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Conference Will Fuel Washington County's Small-Business Engine

Released by: University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Orono

Release Date: March 23, 2007

Calais, ME -- The 2007 Washington County Business Conference and Marketplace will focus on training and networking for aspiring and current business owners. The 5th annual conference, "From Startup to Profitability: Growing Your Down East Business," will be held April 20 and 21 at Washington County Community College in Calais. There is no charge to attend: register online at wcbcm.org, by calling 800-287-1542, or at the event. A preconference business and policy forum will take place on April 19 at the University of Maine at Machias.

According to a recent Brookings Institution report sponsored by GrowSmart Maine, job losses in Maine’s manufacturing and natural-resource-based industries have hit Washington County especially hard, leaving the county with the lowest average wages in the state. In addition, suburbanization is rapidly eating up rural land, chipping away at the special character that draws visitors, residents and businesses to the "Sunrise County." Yet the GrowSmart report, Charting Maine's Future, cites reasons for optimism: the county’s population is increasing, a number of towns are reviving, and some industry clusters are growing.

Small businesses are a key component of that growth, according to James McConnon, business and economics specialist for University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “There are more than 5,500 microbusinesses operating in Washington County and they account for close to 32 percent of the county’s jobs. Microbusinesses are the engine of the Washington County economy.”

Originally organized as a business “expo” in 2003 by UMaine Extension, the Washington County Business Conference has, with this year’s agenda, evolved into a rigorous training curriculum, the equivalent of which would cost up to $2,000 in other parts of the country, according to 2007 conference committee chair Marianne Moore.

Moore, owner of Curves of Calais, came to this area six years ago from Dallas. “These are first-class workshops," Moore explained, "on a par with anything I attended during my 31 years in industry. Yet local business people can benefit from them right here—at no cost."

Extension’s "bottom-up" approach has developed a corps of local conference organizers. "The conference builds the expertise of local business owners and as the same time integrates their expertise into the program," explained longtime conference organizer Louis Bassano of UMaine Extension's Washington County office, pointing out that all of the workshop presenters are Maine business people and professionals.

The workshops are grouped around four themes: Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Promotion, Growing From the Inside, and Human Resources and Leadership. Moore pointed out that the themed groupings allow the workshops to meet the needs of everyone from aspiring entrepreneurs to seasoned proprietors. "A participant could follow one track all the way through, or choose workshops from, say, both the Entrepreneurshipand Marketing tracks."

Friday's schedule includes a Business & Technical Assistance Showcase, with business-assist organizations and presenters showcasing products and services—and free lunch for registered conference participants. "The lunch-time showcase is all about networking," Moore noted, "and will allow exhibitors to meet potential customers without missing the workshops."

New this year is a preconference event on Thursday evening at the University of Maine at Machias (UMM): the Business Owners and Policy Makers' Forum. Alan Caron, president of GrowSmart Maine, will present the findings of the Brookings Institution report, which recommends, among other things, that Maine get a handle on unplanned growth to protect our "Maine brand." UMM President Cynthia Huggins will facilitate a discussion among a panel of local business owners and the audience about the report and the challenges faced by area business owners.
The involvement of UMM in the preconference forum “shows the overwhelming relevance of this event to Washington County,“ Bassano remarked. The event is open to the public.

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