After losing their father to cancer in 2016, Renée Ledoux began to question her career choice as an emergency room nurse. Jason Ledoux began to question his career path after spending time working a desk job, quickly realizing pushing papers was not for him. Neither felt passionate about their career paths and wanted more. One night over dinner with their mother, they were discussing how their father had worked for himself for many years and they got an idea. Why couldn’t they start their own business? The business could combine Jason’s talent and knowledge of woodworking with Renée’s outgoing personality and attention to detail, it would be the perfect partnership. They decided to give it a shot!Read More
Purple Shed Woodworks LLC – Portland, Maine
Swanson Consulting & Associates – Trenton, ME
Terri Swanson has successfully held several professional roles over her career. In March 2018, she decided it was time to fulfill her dream and utilize her experience in a new way. With a passion for helping people, she started her own Human Resources consulting business, Swanson Consulting & Associates.
Terri was in the beginning stages when she met Certified Business Advisor Shannon Byers. In Shannon, Terri found someone who could give feedback, ask questions that would generate ideas, and be supportive of her new business. Together, the pair worked through the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition. This work together provided a visual guide to better understand the business and helped identify critical areas of focus in order to be successful.Read More
Allen Family Stables – Caribou, ME
After one successful business venture, Lauren Allen approached Center Director & Business Advisor Josh Nadeau for a second time with a larger business idea that was close to her heart. Lauren had always dreamed of owning her own horse stable. She had found an existing stable that was not being utilized to its potential and she wanted to buy it. She turned to the Maine SBDC to walk her through the process.Read More
Transcapsule – Gorham, ME
Tobey Tozier recognized a need in the transgender community. Through personal experience, he has found that this market of 1.4 million transgender adults in the U.S. lacks easy ways to document their transitions and track the effects of Hormone Replace Therapy (HRT) over time. Changes are usually tracked through photos, video, audio clips, body measurements and journaling on various apps and devices.
As a graphic designer and social entrepreneur, he wanted to create an all-in-one app that allowed users to easily document transitions in a single place. Once the app is launched, users will be able to upload photos and videos, record audio and record body measurements, track mood changes and write journal entries. Transcapsule provides a private and secure platform to document all aspects of the transition. Tobey sees Transcapsule as a way to help people in the trans community find peace and happiness in who they are, and a way to collect anonymous data that can be shared with medical providers to further research on trans health.Read More
Ammo Self Storage (E&S Properties) – Hampden, Maine
Eddie and Susan Rideout are experienced business owners. They own Hampden Redemption Center as well as a Rideout Enterprises, a commercial cleaning service in the Hampden area. They had the opportunity to purchase another business – a storage unit business in Ammo Industrial Park, a former military location in Hampden from the 1960’s. They already rented several spaces at this location for their current enterprises, and did some maintenance and snow plowing for the owners. They were present on the property and had skill-sets to make ideal owners.Read More
Wilcox Wellness & Fitness – Bangor & Brunswick, Maine
When Paige Wilcox and her husband Mike first opened Wilcox Wellness & Fitness six years ago, they worked extensively with Maine SBDC business advisor Tom Gallant. Tom helped the Wilcox’s to create a business plan in order to obtain the necessary financing which allowed them to open the doors of their 4,000 square foot facility in Bangor. Tom challenged them to think through the value proposition and the transition process. With that, they were set up for success from the beginning. Paige remembers, “Tom was amazing for us – 1 part business advisor, 2 parts marriage counselor, and 100% amazing.”Read More
TGN Detailing
Have you ever gotten your vehicle detailed and felt the stress of dropping your vehicle off for service and not having access to your vehicle for a full day? Anyone who has gotten their vehicle detailed will tell you this is the biggest downside to the service. Although many people take pride in their vehicles and want clean rides, sometimes the hassle of not having a vehicle to use during the day stops people dead in their tracks. This inconvenience is what sparked Taylor Nadeau’s creative juices to open a mobile detailing business. Nadeau has been detailing vehicles on the side for years and has worked for local dealerships in the past, and in his experience, it was always a challenge getting clients to drop off and leave their vehicle for any extended amount of time. Nadeau saw the inconvenience this caused clients as an opportunity for himself.Read More
Seiders Hill-Top Lanes – Hodgton, Maine
Laura Seider and her husband Geno have wanted to own their business for years. The couple has turned to Center Director and Business Advisors Josh Nadeau for assistance over the last several years assessing different business opportunities, but have not quite found one worth purchasing or pursuing.Read More
Herbal Revolution – Union, Maine
Kathi Langelier is the founder and formulator of Herbal Revolution. Herbal Revolution is a wellness products business that provides handcrafted, high quality herbal teas, tonics and elixirs. For over 20 years, Kathi has been farming and formulating botanical medicine and has a deep love for the natural world. Based in mid-coast Maine, she grows non GMO, pesticide and chemical free herbs that are used in products on her certified organic farm.Read More
Time & Tide Coffee – Biddeford, Maine
Jon Phillips and Briana Campbell had long dreamed of starting their own coffee company. The New York-based couple had the perfect combination of skills. Jon had experience in all aspects of the coffee business while Briana brought the branding and marketing expertise. They dreamed of a place where they could offer the best beans, sourced by people Jon had met in his coffee travels, in a beautiful, modern environment. Read More