What does it take to plan, start and run a successful small business? Bring your business concepts, plans, and experiences to a free workshop on Tuesday, May 9 at 8 am at the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission office, 297 Bath Road, Wiscasset.

Learn about putting together a business plan, evaluating market opportunities, assessing risk, and other keys to successful business start up and management. Bill Card, economic development specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration, David Hill, Maine Small Business Development Center director and certified business advisor, and Jaimie Logan, Governor’s account executive with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development will share tools and strategies, and up-to-date resource information. This is an interactive session, with plenty of time for discussion and questions/answers, and will be helpful for non-profits as well as existing businesses looking to make some changes.

Bill Card has been with SBA’s Maine office for six years, focusing on creating high-visibility SBA events, and representing the agency at events and training workshops in Maine.  Prior to this, Bill was a regional manager for U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins for nine years, where he was responsible for creating and facilitating economic development projects in Central Maine.  Prior to joining Senator Collins’s staff, Bill started and ran his own small business, Title Checks Inc., for 15 years. Bill has an MBA with a marketing concentration.  

David Hill serves coastal and central Maine from his Wiscasset SBDC office. In addition to managing the Center and its staff of business counselors, Mr. Hill is a business management assistance counselor, providing one-on-one business counseling and training to entrepreneurs and small business owners.  Mr. Hill holds a bachelor of arts degree from Cornell University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Virginia.

Jaimie Logan works one-on-one with businesses that are looking to start up, expand, or relocate to Maine, to connect them with resources within Maine state government, as well as their local and regional communities. Her service territory covers Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties. Prior to joining DECD in 2011, Jaimie served as the executive director of the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce from 1994 to 2011, and began her career as an attorney practicing admiralty/maritime law in her native Michigan. 

The workshop is presented in collaboration with Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission. To register, please go to www.lcrpc.org or call 882-5983.