Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1020770
W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 S E P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 8 ere are many organizations in Maine that support those who want to start a business — besides the SBDC, some others are SCORE, Coastal Enterprises Inc. and its Women's Business Center, the Finance Authority of Maine, the Maine Technology Institute. "In Maine we have a pretty robust network of products and services that you don't find in other states," he says. e groups work together to help those who want to start a business close that self-awareness gap, and com- municate well among themselves, but lack resources to do the kind of public outreach and marketing that would make it clear what the groups are, what role they play and how the public can best use them. "One of the biggest challenges is, how can we get what can be a confusing stream of acronyms to make sense to [entrepreneurs]?" Delisle said. Maine's unquantifiable assets National lists ranking states' business- friendliness aren't always kind to Maine. For instance, a CNBC ranking of "business friendly states" published in July ranked Maine 45th, tied with Rhode Island. e list ranked Maine 50th for workforce, 48th for infrastructure and 38th for economy. Its highest mark was 15th for quality of life. A umbtack survey on small- business friendliness released Aug. 14, gave Maine an A-minus, down from last year's A-plus, including a B for ease of starting a business, A-plus for ease of hiring and A-minus for overall friendliness. But it also gave Maine a C-minus for tax code and D-plus for government websites. Delisle says the rankings obviously don't tell the whole story, but they reflect Maine's challenges. He lists the aging population, lack of workers, energy costs, tax structure "and for eight or nine months, the weather's kind of rugged." "It is what it is," he says. ere are also things about Maine that are hard to quantify, he says — work ethic, the fact many Mainers work with their hands and enjoy it, entrepreneurial spirit. He says not only are many millen- nials focused on following a passion and starting a business, or working for a small one, but so are older workers who may have been downsized or have retired and want to follow a dream. DelGreco, of Maine & Co., says Maine's business atmosphere is a good one. "Our pipeline is fairly robust, there's a lot of activity happening," he says. "Companies are growing and expand- ing all over the place...a lot of people are doing business in Maine, of all sizes." M aur e e n M i l l i k e n, M a i n e b i z s ta f f writer and Real Estate Insider columnist, can be reached at mmilliken @ mainebiz.biz Every smile tells a story. And each one can say something powerful. As the nation's leading dental benefits provider, Delta Dental makes it easy to protect your smile and keep it healthy with the largest network of dentists nationwide, quick answers and personalized service. Learn more at NortheastDeltaDental.com. I GUESS THEY LIKE ME YOU LOOK AWFULLY FAMILIAR I CAN'T REPEAT IT BUT IT'S GOOD IT'S TOO GOOD TO PUT DOWN THIS IS FUN, I THINK F O C U S Downtown Augusta has added 12 businesses in the past two years, a result of incentives and a can-do community spirit. P H O T O / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N