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Supporting Maine's Small Businesses

OUR MISSION

To help create jobs in eastern Maine by helping people start and grow small businesses.

HOW TO CONTACT US
 OFFICE HOURS ARE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 7:30AM to 4:00PM
TELEPHONE 207 546-7544 OR 207 664-2424
dba@whcacap.org

This 2007-2008 class series offers 15 business education sessions providing interactive training, technical assistance, business counseling, financing, and business-to-business networking opportunities to assist established business owners, start-ups, and people developing their business idea in collaborating to grow their businesses. 

LINKS TO MORE IWW INFORMATION

Incubator Without Walls Application

Machias Incubator Without Walls  Information

Incubator Without Walls Fact Sheet

Down East Business Alliance Announces Free Small Business Training

Our “Incubator Without Walls” enables participants to operate their businesses from their own locations while participating in valuable training that will develop their businesses, increase visibility, and add to the strength of micro-enterprise throughout the region.

In Washington County, the NxLeveL™-certified classes are held in Machias on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:00.

The Hancock County schedule is under construction, and will be released in the near future.

The IWW is a membership program for small business owners to receive business training, technical assistance, marketing assistance, and counseling.  Members of the IWW also have the opportunity to network with other small businesses, as well as have access to small grants to help with business growth.  IWW is a multi-month commitment for business owners selected to participate.  Up to 20 businesses can join a local Incubator Without Walls. It is operated in different regions of Washington and Hancock counties at different times; locations have included Calais, Eastport, Lubec, Bucksport, Deer Isle-Stonington, Ellsworth, Machias, and Schoodic. 

Requirements:  Any for profit business owner who is willing to commit to two or more meetings/workshops per month over a six to 12 month period is eligible to join.   

Down East Business Alliance is pleased to offer a combination Resource Guide and Directory of our program participants and their Down East businesses. Take a look to see who our people are, what they produce, and the stunning contribution they make to the culture and economy of the Washington-Hancock area. You can also find information on the resources available to help your business become part of this vital community.

Download "The Micro-Entrepreneur’s Handbook" PDF  2.0MB
 Where to Buy DBA Clients’ Products PDF  164KB

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This project offers a variety of services, including training, technical assistance, business counseling, financing, and business-to-business networking opportunities to assist tourism-related business owners in collaborating with one another in order to grow their businesses and create jobs.  Experiential tourism enables rural communities to take advantage of their regional heritage, culture, and natural resources in a way that maximizes the financial gain from tourism while minimizing the environmental impact.  This project serves the St. Croix region of eastern Washington County and the Blue Hill peninsula, Deer Isle, Stonington region of Hancock County.  The Experiential Tourism Incubator Without Walls program is funded by a $195,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Community Services, representing 53% of the overall program budget, and a $30,000 grant from the Birch Cove Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.

Download ET-IWW Fact Sheet PDF 0.2MB

Click here for Keith Small's "Entrepreneurship" presentation - Wabanaki Summit 2006, Calais, Maine PDF 0.2MB

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   Food Links  

This training program has been designed to assist food growers and food producers in learning how to market their products more effectively, identify their customer base, expand their markets, connect with distributors, and deal effectively with wholesale buyers. Fifteen workshops, tailored for the value-added food producer, were held from October 2006 through May 2007, covering a variety of food-specific marketing topics. The workshops were grouped into two series, with the first series covering “Preparing Products for Market,” and the second covering “Accessing Markets.” We provided business counseling to participants throughout the course of the workshops, to help them apply the knowledge and techniques discussed in the workshops to their own enterprises.

For more information, please contact Keith Small, Director, Down East Business Alliance, at (207) 664-2424, extension 4459, ksmall@whcacap.org, Jeff Ackerman, Small Business Coordinator, Down East Business Alliance, at (207) 664-2424, extension 4470, jackerman@whcacap.org, or Joe Perkins, Enterprise Development Specialist, Down East Business Alliance, at (207) 664-2424, extension 4480, jperkins@whcacap.org

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The Down East Business Alliance and the town of Bucksport have joined forces to create the Penobscot Bay Commercial Kitchen (PBCK), a 12,000 square foot facility that will provide a commercial kitchen, as well as dry, cold, and freezer space for food processing entrepreneurs.  While this project is still in the planning and development stages, DBA is seeking input from the farmers and food producers who represent the potential users of such a facility.  To learn more about PBKC contact Joe Perkins, Enterprise Development Specialist, jperkins@whcacap.org.  

