Maine SBDC: 810 jobs saved and created in 2018
Photo / Tim Greenway
Mark Delisle, state director of Maine Small Business Development Centers, helps guide entrepreneurs from a good idea to a viable business. Maine SBDC recently earned full accreditation from a national accrediting body hired by the U.S. Small Business Administration to evaluate the nationwide network of centers.
Maine Small Business Development Centers, a statewide program that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, released today its 2018 annual report that highlights the impact its certified business advisors had in providing no-cost business advice to more than 1,500 entrepreneurs across the state.
Here’s a by-the-numbers snapshot of Maine SBDC’s 2018 accomplishments:
- 1,528 clients advised
- 810 jobs created and saved
- 136 businesses started
- $38.7 million capital generated to help entrepreneurs start or grow their businesses
- 9,500 hours spent advising business clients.
Return on investment for the Maine SBDC is evaluated annually through an independent study of the program conducted by James J. Chrisman at Mississippi State University. His findings are based on information provided by a sampling of clients meeting with a Maine SBDC business advisor for at least five hours. Chrisman's 2018 report indicated that for every dollar invested in the Maine SBDC, $3.14 was returned in incremental tax revenue.
"As with every year for the past 41 years, Maine SBDC is committed to guiding Maine's economic future and making it a welcoming place to live and work," Maine SBDC State Director Mark Delisle said in a statement accompanying the report. "Maine's small businesses make our communities unique and create quality jobs for our family, friends and neighbors. These individuals make Maine our home. We are honored for the opportunity to support Mainers and out-of-staters alike as they start and grow successful small businesses around the state."
Other highlights of the 2018 report www.mainesbdc.org/about/program-results/ :
- The 136 new businesses started in 2018 are the most generated in the last five years, topping 2017’s 98 new starts by 38 businesses. New starts for other preceding years: 120 in 2016; 102 in 2015; 124 in 2014.
- The $38.7 million of capital accessed by SBDC clients in 2018 is down $5.3 million from 2017’s $44 million.
- Cumberland County achieved the highest number of new business starts by SBDC clients, with 36. It was followed by Aroostook, 27; Penobscot, 16; York, 15; Androscoggin, 11; Kennebec, 9; Franklin and Oxford, 4; Washington and Knox, 3; Hancock, Sagadahoc and Somerset, 2; Waldo 1; and Piscataquis, 0.
Of the 1,528 clients served in 2018, 65.5% were starting a new business and 34.5% were already in business, according to the report.
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