Family Enterprise USA 

Family Enterprise USA (FEUSA) is the organization that represents all family businesses on a national level in DC; it is not unique to any industry. FEUSA is different from other organizations because it represents and advocates for the families of family businesses, generationally owned businesses, and multigenerational businesses, and the issues, they face running their businesses every day.  Our sole mission and purpose is to promote family businesses, generationally owned businesses, and multigenerational businesses, and their job growth in America. We also support the work of Family Business Centers across the country. We hope your family will choose to be a member of FEUSA.

“Success through Collaboration” is the motto of ACE. ACE is an association of business consultants with a wide range of experience in areas like marketing, branding, sales, advertising, manufacturing processes, strategic planning, management and leadership training, management coaching, merger and acquisition considerations, and human resources. ACE Members can be a key resource for family-owned businesses. For more information, visit  www.consultexpertise.com. 

Maine Department of Economic and Community Development

Led by Commissioner George Gervais, the DECD consists of more than two dozen experts whose broad mission is to help communities and businesses prosper through a variety of programs providing everything from targeted tax relief to community block grants to tourism marketing. DECD and its partners show companies how to benefit from millions of dollars in tax credits, reimbursements, R & D credits, capital loans, even direct investment. Every year, we help Maine communities attract jobs and grow their infrastructure with unique financing programs.

Most recently, George Gervais spoke at our ART III Program and told our family-owned businesses just how to succeed with these many resources.

Maine Outdoor Brands

The Great State of Maine. 35,000 square miles of pristine coastline, rugged mountains and unspoiled wilderness in between. Often described as a four-season haven for outdoor adventurers of all abilities, it’s no wonder why dozens of outdoor brands have opted to call Maine home. But while Maine’s reputation for Yankee ingenuity and stubborn practicality serve start-up brands well, attaining scale in a global market can be a significant challenge. Like climbing Katahdin in the middle of winter, there’s no easy path to the top. Maine Outdoor Brands aims to help in this process.

Goodwill Industries of Northern New England

Goodwill Industries of Northern New England provides resources for a number of business leaders on workforce development programs offered by Goodwill. Through their partnership with Coastal Counties Workforce, Inc., they offer the following Business and Employer Services: 

• Help finding qualified, skilled candidates
• Assistance posting your company’s job openings
• Reduced recruitment costs
• Increased workplace productivity and performance
• Reduced spending on employee work skills and classroom training

To learn more, click here. For information on Workforce Solutions – A partner of the CareerCenter Network, click here.

Junior Achievement

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard of Junior Achievement. Maybe you even participated in a JA activity when you were in school. Junior Achievement of Maine teaches K-12 students the skills they will need to succeed as adults: financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. As a leader of a family-owned business, you know how hard it is to find qualified, enthusiastic workers to help your company succeed. JA of Maine is engaging tomorrow’s leaders today with a variety of programs that help kids see the possibilities in setting their sights on working with Maine businesses.

JA of Maine makes it easy for you, your family members, your employees (or ideally, all three) to make a difference in the lives of Maine students and inspire them to reach for a rewarding career. There are many ways you can support JA of Maine. Here are just a few:

1.      JA in a Day — Volunteers say this is their favorite way to pitch in. Each participant teaches a day’s worth of classes to middle or high school students. (It also offers the side benefit of helping participants brush up on their public speaking skills.)

2.      Titan Challenge — JA’s day-long business strategy competition teams three high school students with a mentor from the business community to guide a fledgling company through the ups and downs of the market. Sponsor companies enjoy recognition as supporters of entrepreneurial thinking and the future success of Maine-based businesses.  

If you would like to learn more about JA, please contact Michelle Anderson, President of Junior Achievement of Maine at manderson@jamaine.org or volunteer on their website.

Live and Work in Maine

LiveandWorkinMaine.com was created to showcase Maine’s employment market. 

The competition for talent is global – and high demand talent has the ability to work and live where they choose.  Maine’s quality of life should be marketed as a competitive advantage.
Maine employers recruit and compete for talent nationally.  While Maine is well-known as a fantastic vacation destination, it is lesser known as a great place to launch or continue your career. LiveandWorkinMaine.com provides job seekers with the tools to explore Maine’s employment opportunities AND the quality of life Maine has to offer.The website profiles member companies throughout Maine, providing testimonials of people who have moved here and had great career success. 

Maine needs to attract and retain the next generation of talent.
College students and new graduates want to know about internship opportunities and first career options that exist in Maine. Whether they live in Maine and attend school in or out of state, or live away and attend a Maine school, college students know they need the practical work experience gained through internships. This website identifies Maine employers who offer internships and/or post graduate career opportunities, so more people can start their careers in Maine.

The Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) 

E2Tech seeks to build and expand the State’s environmental, energy, and clean technology sectors. E2Tech acts as a catalyst to stimulate growth in this sector by facilitating networking opportunities, serving as a clearinghouse for objective information, as well as leading efforts to promote the sector. 

The Manufacturers Association of Maine (MAMe)

MAMe is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization comprised of over 300 companies and 100 students in Maine. They serve their membership by providing education and workforce training, business growth services, cluster initiatives, legislative advocacy, scholarship programs, networking opportunities and industry partnerships.

More than 1,800 Maine manufacturing businesses employ more than 50,000 Maine residents.  The payroll tops $2.5 billion and accounts for 14% of wages paid statewide.  The manufacturing industry in Maine realizes over $5.5 billion dollars in GDP.  Maine manufacturers work in a wide sector of industries in the US and overseas including: military/defense, aerospace, paper, semiconductor, wood, aquaculture, biotech, medical device, electronics, RF and wireless communications. For more information visit: http://www.mainemfg.com.

