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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 29 M AY 1 3 , 2 0 2 4 S M A L L B U S I N E S S He approached Maine SBDC to get financial planning and business advice. "ey helped with the projections," he says. "I had some rudimentary num- bers and spreadsheets. Having the full multi-year financial projections with depreciation and the loan and all of that baked in was super helpful." He sank his savings and a loan from a family friend into the $170,000 reno- vation and fit-up of a 5,000-square-foot lease at 369 Forest Ave. in Portland. Handful Studios' first classroom — with 11 pottery wheels, a kiln, work- tables and a double-bay sink — opened in February. Renovations for a second classroom are underway. Marketing is mainly through social media. "Pottery is huge on Instagram," says Erickson-Watson. "And there's a pretty large demand. Once I had the website up and had class offerings, I started to field emails from people who wanted to sign up." Starting with 38 students across five classes, enrollment is now nearly 50. Erickson-Watson says he'll soon onboard three more teachers, offering wheel throwing, hand building and more. "Starting a business, there's a lot of unknown unknowns, things I wouldn't have thought about," he says. "It's really helpful to have someone say, 'Have you thought about this? Here's another thing to consider.'" at's the general consensus. "A com- ment we often get from clients is that we help them to build the confidence to operate their own business," says Jennifer Boutin, Maine SBDC's associate state director of operations. "We provide the education to empower them to run their own business more competently." Adds Delisle, "ere's a lot of untapped potential." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz Securities offered through Valmark Securities, Inc. Member FINRA, SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Valmark Advisers, Inc. a SEC Registered Investment Advisor. 130 Springside Drive, Suite 300 Akron, OH 44333-2431 Phone: 800-765-5201. Lebel & Harriman, LLP is a separate entity from Valmark Securities, Inc. and Valmark Advisers, Inc. Retirement Plan Advisors | Business Succession Consulting | Executive Benefits Financial Planning | Investment Management | Insurance Fiduciary Experts: Helping Maine Businesses & People Manage their Retirement Plans We provide the education to empower them to run their own business more competently. — Jennifer Boutin Maine SBDC They helped with the projections. I had some rudimentary numbers and spreadsheets. Having the full multi-year financial projections with depreciation and the loan and all of that baked in was super helpful. — Julian Erickson-Watson Handful Studios P ROV I D E D P H O T O / M A I N E S B D C P ROV I D E D P H O T O / H A N D F U L S T U D I O Jennifer Boutin, Maine SBDC's associate state director of operations, says providing education empowers clients to run their businesses more competently. F O C U S Julian Erickson-Watson of Handful Studios says Maine SBDC provided financial planning and business advice.

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