A library of helpful documents, links & videos just for you

Betty Crush talks with the CEI Women’s Business Center about how she built and grew her manufacturing business from her home kitchen making health-conscious plant-based snacks. Betty also shares tips on how she maintains high quality products, scales her business, and what she’s learned along the way.

https://www.momsorganicmunchies.com/ 

Alissa Wetherbee talks with CEI Women’s Business Center about how she built a premier family entertainment show featuring awe-inspiring female world champion Logging Sports athletes. Alissa shares how she diversifies revenue streams for her business by offering programs, tours, workshops and expanding her merchandise into hot sauces and coffee.

https://www.axewomen.com/index.html

Selina Chan talks with CEI Women’s Business Center about how she bult her business creating accessories for pet and pet lovers in addition to hand-painted artwork. Selina also shares tips she’s learned about creating and maintaining a strong Etsy storefront to sell her products.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TealightStudios

Hilary Crowell talks with the CEI Women’s Business Center about how she built her business creating handwoven wearables and home goods. Plus, how over a decade working in organic agriculture inspires her product design and informs The Cultivated Thread’s core principles: functionality, durability, and beauty. https://www.thecultivatedthread.com/

Allie Andrews talks with the CEI Women’s Business Center about how she built her business providing yoga, meditation, and stretch breaks, work/life wellness workshops, and seated massage for mid to large-sized employers. https://ombodyhealth.com/

Designer and Entrepreneur Alison Thibault discusses with the CEI Women’s Business Center how she built WindHorse Arts Jewelry, a brand and storefront for handmade fused space glass jewelry on Vinalhaven Island in Maine https://www.windhorsearts.com/

Many entrepreneurs fund the early stages of their business with investments from friends, family, and other people in their personal and professional networks. In this first part of a three-part series on equity investments, you’ll learn about the ins and outs of leveraging your network to raise equity for your business.

This workshop will be presented by Robert Liscord, Brittany Michaud, and Doug Ginn of Drummond Woodsum. https://dwmlaw.com/

For many small businesses, their first formal equity investment will come from an angel investor. In Maine, we have a robust network of angel investors who play a sizable role in our startup economy. In this second part of a three-part series on equity investments, you’ll learn about the ins and outs of leveraging angel investors to raise equity for your business.

This workshop will be presented by members of the Maine Angels. https://www.maineangels.org/

As businesses grow and scale, venture capital may be a feasible source of equity investment. We are lucky to have several Maine-based venture capital funds that invest in our local startups. In this third part of a three-part series on equity investments, you’ll learn about the ins and outs of leveraging venture capital to raise equity for your business.

This workshop will be presented by Nina Scheepers of the Maine Venture Fund (https://www.maineventurefund.com/) and Chandler Jones of CEIs Ventures (https://www.ceimaine.org/cei-ventures/).

In this session, we’ll walk through a few generalized scenarios of alternative investment options for small businesses. We’ll cover how you can prepare for a conversation with a potential investor and when you need to bring in a professional (accountant, lawyer, etc.)

If you are seeking investments of $5,000 to $100,000 from your network, learn from our scenarios and ask the experts so you can feel prepared when considering investments from people you know.

This workshop will be presented by Robert Liscord, and Doug Ginn of Drummond Woodsum.

In the Ideation panel, we explore the BIPOC entrepreneur experience of taking the seed of an idea to the first customer.

Featuring:

• Veena Dinesh, Director of Business Incubation, UMaine
• Mariella Uwimana, Immigrant Welcome Center Business Hub
• Tiffany Lomax, Co-Founder, Memory Lane Cards
• Obinna Okani, Community & Engagement Manager, The Roux Institute

In the Launch panel, we explore the BIPOC entrepreneur experience of establishing a customer base and market presence — and taking the first steps of being officially “in business.”

Featuring:

• Quang Nguyen, Financial Advisor & Entrepreneur
• Mike Mwenedata, Founder and CEO, Rwanda Bean
• Niky Watler, Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Maiz
• Lucie Narukundo, Owner of Moriah Market LLC
• Julia Trujilio Luengo, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, City of Portland

In the Growth Stage panel, we explore the BIPOC entrepreneur experience of shifting from a workable business entity to a platform for growth.

Featuring:

• Kerem Durdag, President and Chief Operating Officer of GWI
• Cara Stadler, Chef Eighty-Ate Hospitality
• Matthew Lewis, MaineStream Finance, Passamaquoddy tribal member

Have you ever wondered if your products/services would sell in Iceland or Canada?

What does it look like to do business internationally? How do you know if your business is ready to export?

Featuring:

• Jodi Breau of Dental Lace, Inc.
• Billie Cary, Trade Information Specialist with the Maine International Trade Center.

If you are a small business with W2 employees and you haven’t yet applied for the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) you may be leaving money on the table.

This refundable tax credit is worth up to $10,000 per employee per quarter, and you can receive ERTC and PPP (the law that prohibited you receiving them both has changed).

Featuring: Kevin Haley and Jamie Szal from Brann & Isaacson

Are you seeking funding to invest in your new or growing business?

Grant funding can be a helpful resource, but finding a grant that is a good fit for your business is difficult. In this workshop, we will discuss the grant process, advise on when grants make sense for your businesses, offer tips for writing a compelling application, and provide an overview of grant opportunities for Maine-based small businesses. This workshop is offered in conjunction with the CEI Women’s Business Center’s Small Business Grant Resource Guide.

Featuring: Elaine Theriault-Currier, grant-writing consultant