Maine Small Business Development Center 

The Maine SBDC provides free business advising and training to Maine's entrepreneurs and small businesses. Certified business advisors located throughout Maine provide guidance to entrepreneurs looking to start, manage or grow their businesses. They can provide guidance in areas such as business feasibility, business plan development, capital acquisition, financial management, marketing and sales, and so much more. Starting and running a successful small business can be challenging, but you don't have to do it alone. We're here to help.

Maine SBDC has offices throughout Maine. To find the location nearest you, visit www.mainesbdc.org/locations or call 800-679-7232.

Maine Technology Institute

MTI works with entrepreneurs, innovators, established businesses and institutions conducting research and development to fund, connect, and grow them to resources that will help them commercialize their technologies. Our programs help innovators accelerate progress to the market, leverage additional private and public investment, and ultimately, expand their economic impact in Maine. MTI also provides funding for research and development practices.

U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength, to building America's future, and to helping the United States compete in today's global marketplace.

The Maine SBA branch is located in Augusta and can be reached at 207-622-8551.

SCORE Maine

SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. We have been doing this for over fifty years. 

We can provide:

Startup Maine

Startup Maine is both an organization, and a flagship conference held once per year that has evolved out of a group of doers, founders, and community members coming together in 2014. Maine has always been a place to have a great family life, and over the past decade, it has grown into a place to also do great work.

Startup Maine is a reflection and gathering of this emergent energy, through a group of people focused on assembling events that foster an exchange of ideas, knowledge, and action. It is about growing enterprises and changing culture in the region, redefining the conventional wisdom of what an economic center looks like, and what can be achieved outside of major metropolitan areas.

We welcome both “startups” (innovative and high-growth teams, regardless of the size or age of the company) and “creators” (anybody in the business of making things, from physical to digital), and provide an intimate, cutting-edge content, opportunities for applied learning, and the potential for plenty of collaborative collisions.

Check out the fourth edition of A Guide to Resources for Maine Entrepreneurs by clicking here!

 Land Conservation Assistance Network

Now, more than ever, it's important for land owners to take the initiative to preserve their land for future generations and practice conservation. Land Conservation Assistance Network (LandCAN) knows it can be difficult for anyone wishing to make proactive, forward-thinking decisions to know where to start. LandCAN provides a searchable directory of resources for landowners to connect with qualified professionals to navigate the complex ins and outs of real estate transactions, tax and estate planning, and regional land conservation activities.

On the Land Conservation Assistance Network (LandCAN), they can help connect you to resources and local professionals who understand the importance of land conservation. They can help you minimize your tax burden, take advantage of funding opportunities and, most importantly, protect our working landscapes for future generations.

For more information about LandCAN click here to visit their site!

Boots2Roots
Maine’s workforce needs talented workers. 
Separating military members need timely, good paying, and meaningful employment. 

Boots2Roots’ mission addresses both of these needs for Maine. 
Boots2Roots prepares active duty military members and their families to successfully transition from active duty military service to living and working in Maine.  We are the ONLY organization in Maine focused on proactively working with these soon-to-be veterans up to a YEAR before they come to Maine. 

Goals:  that our Teammates (clients) will: 

• Find well paying, meaningful employment within two months of arriving in Maine  
  
• Remain in their first post-military job for at least one year 
  

Results:

• Employment rate: 89% within 2 months & 100% within 5 months of arriving in Maine
  
• First year retention rate: 85% 
  

EARLY, PERSONALIZED PREPARATION AND NETWORKING is Boots2Roots’ key to enabling our newest active duty veterans to quickly hit the ground running in Maine while providing a high-quality pipeline of talent to Maine’s workforce…and Maine employers like what they’re getting!  

Maine Center for Entrepreneurs

Founded in 1997, The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE) is an independent non-profit organization based in Portland, Maine that helps the most promising Maine companies launch and grow through training, connections, and “hands-on” support from over 150 volunteer advisors and business mentors.  For more information on MCE programs, visit:  www.mced.biz 

Conscious Revolution

Conscious Revolution is a consulting firm that works with CEO's and Founders to build conscious businesses. We build consciousness into the DNA of the business through Higher Purpose, Conscious Culture, Conscious Leadership, Stakeholder Orientation, and Organizational Design. For more information on Conscious Revolution, visit; https://www.consciousrevolution.biz.

Maine Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation

Business leaders in Maine have collaborated to create the Maine Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation as an incentive to individuals to pursue a career in the trades. With scholarships ranging from $500 to $2500 the foundation helps gifted and talented young Mainers get training and education they can use for a lifetime and with little or no debt. We are challenging the persistent belief that a traditional college degree is the only answer for our youth.

The Maine Blue Collar Scholarship’s mission is to provide assistance to motivated individuals pursuing a career in the trades. Gifted and talented young Mainers want to be intellectually stimulated, creative and innovative; they want a career in the trades. This scholarship is intended to help students gifted with the ability to work with their hands through helping purchase tools, uniforms, books and pay tuition.  Since 2017 the MBCSF has awarded 186 scholarships for a total of $206,000 to students throughout the state of Maine. 

We all have a vested interest in the success of Maine-we also all know that with continued success comes the need for mentoring our next generation of tradespeople. The Maine Blue Collar Scholarship Foundation aims to break down barriers and reinvigorate the trades that built America!

Visit here to apply; https://www.mainebluecollar.com.

Maine Development Foundation

MDF is a non-partisan, statewide driver of sustainable economic growth in Maine. They connect people, decision-makers, and communities through trusted research, leadership development, and creative partnerships to stimulate new ideas, solve problems, and improve the lives of all Mainers. 

Check out 3 leadership events they are holding;

Institute for Civic Leadership
Lead Now
Leadership Maine