How to find funding for your small business
Tom Rainey, executive director of the Maine Center for Enterpreneurs, shared financing tips for small businesses in a video presentation at last week's Mainebiz 2021 Small Business Forum. The video is available online.
For small businesses in Maine in need of financing, resources abound, from tapping into state economic development funding to crowdfunding platforms, according to an expert who works with startups statewide.
Tom Rainey, executive director of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, shared financing tips in a short videotaped presentation for last week's Mainebiz Small Business Forum. The video is available online.
During his 10-minute talk and slide presentation, Rainey shared five financing ideas but noted that the list was not exhaustive.
Concerning state economic development resources, Rainey referenced the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, which he said will bring a "tremendous" number of resources to Maine, to help small businesses get established or to grow.
A roadmap from Gov. Janet Mills and the state legislature, for example, has been designed to deploy $1 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
He added that state agencies including Maine Technology Institute, the Finance Authority of Maine and the Maine Venture Fund will receive tens of millions of dollars to disburse as business grants starting this fall.
"This is a tremendous resource for Maine businesses, and businesses really need to prepare now, so that they can access this funding when it becomes available," he said. He also noted that his own organization will be conducting several workshops for small businesses on the topic.
Rainey also recommended working with municipal economic development organizations, such as Portland's Office of Economic Opportunity, and tapping into the federal Small Business Innovation Research grant program.
The program provides $3.7 billion in annual grants for small business research, product, process and services development, including to 114 small businesses in Maine that have won close to 400 awards.
"There are examples of success stories here in Maine, everything from seaweed businesses to high technology businesses," he said, "so it's not strictly focused on high technology. It's a phenomenal program, it's a program that many people don't take advantage of."
High-profile pitch competitions, including the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs' Top Gun, "Greenlight Maine" and Gorham Savings Bank's LaunchPad, were also cited as useful resources, along with crowdfunding.
Several Top Gun companies, in fact, have successfully raised funds using the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, Rainey said, pointing to MyBodyModel and CoAmplify as examples.
"We encourage companies, especially the ones that are at the very early stage, that are just starting out, without much revenue: If you have a compelling story to tell, to pursue the crowdfunding platforms," he said.
Rainey's 10-minute video can be viewed and shared here.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments