Mainebiz

V O L . X X V N O. V I M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 1 9 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N University of Maine at Augusta received a $150,000 gift from the American Foundation to support a fixed length, full-time science faculty positon at the school beginning in fall 2019. McDonald's Maine said its Farmington restaurant has 10 em- ployees participate in its Archways to Opportunity, a tuition assistance pro- gram that provides employees $2,500 to $3,000 per year toward post-sec- ondary education. Maritime museum launches $3.3M makeover Maine Maritime Museum broke ground on what it says will be a "transformative" $3.3 million renova- tion of its Bath grounds. e "First Impressions" project will include a redevelopment of the front entrance and south side of the museum's campus. e goal is to improve the visitor experience while "creating an ecologically friendly and attractive landscape bordering the river and Washington Street," the museum said. e project will also improve handicapped accessibility. Changes will include a redesign of the park- ing areas, including raising the level of the Washington Street parking lot to the level of the main entrance. Richardson & Associates, a Saco landscape architecture firm, created the design. Crooker Construction of Topsham will manage the project, working with Pine Tree Engineering. e project should be completed by spring 2020. e museum will remain open through- out the renovation. To date, the museum has raised almost 90% of the project's $3.3 million fundrais- ing goal. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T The Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth said its new Roger N. Heald Fund awarded $85,000 in grants to support conservation projects across Maine. The grantees For more information or to get involved contact: Jasmine Milbier, Executive Director (207) 854-3749 or JMilbier@mdausa.org Stop by your local Big Apple Store and Shaw's Supermarket to say THANK YOU and get your MDA Shamrock today. It's Shamrock Season! Thank you for #GivingStrength to our MDA Maine Families! Q: How do we add value for our customers (or clients, or communities)? ACE advises: We all need to know how our customers, clients, or the communi- ties we serve experience value from our work. I recently ran a panel on creative entrepreneurship, asking that question of each panelist. Stacy Begin, owner of the bakery Two Fat Cats, could have explained that they make wonderful pies, using fresh berries and other premier ingredients, creating them in small batches the old fashioned way. That would all have been true. Instead, she said simply, "We solve our customers' dessert problems." Indeed, most of her customers are just seeking a wonderful dessert that will please their guests. All the facts about ingredients and quality are relevant, but what's most important is that her customers never have to worry about dessert. Had a customer decided to bake her or his own pie, they would have to worry about whether it's too sweet, has the right texture, is visually appealing, etc. A friend of mine is an event planner. One might say that she simply chooses the venue, the band or DJ, the florist, the caterer and all the other skilled ser- vice providers — all of which the people delegating these tasks to the planner would otherwise do themselves. My friend's added value is in her knowledge of the marketplace. She hires vendors she knows will perform. The added value is an assurance of success for the customer or client, not a particular product or service. How do your customers or clients view the added value that you bring to their company or organization? A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y A r t h u r F i n k O f A r t h u r F i n k C o n s u l t i n g The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Contact Arthur Fink at arthur@arthurfink.com. Have a question for Ask ACE? Contact Jim Milliken at LifeIsAProjectMaine@gmail.com M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

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