellent made with cedarwood, citronella and other essential oils. After testing different formulas until they found the perfect blend, in 2017 they launched Flick the Tick, named by Peel's son Jackson. ey've sold more than 25,000 bottles — made and bottled in Peel's home — and now want to expand the product's distribution beyond the current 13 states. "It's hard because we're a seasonal prod- uct," says Peel, who keeps up with reports of new tick threats for any needed tweaks. "I was just reading an article yesterday about this new Asian tick spreading in New Jersey and New York." While product registration in Maine has been cumbersome, they just got the green light for their cedar-scented Hunter's Blend formula. "Despite the frustration, I appreciate the higher standards that Maine upholds," says Hamlin, who works full-time as development and admissions director at the New School in Kennebunk while Peel runs her own web design business. ADVICE: "Don't be afraid to take risks" (Peel) and "Always start with something about which you are passionate" (Hamlin) Maine startups to keep an eye on Tech and consumer products, but also a few surprises B y R e n e e C o R d e s S TA R T- U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S F O C U S F rom a home-based insect-repellent maker to a medical-infusion service provider, Maine's business startups are making their mark in the state and beyond. All have turned an idea into a small business, some with outside help and others on their own, undeterred by the fact that only one out of five startups make it past their first year. "Maine is an awesome place to start a business for anyone with a well thought- out plan, a bit of money and a willingness to work hard," says Nancy Strojny, Portland chapter chair of SCORE, which offers businesses free mentoring and workshops. Below in no particular order are 10 startups worth watching and their owners' advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. From woodworking hobbyist to furniture craftsman Keven Higgins has loved working with wood since childhood and now runs a custom furniture company in Bangor called Higgins Fabrication. e 37-year-old studied philosophy and economics at Fordham University on an Army scholarship, served in the military in Colorado and Iraq, and spent a few years in retail management before making his hobby a business. He took the plunge after selling one piece after another on e-commerce site Etsy. "It was going well enough I figured it was worth the risk and jumped in with both feet," he says. He launched Higgins Fabrication in March 2014 with a $1,500 Amazon gift card he used to buy equipment, and no debt. Working with one full-time welder and a part-time employee in the Bangor Innovation Center business incubator, Higgins crafts industrial-design high-end tables, chairs and benches made from wood that's locally sourced when possible, as well as steel and epoxy resin. Products are sold on Etsy and custommade.com to a target demographic of 35 to 60 years old — "old enough to have money and young enough to take design risks," he says. San Francisco is the biggest market, followed by New York and Boston. ADVICE: "Be ready to work hard." Tracking power outages A database administrator in Portland, 26-year-old Jason (Chachi) Robinson spends his spare time tracking power outages across the United States — a per- sonal project he's turned into a one-person business on next-to-no startup costs. Doing business as Blue Fire Studios LLC, he gathers data from 540 utilities, pulling information every 10 minutes from their websites. He cleans it up to bet- ter pinpoint locations, then posts information on a free online map at power- outage.us. He also sells the commercial use of the information to clients that can't get it anywhere else and allows them to embed maps on their websites. Clients include IBM, who Robinson says is using the information to build its own outage pre- diction model. Robinson used the name Blue Fire Studios as a child when he repaired computers for family and friends and registered it as an LLC last year. "My company is slowly growing, and at some point I'm fairly sure it will become my full-time job," Robinson predicts. "e first person I will hire will be someone to do data entry and quality assurance." ADVICE: "Find a hole in the market and figure out how to fill it." 10 P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y F L I C K T H E T I C K P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y H I G G I N S FA B R I C AT I O N Keven Higgins, 37, makes and sells high- end furniture from a workshop in Bangor. San Francisco is the firm's biggest market.

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