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Log inBaldacci touts importance of micro businesses
Baldacci touts importance of micro businesses
by Outspoken on Thu May 22, 2008 5:22 am
Baldacci touts importance of micro businesses
By Dawn Gagnon
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — Though they may feel under-appreciated and isolated, Maine’s small businesses play a huge role in the state’s economic well-being.
That was the upshot of Gov. John Baldacci’s welcoming address Wednesday for participants of the Governor’s Regional Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship at Eastern Maine Community College, also known by its signature vanity license plate logo, "SMBIZ4ME."
In his address, the governor cited 2005 statistics indicating that micro businesses, or those that employ from one to four people, are among the state’s economic powerhouses.
"You’re important. I know from my years in small business [the family restaurant] that sometimes we’re sort of taken for granted," he said.
According to the 2005 statistics, Maine had 24,000 such businesses employing 138,000 people, or almost 20 percent of the state’s total work force of about 700,000.
"That’s significant — and a lot of it is done by individuals, self-employed people, sole proprietors," Baldacci said.
The daylong conference featured networking opportunities, a small-business resource exposition, panel discussions and workshops on topics ranging from cash flow and business and human resources basics to marketing and energy savings and efficiencies, among other things.
The idea was to bring experts in areas critical to the success of small businesses together with those who run or are thinking about running a small business.
"These resources are there for you because we’re not going to be successful as a state unless you’re successful," Baldacci said. "In this 21st century global economy, we’re all in it together."
Wednesday’s gathering was the last in a series of four pilot conferences designed to educate and aid people running small businesses in Maine. The others served small businesses in the Auburn, York County and Washington County areas.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=164668&zoneid=500
By Dawn Gagnon
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — Though they may feel under-appreciated and isolated, Maine’s small businesses play a huge role in the state’s economic well-being.
That was the upshot of Gov. John Baldacci’s welcoming address Wednesday for participants of the Governor’s Regional Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship at Eastern Maine Community College, also known by its signature vanity license plate logo, "SMBIZ4ME."
In his address, the governor cited 2005 statistics indicating that micro businesses, or those that employ from one to four people, are among the state’s economic powerhouses.
"You’re important. I know from my years in small business [the family restaurant] that sometimes we’re sort of taken for granted," he said.
According to the 2005 statistics, Maine had 24,000 such businesses employing 138,000 people, or almost 20 percent of the state’s total work force of about 700,000.
"That’s significant — and a lot of it is done by individuals, self-employed people, sole proprietors," Baldacci said.
The daylong conference featured networking opportunities, a small-business resource exposition, panel discussions and workshops on topics ranging from cash flow and business and human resources basics to marketing and energy savings and efficiencies, among other things.
The idea was to bring experts in areas critical to the success of small businesses together with those who run or are thinking about running a small business.
"These resources are there for you because we’re not going to be successful as a state unless you’re successful," Baldacci said. "In this 21st century global economy, we’re all in it together."
Wednesday’s gathering was the last in a series of four pilot conferences designed to educate and aid people running small businesses in Maine. The others served small businesses in the Auburn, York County and Washington County areas.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=164668&zoneid=500
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'."
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)
