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February 6, 2017 Edition

Wellness Connection of Maine's cannabis business poised for growth

Lori Valigra

As the legal jangling over Maine's new law allowing retail sales of marijuana continues, and would-be growers snap up commercial real estate around the state, the potentially new business brings with it high startup and ongoing costs.

  • Other
    Other

    New hires, new roles at Mainebiz

    I'm happy to report that Mainebiz has some new faces and several changes on the editorial side.

  • How To's
    How To's

    How to: Protect your brand by trademarking

    Jordan Payne Hay

    Many business and service providers operate for years without considering whether they should trademark elements of their business. The most common way people think of (and see) trademarks are through logos. Think: New England Patriots or Apple.

  • How To's
    How To's

    How To: Lead with courage, compassion and wisdom

    Jim Bouchard

    There's a lot of talk about courage and compassion in leadership today. That's terrific, these are two essential qualities for effective leaders. I'd add wisdom, too.Let's define these terms.

  • Ask ACE: When do I end the chase with prospects?

    Answered By Denise Martin, You Simply Better

    Q: When do I end the chase with prospects? If I follow up on expressed interest, my emails and calls are not returned. I feel that I'm bugging them — but I know persistence is sometimes rewarded.

  • In Short
    In Short

    IN SHORT

    New hiresCribstone Capital Management, an independent investment advisory firm in Brunswick, hired Timothy Woodhouse as director, private client services.

Today's Poll

Is it time for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates?
Poll Description

Over the past several months, banks and other businesses have been looking for the Federal Reserve Board to cut interest rates, but the waiting game continues.

Basing its decision on new economic reports, the Fed on May 1 said it doesn’t plan to cut rates until it has “greater confidence” that inflation is slowing toward the central bank's 2% target. Three rate reductions have been projected for 2024, likely starting in June.

But for now, it appears the key borrowing rate in the U.S. will stay at a two-decade high of roughly 5.3%.

Keeping the rate so high for so long may tame inflation, but can also discourage new investment and business growth.

“The Fed is really stressing the banking industry,” said Andrew Silsby, president and CEO of Augusta-based Kennebec Savings Bank, in a Mainebiz story last month. “The economic environment is really quite difficult, but I haven’t quite figured out whether we’re through the storm or in the eye of the storm.”

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