So, You Want to Start a Business....

I have been working with the Union River Center for Innovation (URCI) in Ellsworth to facilitate the launch of some new resources: The Entrepreneurial Exploration workshop series will help you assess the viability of your business idea and get you acquainted with all aspect of your path forward.

The workshops are being conducted by 4 local experts in business advising and finance. The workshops series is free but registration is required. Visit the URCI website to register.

The first workshop, “So, you have an idea for a new business or new idea for your current business.” will introduce you to the new City of Ellsworth Business Guide and take you through a checklist that will help explore and navigate the unique path forward for your proposed business. This session will be led by Eric Treworgy of Coastal Enterprises Inc. and staff from the City of Ellsworth Economic Development Department.

In week two, “Starting a Business? Do you have what it takes?” will be led by Oyebanjo ‘Banjo’ Ogunlela from New Ventures Maine (NVME). This session will explore the traits of successful businesses and successful business owners, help you identify those traits in yourself, emphasize the importance of and help you get

started on developing your vision and mission statements.

Alison Lane from, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will lead week three, “Starting a business? So, what’s the plan?”. This workshop will identify and define the various elements of a business plan and introduce basic marketing and pricing concepts and terminology.

Finally, in week four, Kitty Barbee from Barbee Business Services presents “Starting a business? Let’s demystify the financials!”. This session will familiarize you with basic bookkeeping concepts, define and simplify terminology like operating costs vs expenses, and sales vs income, as well as introduce the elements

of financial statements like cash ow projections, P&L statements, and balance sheets.