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June 12, 2017 Edition
Focus on Small Business

Small is big: In the land of L.L.Bean and outlet stores, small businesses find their way

Laurie Schreiber

Small, independent businesses on Freeport's side streets vie for just a fraction of the 3 million visitors a year that visit L.L.Bean's flagship campus and surrounding outlet stores. They're finding that even having a major anchor nearby doesn't guarantee that shoppers will come to your door.

  • How To's
    How To's

    Leverage your options

    Justin Lamontagne

    Good or bad, there is no denying that in today's fast-paced, short attention span society, we have a lot of options. Options for television shows. Options for news sources. Options for dinner. Every day we make dozens of decisions.

  • Focus on Small Business
    Focus on Small Business

    Sew American: New Mainers help power American Roots, a Portland textile start-up

    Renee Cordes

    Thread, bobbin, sewing machine. Besides learning English in their new homeland, they've had to master the lexicon and skills for their work at Portland textile start-up.

  • Focus on Small Business
    Focus on Small Business

    Gathering place in 'boatbuilding capital of the world' gets new life

    Laurie Schreiber

    The brand-new Brooklin General Store, where fishermen gather at 5 a.m. to get their coffee and pastries before heading out to sea, represents an investment in an essential community gathering place and resource.

  • Focus on Small Business
    Focus on Small Business

    Meet the 31-year-old publisher of WoodenBoat, who's reaching out to millennials

    Laurie Schreiber

    An aficionado of wooden boats since he was a child and an economist by training, Andrew Breece came on as the publisher of WoodenBoat Publications on March 8, stepping into the shoes of the wooden boat world's most prominent standard-bearer, Jon Wilson.

  • Bella Luna Toys engages the imagination with natural, wooden toys

    Lori Valigra

    Sarah Baldwin, owner of Rockland online natural toy store Bella Luna Toys, saw firsthand how video-game stares turned into inquisitiveness when, as a former kindergarten teacher at the Ashwood Waldorf School in Rockport, she intro

  • Focus on Small Business
    Focus on Small Business

    The benefits of B Corp status

    Lori Valigra

    Only five Maine companies have B Corp certification — Maine Works, Wicked Joe, ReVision Energy, Atayne and Coffee By Design — but each finds paying greater attention to social values is important to its corporate mission.

  • Other
    Other

    Small businesses light the way in Maine

    Peter Van Allen

    You might feel like an outlier if you work in Maine and yet have miraculously avoided working at a small business.

  • How To's
    How To's

    How do I write a proposal?

    Answered By Dave Griffiths, Dave Griffiths Communications

    Q: I'm in charge of human resources at a growing company that wants to formalize recruiting procedures. The CEO and the board told me to write a proposal, but I'm no writer. Where do I start?

  • In Short
    In Short

    IN SHORT

    New hiresMaineGeneral's Workplace Health in Augusta hired Kenji Saito as medical director.

Today's Poll

Has your business taken significant, voluntary steps to reduce its impact on the environment?
Poll Description

Monday is Earth Day — the annual celebration, dating to 1970, of our planet and its environment. 

Created by a United Nations proclamation, Earth Day has grown to include a wide range of events in more than 190 countries. The official theme for 2024 is "Planet vs. Plastics." The day, April 22, also has led to the designation of April as Earth Month.

Mainers and Maine businesses have long strived to protect the natural environment of the state and of the world.

One recent example: Allagash Brewing Co., based in Portland, has teamed up with Patagonia Provisions, the outdoor clothing maker's food and beverage business, to make a limited-edition beer from organic ingredients including Kernza. That's the trademarked name for a perennial grain, harvested from a form of wheatgrass, with long roots that protect soil from erosion, minimize the need for tilling, and help sequester carbon.

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