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V O L . X X I X N O. V M A R C H 6 , 2 0 2 3 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 Kennebunkport Resort Collection said it donated $15,000 to Maine's Regional School Unit 21 to help re- build its Athletic Complex. Fidium Fiber announced that it is currently building an all-fiber internet network to serve residential and local business customers in Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, North Deering, Scarborough, South Portland and Westbrook. RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland said its sponsored events in 2022 raised $190,000 for nonprofits in Maine and New Hampshire. Town & Country Federal Credit Union in South Portland announced a partner- ship with the House of Languages in Portland to provide on-demand phone and video translation services as well as scheduled in-person options. Woodhull purchased the Safford House located at 93 High St. in Portland from the Trustees of Greater Portland Landmarks. The building will become the architec- ture, construction and millwork firm's main office. 230 workers affected by Jay mill closure e Pixelle Androscoggin Paper Mill in Jay will close more than a month earlier than expected due to custom- ers opting out of their contracts. Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere told Mainebiz that Pixelle now plans to close the plant between March 6-9, rather than on April 30 as previously announced. Pixelle had announced in September 2022 that the mill would close in April, citing economic forces that made operations unsustainable. LaFreniere said severance packages will be offered to the approximately 230 employees who will be affected by the closure. Gifford's fire ruled accidental e Maine State Fire Marshal's Office has ruled a Feb. 2 fire that damaged production equipment at Gifford's Ice Cream manufacturing plant in Skowhegan was accidental. Gifford's still cannot produce ice cream but is explor- ing temporary production alternatives, according to a Feb. 21 news release. Once an industrial cleaning crew completes work in damaged areas, Gifford's can begin making necessary repairs to the building and equipment. All employees are staying on board while the company works to restart production. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N LA Arts moved to 168 Lisbon St. in Lewiston. Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield launched a training program for virtual assistants. The training is Purchase a group subscription for your team or entire organization. Get access to Mainebiz for your entire team EMAIL CIRCULATION@MAINEBIZ.BIZ FOR MORE INFORMATION A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y B o b L a B r i e , L a B r i e T r a i n i n g a n d 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. Q: With goods you figure out a price by adding overhead to cost of goods sold and multiplying by a percentage mark-up. Charging for my services is more of a chicken and egg problem: the cost of my time is the value of my time. How do I set a rate? ACE Advises: All consulting projects require a clearly defined fee. Setting that fee is a challenge for new consul- tants, who typically undercharge. They should keep in mind that they are charging for their experience and the services they provide, not the fact that they are new. To start, find out what other consultants charge. There are a number of ways to do this. If you belong to a professional association, you'll find that those organizations collect and summarize data on fees. The internet is a powerful tool. Even though many consultants do not include pricing on their web- site, some do. Many organizations support small businesses and have access to detailed industry data — for free. One of my colleagues recommends the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) located throughout Maine. Once you have a rough idea of the market rate you can set your own. Because you are an expert, you should have a pretty good idea of the time the project should take. From there you propose a fee structure. Hourly: The consultant would first determine his hourly rate. Often, the consultant sets a minimum number of hours. The total hours will be multiplied times the hourly rate. Daily: This is straightforward. If your consultant's fee is $1,000 per day and the project would take an estimated nine days to complete, your estimate would be $9,000. It is a good idea to benchmark daily charges against your hourly rate. Eight hours per day at $1,000 per day is $125/ hour. How do they compare? Fixed price: This pricing is the entire price of the project based on the estimates made by the consultant. Many times, it's an educated guess about the length of time required to complete the project. The estimate is then adjusted to allow for errors or surprises. Bob LaBrie, an ACE member, is principal at Gorham-based LaBrie Training & Consulting. He can be reached at bob@max-po-nlp.com If you would like to learn more on this topic, register for ACE's March 17 virtual program: "How do I price my services." consultexpertise.com/events @ C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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