May 21 Conference Geared to Entrepreneurs, Small Business
Contact: Jim McConnon, 581-3165; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — Big box retailers, call centers and corporate institutions may get a lot of attention when the subject of Maine’s economy comes up, but state and local business leaders, economists and market researchers know well the importance of small business in Maine.
Small businesses, micro-businesses of four or fewer employees, and budding entrepreneurs have an economic impact that often is easy to under appreciate.
“Economies with a high percentage of micro-businesses have a higher growth rate and are important contributors to economic growth,” says James McConnon Jr., a Cooperative Extension business and economics specialist and UMaine professor of economics. “Small businesses, even very small businesses, contribute in total the most to create jobs.”
On May 21, a consortium of leading business-advocacy organizations, state government, the Maine Community College System and the University of Maine will hold the last in a series of four pilot conferences designed to educate and aid people running small businesses in Maine.
Scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Johnston Gymnasium at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, “A Governor’s Regional Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship” offers welcoming remarks by Gov. Jon Baldacci, a keynote address by entrepreneur and business leader Bion Foster and a series of workshops and panel discussions designed to cover the critical areas that can make or break a small business.
Small business owners, employees, business students and future entrepreneurs are invited to the conference, which is expected to attract 400 or more business representatives. Registration and conference information is available by contacting Arlene MacLeod at Eastern Maine Community College at (207) 974-4810 or by visiting the conference website (www.smbiz4me.com). A $25 fee covers conference materials and lunch.
McConnon, who with colleagues in the UMaine School of Economics, has studied the role of small and microbusinesses in Maine, New England and the nation, says small businesses are the lifeblood of the state’s economy.
“Maine’s economy is made up of a lot of small businesses. Recent research that I have conducted has shown that 20 percent of Maine’s employment is provided by 130,000 microbusinesses,” he says.
The conference is organized by a statewide planning committee, on which McConnon and Extension professor Louis Bassano of the Washington County office serve, and the Bangor Regional Leadership Initiative, a local steering committee for the May 21 conference, chaired by Danny Williams of the University of Maine Foundation. Extension professor Louise Kirkland of the Penobscot County office also serves on the local planning team.
The conference series will serve as a model on which future small business conferences may be held annually, according to McConnon. Last year, the third in the series was held in Auburn, and before that, in York County and Washington County.
This and future conferences will provide an opportunity for small business leaders to get together to learn about ways to improve business practices. They are particularly important for entrepreneurs who have created feasible business plans, but lack the formal business education necessary to carry them to fruition, McConnon says.
“These conferences really serve as a catalyst for entrepreneurship and improve business practices,” McConnon says. “We’ve seen from previous conferences that they have had a tremendous impact.”
Dozens of conference workshops and discussions will range from business planning, business basics and cash flow, pricing products, tax strategies and tips to management, sales and marketing techniques, customer service, and the basics of human relations, including proper procedures for hiring and firing. Sessions also will address accounting and an introduction to the latest accounting software.
Resources available to assist small businesses include the University of Maine, which offers research and product-development information through programs and facilities that include the Advanced Manufacturing Center and the Dr. Matthew Highlands Food Science Pilot Plant, and the Foster Student Innovation Center for UMaine students.
The May 21 conference will be preceded on Tuesday, May 20, from 5-7 p.m. in Rangeley Hall at EMCC by a networking reception for participants, with guest speaker Laurie Lachance, former Maine state economist and now executive director of the Maine Development Foundation.
Sponsors of the conference include Bangor Savings Bank, Oxford Networks and Eastern Maine Community College.