Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I X S E P T E M B E R 5 , 2 0 2 2 20 S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P F O C U S wallet, and your Venmo app conve- niently is crashing), Ledezma lets you figure out the bill later. "People will leave sticky notes to say, 'ere wasn't change, so we gave you extra,' or 'ere wasn't change, so we owe you $2," says Ledezma. "We've even gotten scratch [lottery] tickets." Drive down most any route in the state and you'll likely encounter a number of such businesses — pur- veying anything from bundles of fire- wood to eggs or produce — without a traditional pay-before-you-go system or a cashier to accept payments. Yet while such honors system businesses are common enough sights in Maine, data on how many are in operation isn't collected by the Maine Depart- ment of Economic and Community Development or the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and For- estry, according to those departments' spokespersons. While it may seem like a quirky or laidback way to approach economic transactions, it can help reduce labor costs and allow owners to devote time to other business-building tasks. And such a payment policy might not only result in cost savings; it can help patrons feel an improved sense of self, too. Jordan LaBouff, an associate psy- chology professor at the University of Maine who focuses on belief and intergroup bias, agrees that feeling trusted is likely a strong motivational factor at play. At the end of the day, customers are people. And "people want to see themselves as honest — it's a powerful social norm — and we want people to be honest," says LaBouff, adding that many people recognize that dishonest people are "jettisoned from society" and "internalize that desire" to be viewed as honest. Still, some honors-system busi- nesses appear to be regular targets for theft. Puzzle Mountain Bakery, a roadside pie shop in Newry with nearly 4,000 followers on Facebook alone, noted on the social media site in late June that it was seeing a high rate of theft at the stand. Ledezma can only recall a couple of times when someone stole from the till, and credits that in part to having a clean, attractive storefront that she says projects a sense of respectability. But she also thinks that being an active part of a small community and having a large fan base are more impactful fac- tors that essentially encourage people to follow the rules even when no one is around to judge them. Occasionally, people will see Ledezma or her husband, Andres Ledezma, on the street in Ellsworth and will hand them money that they forgot to leave at the store. "It's almost like they feel guilty when they see us" and they know they haven't paid, she says. In Maine, "you've got tight knit communities, people know each other, and one thing we know is that people are better [behaved] when they are observed," says LaBouff. "at doesn't just mean there's a camera or there's someone nearby, but it means you're in a community of people who pay attention to each others' behavior." at means that "social norms around honesty are stronger," he explained. "If you're stealing a cheesecake from somebody whose name you know, as opposed to some random stranger in a town you don't live in or on an intersection where hundreds of people are walking by every day and it makes you feel very anonymous." Bridget Reed Morawski, a freelance writer, can be reached at editorial @ mainebiz.biz HELPING YOU BUILD A BUSINESS YOU LOVE We are here for you. From Wicked Fast working capital loans to business advice and policy advocacy, CEI is here to help Maine's small businesses. 207.504.5900 www.ceimaine.org » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E People want to see themselves as honest — it's a powerful social norm — and we want people to be honest. — Jordan LaBouff University of Maine

• Cover