The 11 leaders on this year’s Mainebiz Next list are making their mark across the state.
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The Mainebiz Next list honors leaders who are changing Maine’s economy.
We often talk in Maine about the need for new people and new energy. In a state whose population is not growing and whose median age is the oldest in the country, this is not an idle discussion.
The 11 leaders on this year’s Next list are making their mark across the state.
A defining characteristic is their energy level. I think we all know of businesses where the hours keep getting shorter, the place could use a new coat of paint or the owner seems a bit checked out — wanting, quite understandably, to retire or sell his or her business.
By contrast, these leaders are on the rise in their careers.
It takes energy to buy an old paper mill and convert it to a new use (see Joshua Henry of GO Lab Inc., Page 20), or revitalize an aging downtown (see Kristina Cannon of Main Street Skowhegan, Page 28) or completely shift the focus of your business after a recession (see Chad and Nicole Humphrey of Humphrey’s BBQ, Page 16).
Another characteristic is persistence. It takes persistence to get your product onto the shelves of a major retailer (see Charles Friedman, Devin McNeill and James Morin of Flowfold, Page 30) or find new markets for international trade destinations (see Dana Eidsness, Page 22).
A third characteristic if vision. It takes vision to develop a new software or see the possibilities for a downtown collaborative space (see Nick Rimsa and RJ Anzelc, Page 24) or to launch an incubator for entrepreneurs’ ideas (see Lisa Liberatore, Page 26).
Perhaps another characteristic is hard work, but it may go without saying that leaders with the previous three characteristics are no strangers to long hours, ideas scratched out on a napkin or a 3 a.m. text to a colleague.