Certified Business Advisors O’Brien, Treworgy, Umphrey Recognized
The Maine Small Business Development Centers (Maine SBDC), a state-wide program that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, recognized three (3) business advisors who received their Core Competencies Certification from the New England Professional Development (NEPD) group on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Newly certified advisors include Christina O’Brien (Waterville), Eric Treworgy (Ellsworth), and Dan Umphrey (Caribou). Read More
Going from the spark of an idea to the point of taking action, takes a tremendous amount of courage. This is true for entrepreneurs and artists alike, and Teresa Pennington of Work in Progress Art Studio(WIP) is both! An avid ceramic potter, gardener, and general crafter, she has always enjoyed the collaborative atmosphere of an art studio. She was ready to take a chance when she first began working with Maine SBDC at AVCOG Center Director and Business Advisor Lori Allen in February 2020 with the idea of opening a pottery studio. They began working on her business plan and looking for locations, then the COVID-19 Pandemic stopped everything in its tracks. 
All successful businesses need to solve a problem, and while these may vary in size and seriousness, your target market is seeking solutions and you want to be the one to provide them!
As a business owner, your personal credit score will impact your ability to get a business loan, secure credit lines, and even lease office space. While credit score requirements vary by institution or credit card provider, if your credit score is less than perfect, there are steps you can take to repair it! 
As many small business owners know, being “customer-focused” is key to business success. This means always thinking about ways to improve your customer’s experience and solve their problems. But when your customers are beloved dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats, and “other small furries” you want them to have the best experience possible. That’s why Dr. Sarah Spindell decided to launch her small business, 
While there are a few approaches to determining the value of an existing business, they all hinge on the ability of a buyer to accurately predict the future cash flow created by the assets. In other words, nobody wants to work for free! Is a buyer going to be confident the business can pay them to do the work of ownership? Usually, this is demonstrated by stable & consistent historic performance.
Maine offers businesses year-round opportunities to display their products to potential customers. The state has 24 agriculture fairs, 70 festivals, 115 summer farmers markets, and 35 fall/winter markets. Participating in fairs, festivals, and farmers’ markets can be an excellent way for businesses to promote their products and increase sales. However, it’s essential to prepare your booth in a way that stands out and is relevant to the event. 
Jeanette Bell, of Janie Bell Mosaics, is a retired teacher and a self-taught art and crafts enthusiast. Her passion for mosaic craft started when she was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She loved the colors of the high desert and the access to beautiful tiles from Mexico. In 2018, Jeanette relocated to New England and settled in York, where she started creating mosaic pieces as a hobby. Her creations were so unique and beautiful that they caught the attention of her friends, who encouraged her to start a small business.