What is the Creative Economy?

This is not a business school or theoretical definition of the Creative Economy. There are many resources for official descriptions, chiefly Robert Florida. The Creative Economy at its most basic level is the convergence of sometimes simple, sometimes wild ideas, with a mix of experience and a strong pioneer spirit.
There are examples of the Creative Economy across the state of Maine. Lobstermen have formed cooperatives to find new ways to market their catch while they strive to manage a sustainable harvest. Barb Scully in Damariscotta started an oyster farm that took twelve years of hard work and much trial and error to break even. Today her oysters are considered among the finest in the world. Entreverge in Portland works to combine innovators with traditional business resources to unite experience and imagination to achieve success.
The Juice Conference brings together innovators and leaders to foster existing and future companies. The goal, always, is to create jobs with salaries that provide a livable wage. Each new business that grows out of the Creative Economy offers the possibility that our children will not have to leave Maine to make a living.
Each new exchange of ideas whether at a conference or in small informal networking groups has the possibility of improving the economy of Maine, the family and the individual. Ideas need sustenance to grow and become reality. Some assistance is available in the form of community, organizational and governmental support. Midcoast Magnet, the Univeresity of Maine’s Student Innovation Center and the Maine Technology Institute are samples that offer resources to Maine businesses.
Continue to watch this site as we share businesses to watch and updates about support organizations.

- Lee Heffner