Mainebiz

V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is some of the best from our online-only offerings: Featured @ Mainebiz.biz From the Editor T he Mainebiz small business focus is typically our largest issue of the year, not including the Book of Lists or Fact Book: Doing Business in Maine. Like any reader, I enjoy hearing stories from entre- preneurs. ere are certain things we look for in a story. How the entrepreneur took an idea from a napkin drawing at the kitchen table to create a prototype and eventually a product — that's interesting, of course. More than that, I'm always curious how someone convinced an investor this was a good idea. How did the entrepreneur convince his or her spouse or family this was a good idea — that can sometimes be harder than convincing an investor. We've all read about small business owners who have staked everything on the business, borrowing money from friends or family or launching a Kickstarter campaign. For one story I wrote in Philadelphia, a fi rst-time restaurant owner told me she logged more than $25,000 in credit card debt to pay for the venture. I'm sorry to report the restaurant didn't survive. Entrepreneurs' stories are addictive. As anyone who is a fan of Inc., Forbes, the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times' small business profi les can tell you, there's a certain formula involved in the narratives. We're always looking for those unusual nuggets: Not just the unusual or innovative product, but the story behind how it found a place in the market. And how the entrepre- neur weathered the chorus of doubters. is issue of Mainebiz is chock-a-block with stories about small businesses and the people behind them. Senior Writer Lori Valigra talks to Jess Knox for our cover story about Maine Startup and Create Week, which in just a few years has embed- ded itself into Maine's entrepreneurial fabric. She also talked to an MIT doctoral candidate who developed an underwater drone. Correspondent Tina Fischer met with the partners at Good Natured Brands, which is making inroads into the natural clean- ing products arena. Lisa Hansen, one of the owners, talked about the need to stay focused. "One of the challenges is to remember, 'What's your vision and how do you see the com- pany?' You have to stay focused. You may not always be right, but you have to go with your gut." Laurie Schreiber, our corre- spondent based on Mount Desert Island, talked to business owners in the burgeoning community of Town Hill. One business owner, Melissa "Frosty" Frost, had always dreamed of opening her own business. is spring, she took the plunge with Frost Farms, which sells plants and gardening supplies. Laurie also has a story about all the new businesses in Camden. Going back to my fam- ily's tourist days in Maine, I was always a fan of the atmosphere at Cappy's Chowder House, even if it was a tad overpriced. It's a good sign that Cappy's site is being remade into a Sea Dog Brewing Co. brewpub, anchoring the down- town at the appropriately addressed 1 Main St. Finally, businesses of all kinds will be watching warily the new federal overtime rules. Senior Writer James McCarthy immersed himself in the nuances of the rules and his account is a must-read for busi- ness owners. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Big interest in small business King, Collins rally behind incentives for forest product R&D The Timber Innovation Act, bipartisan legislation that supports the acceleration of research and development of wood use in the construction of buildings over 85 feet high or roughly seven or more stories, has been cosponsored by a half- dozen senators including U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins. Find out more about the incentives and why buildings built with wood could be a boon for Maine at mainebiz.biz/timberinno The Good Thing is a good thing For $30, subscrib- ers of The Good Thing, a partnership between two Portland companies, Tandem Coffee Roasters and KMA, an audio equipment and vinyl record store, will receive a bag of coffee roasted by Tandem and a specially-selected vinyl record delivered to their doorstep every month. Find out what records and coffee have already arrived on subscribers door- steps at mainebiz.biz/goodthing Putney founder gifts nearly $1M to employees What would you do following the $200 million sale of a company you founded? For Jean Hoffman, founder of the Portland-based vet- erinary product company Putney Inc., the answer was to gift nearly $1 million to the employees who helped the company get where it is today. To find out more about Hoffman's gift to 60 of her former employees, go to mainebiz.biz/Hoffman bernsteinshur.com CELEBRATING 1OO YEARS Be smart. BE SHUR. When you need a JD with an MBA's approach. spondent based on Mount Desert Island, talked to business owners in the burgeoning community of Town Hill. One business owner, Melissa "Frosty" Frost, had always dreamed of opening her own business. is spring, she took the Cappy's Chowder House in Camden, from August 2009. P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N

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