Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 21 S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 1 F O C U S S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P based on space. Eventually, the plan is to move to a bigger location nearby so the program can take more young- sters, including infants. "I'm trying to fundraise — and I think that is going to be a while," says Rodriguez-Vazquez, who immigrated to Maine with her parents from Mexico more than two decades ago to pick blueberries. Now a parent herself, she's the lead teacher at Rayitos de Sol while serving as Mano en Mano's interim executive director. She's happy with the nonprofit child care model, saying that gives her more leeway to pay employees better than a private business would, noting,"I think they deserve a liv- ing wage with benefits. ere's more opportunity for that as a nonprofit." As for the Rayitos de Sol name, she says: "I was thinking about things that have inspiration and wakefulness, like a sun, and thinking about how children have special rays of sunshine and beams out into the world." Expansion is also in the cards for nonprofit child care providers includ- ing e Children's Center in Portland, which is adding a second location in a leased 3,180-square foot building on Forest Avenue for infant care; and the Boys & Girls Club of Kennebec Valley, which is building a bigger facility in Gardiner that will allow it to expand its child care offerings. Both are proceeding with plans despite fundraising and other hurdles during the pandemic. "We were fortunate enough to get one of the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] loans, so we're hanging on, and we have some very dedi- cated parents," says Kimberley Hoyt, executive director at the Children's Center. "Families have been incred- ibly supportive." Ingrid Sanchfield, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Kennebec Valley, shares that view, saying she finds that people value child care more than they did pre-COVID. "People now realize that without child care and when parents have to give up their jobs because they don't have child care, our whole economic environment changes," she says. Small-business snags Back in the small-business world, Iran-born Sholeh Misaghian of Happy Garden Family Childcare in Portland plans to use a $6,500 loan from international nonprofit Kiva to replace a fence and make repairs to her house to provide more space and a better quality experience. e center she opened in 2012 is licensed to serve up to 12 children and charges $60 a day. She opened the business after a foot injury forced her to leave her job at Whole Foods, and she enjoys cook- ing daily meals for the little ones in her care: "I love fruits, vegetables and grains, so my fridge is full and they don't have to bring anything," she says. But thinking back to when she started her business, she says it took her nine months to get her first clients, pos- sibly because she's an immigrant and she had to earn people's trust. "I understand that parents are care- ful," she says, "but when kids come here I know what they need." Among failed startup tries, Willem Sandberg and Amanda Carbonneau faced different challenges in their attempt to launch a company called Lief (Dutch for "dear" or "loveable") that was briefly in the Techstars Accelerator at Northeastern University's Roux Institute in Portland. After testing the concept for using technology to match families with nannies, the duo called off the venture after failing to secure the required business license. Sandberg nevertheless is leaving the door open to revisit the idea at some point as he gets ready to start a new career chapter, saying, "I think it would be possible in another state, but in Maine right now I don't think it would be possible … Perhaps one day." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s We were fortunate enough to get one of the PPP loans, so we're hanging on, and we have some very dedicated parents. Families have been incredibly supportive. — Kimberley Hoyt Children's Center

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