Success stories

Success stories

  • Kate Hall

    Maine 2024 Microenterprise of the Year Graze, LLC

    Hearing the phrase “Maine made” or “Maine grown” tends to evoke a sense of wholesome, quality products that are good for you. Kate Hall’s business, Graze, lives up to that reputation easily...

  • Grace Philips

    Maine Small Business Exporter of the Year Belle Cove

    If there is one Maine product that is instantly recognizable as ours nationwide and around the world, it’s lobsters, and that makes them integral to Maine’s coastal economy. When Grace Philips moved...

  • Kendra Chubbuck

    Maine 2024 Veteran Owned Business of the Year Shore Shop Gifts

    It’s clear that as retail businesses have become consolidated in large companies that small businesses have difficulty competing, that’s even more so for businesses based in rural areas, and...

  • Young creative business owner in their studio sporting a bright blue jacket

    Maine 2024 Home Based Business of the Year Studio Choo11

    While many of the headline grabbing businesses tend to be large manufacturers and bring massive numbers of jobs into a town, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of small businesses here in...

  • Candance Edgecomb

    Maine 2024 Young Entrepreneur of the Year W.E. Farm

    Aroostook County has been shaped by its family owned farms, and over the years the importance of preserving the farming traditions has become clear. At a time when many farms are being sold off to...

  • SBA’s Minnesota Minority Owned Small Business in 2024

    JMLM Restaurants Recipe for Success with Support from SBA

    Born and raised in Northeast Iowa, Manuel “Manny” Perez started what would become a lengthy career in the restaurant industry by waiting tables after high school. Upon moving to Minnesota, he...

  • LaKeya Scott

    A Side Hustle Turned Full-Time

    LaKeya Scott was a high-performing, 16-year, full-time professional working in the automotive dealership industry. In 2016, while still employed, Scott launched “Embracing Fire Designs,” her side...

  • Natalie Hodge

    Creating Stars

    Natalie Hodge grew up in Martinsville, Virginia and, after obtaining her bachelor’s degree from Guilford College and her masters from Cornell University, she lived all over the country primarily...