Dozens of small business owners attended an event on Tuesday that highlighted federal support programs aimed at strengthening Maine’s small business community.
Hosted by SCORE Maine and credit card company VISA, the program, organized by SCORE, aimed to help the attendees strengthen their businesses and increase customer loyalty.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was the featured speaker.
“Maine’s small business owners are the backbone of our economy and demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit that defines our state,” said Collins. “The business owners here today help build our local economies and create good jobs.”
SCORE, funded through the U.S. Small Business Administration, provides free mentoring and advising services statewide. Last year, 107 SCORE volunteers assisted more than 4,000 small businesses in Maine.
Over the past couple of years, Collins has been a supporter of federal initiatives benefiting small businesses. In 2017, she helped create the pass-through deduction, which allows small and family-owned businesses to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income.
In 2020, during the pandemic, she authored the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program, which protected more than 250,000 jobs and supported thousands of small businesses in Maine.