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Augusta Update: Small Business Initiative
By Rep. Mark Bryant (D-Windham) HD 110, Part of Windham, Part of Gray

Since I grew up in a mill town, it was a natural choice for me to work for Sappi. People in my family worked their whole lives in the mill, and it seemed like a secure way to make a living. Unfortunately, manufacturing and factory jobs are not secure options anymore-I learned that the hard way when I was laid off. I see the future of Maine in my own kids, and how they are preparing themselves for our diversifying marketplace. My youngest son Adam attends SMCC, and he's studying culinary arts. The oldest, Noah, is at the University of Maine in Orono, and wants to be a chemical engineer. My other son Josh works for a small business here in the area.

My kids are examples of bigger things at work rebuilding Maine's economy. Creating the Community College system was a sound investment, preparing students for a wide variety of careers, and giving non-traditional students a way to retrain into new jobs over a shorter period of time than they could at a four-year college.

The research and development opportunities at the University of Maine are second to none, and Noah gets hands-on experience in his field, as well as interns at Sappi in the summer and on breaks to learn as much as he can. Work experience is just as valuable as education these days. Adam has been working nearly full-time at The Weathervane Restaurant in South Portland while attending classes, and works as many hours as he can in the summer. Josh is developing his skills in a trade and learning what's it's like to work for a small business full-time. Each is doing his best to excel in his chosen profession, but also what it takes to actually work in the profession.

I value education in all its forms, but our system is somewhat counterproductive. We teach someone all they need to know to do a job, but leave them without business skills. Unless a student goes the extra mile to gain work experience before entering the job market, it's harder to start out in your field-especially in starting a small business. I'm supporting a plan in the Maine Legislature that wants to develop a statewide entrepreneurship curriculum, among other proposals that would make it easier for small businesses to succeed.

The plan is called the Small Business Initiative, and it's a package of 15 bills developed by a group of Democratic legislators who have been examining the barriers to running a business in Maine. They've held forums all over the state to get input from small business owners, and brainstormed ideas for the last year. Their philosophy is to start focusing on our vast human resources already in Maine, instead of looking out of state for help.

Small businesses are the driving force of Maine's economy. They employee nearly two-thirds of our state's workers, and are the best indicators of how our state is developing. The Small Business Initiative looks to build on and expand the existing culture of entrepreneurship, mobilize state resources on behalf of small businesses, and streamline the regulatory process to make it easier overall to do business in Maine.

Besides creating an entrepreneurship curriculum, the plan includes creating a 3-1-1 business assistance and referral service-one stop "shopping" for state resources and regulations. It also establishes a Small Business Ombudsman's office to advocate for the concerns of small businesses, and creates a new consumer and commercial court to more efficiently process small claims and legal matters for businesses.

Improving our economy isn't as simple as just reducing taxes, though I agree that we need to do more to make our taxes work better for us. In today's global market, labor can be bought for as little as 49 cents per hour. We must prepare our children for a new economy, and it's time to start now. I may be contacted for more information at repmarkbryant@yahoo.com, or through my legislative Web page, www.mainehousedems.org/mbryant.