Mark and Carrie Mancini both come from families familiar with fermentation and preserving, but a friendly competition leading to the accidental brewing of a honey mead made Aegir’s Den Meadery possible!
After nearly a decade of experimenting and testing different meads with friends and family encouraging them, they opened their Pittsfield storefront in 2019 and gained some good traction prior to the COVID shutdowns. They had a strong brand and partnerships with a local winery for bottling space and were being distributed throughout the Bangor and Portland area.
They connected with the Maine SBDC as they were getting ready to expand last year. They needed to grow in order to keep up with production and that meant they were also going to need capital to hire more employees and purchase additional equipment. Maine SBDC at CEI Business Advisor Peter Piconi was able to work with Mark and Carrie to understand their capital needs and provided resources that helped identify the best avenue to pursue. Together they developed financial forecast worksheets and reviewed the business plan so they could understand how grants or traditional lending would fit into their plan. Read More
Betsy Ross owns the Wine House on Main, a small wine shop and bar located in downtown Kennebunk. Since 2021, Wine House on Main has offered wine selections from small families around the world. With decades of experience in hospitality and the wine industry, Betsy shares the stories of winemakers, vineyards and regions with her customers to deepen their connections to the wines they purchase. Wine House on Main also hosts educational wine classes, paint and sip events, and wine tastings. 
As a healthcare worker negatively impacted by COVID, Jennifer Frazier decided to launch her own physical therapy practice where she could uphold her values and create personal plans to help her physical therapy clients recover. Out of that grew 
Success stories come in all shapes and sizes, but sometimes avoiding a bad situation is the best-case scenario! While Maine SBDC Business Advisors are usually helping their clients towards a traditional happy ending, they are often tasked with helping aspiring entrepreneurs avoid potentially damaging situations. We saw it first-hand this past year when Shawn Bouchard came to the Maine SBDC for help. 
This year Small Business Saturday is November 26, 2022! The day is dedicated to supporting and buying from small local businesses. It’s become a holiday shopping tradition over the past twelve years and continues to grow in both sales and participation. But it takes preparation to make the best of the day! Below you’ll find resources that provide suggestions for getting involved and for supporting small businesses! 
If you’ve ever visited Camden you’ll know there is a little something for everyone, food, shopping and outdoor adventures! It also has the only ocean view from a ski area on the Eastern Seaboard at Camden Snow Bowl! Another thing you’ll only find at Camden Snow Bowl, Snow Dogs! Jason Doppelt’s food stand opened last winter and was a “frying” success and now he’s gearing up for another season! 
So… you and your best friend, brother, or spouse want to go into business together? Of course, you agree on everything right now, but what happens when you don’t? In many cases being realistic and pragmatic can be the kindest, mostly loving thing you can do for your partner and yourself.