Penobscot Bay Commercial Kitchen Brochure PDF 0.4MB

Penobscot Bay Commercial Kitchen Fact Sheet PDF 0.1MB

Penobscot Bay Commercial Kitchen Highlights PDF 0.2MB

Penobscot Bay Commercial Kitchen Floor Plan and
Equipment Key PDF 0.1MB

Attention Food Entrepreneurs
We value your input. Please take the time to complete our survey which will help us design our kitchen and services. Complete the SURVEY

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DBA is working with Penquis CAP and the Internal Revenue Service to increase our communities’ capacity to promote and deliver programs and services that build wealth and assets; and increase the number of individuals who benefit from tax credits, financial education programs, and other asset formation services, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

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For this project, the Down East Business Alliance partnered with The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Small Business Development Centers at Eastern Maine Development Corporation to form the Down East Micro-Enterprise Network.  The Network offered a unique variety of services under one umbrella to Micro-Entrepreneurs in the Down East region, with all three partners providing workshops covering a wide variety of business-related topics.  All partners also offered one-on-one counseling and research to serve the individual needs of participant entrepreneurs.  In addition, The University of Maine Cooperative Extension conducted business clinics, intensive sessions working with individuals or smaller groups.  This project was supported by a grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development

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The Human Potential Initiative is an example of the innovative thinking the Down East Business Alliance brings to its efforts on behalf of Down East microentrepreneurs.  A group of 28 microentrepreneurs committed to six (6) day-long sessions over a six-month period, in order to learn “soft skills.”  The overall theme of HPI was “Become your business’s best asset.”  Lead Facilitator Deb Burwell and carefully selected presenters offered sessions on “Selling Yourself and Your Business with Confidence,” “Insights Into Your Preferred Style,” “Balancing Work and Personal Life,” “Getting Organized and Setting Goals,” “Managing Conflict with Power & Presence,” and “Entrepreneurial Vision: Where Am I Going and What’s Holding Me Back.”  Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  This project was supported by a grant from the John Merck Fund.  Click here for an abbreviated version of the final report on this project. 

Download the Report PDF 0.8MB

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Loans up to $10,000 to start or expand a small business.
Interest rate is Prime plus 1%
No origination fees.

Requirements: To qualify for a loan you must be unable to obtain financing from a bank; have income at or below the region's median income, and your net worth (excluding home and business assets) must be below $25,000. You must also complete a loan application for loan committee review. It is the responsibility of the borrower to complete the application with all necessary data attached. The loan committee staff need not consider the application until it is determined complete by program staff.

Loan Application PDF 358KB
 Cash Flow Projections – Excel Spreadsheet 34KB
 Instructions for Preparing Cash Flow Projections PDF 148KB

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Loans up to $50,000 for 1/3 to ½ of the business's total financing needs.
Interest rate - minimum 8.0%
2% origination fee due at closing

Requirements: The business must have 4 or fewer employees. You must complete a loan application for loan committee review. The borrower should have up to 2/3 of the financing already identified. This is a match loan program, and so the rate is determined in part by the rate on the main portion of the finance package.

Note:  Receipt of applications for this loan program has been temporarily suspended due to limited loan funds.  Please contact Sarah Nugent at snugent@whcacap.org or (207) 664-2424, extension 4495 for current information or an appropriate referral to a similar loan program.

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Programs made possible with support from:

  • The Maine Community Foundation

  • Great Bay Foundation

  • Maine Department of Health and Human Services

  • Community Services Block Grant

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

  • Finance Authority of Maine

  • USDA Rural Development
  • The Betterment Fund

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