Why Juice? Why You?

If you read a newspaper, work, or drink coffee at a local coffee shop, you have undoubtedly heard about Juice. But like so much information we encounter it may be something that sounds familiar but has not registered on your radar. For those of you fully aware you might think it sounds interesting, but why does it have value for me?

At its most basic level Juice 2.0 is about the economic future of Maine. It is a forum for the innovative, creative, prestigious and yes sometimes wacky minds that strive to make Maine a viable economic environment. It offers insights to thriving businesses and entrepreneurial ideas in their infancy and provides knowledgeable resources to help with financing, marketing and networking ideas.

As a seasoned worker I am interested to learn how old challenges are met with new ideas. I also find that an old idea may have new relevance in an emerging market. Young careerists can benefit by learning about trends in their area or other areas that might be of interest, as they contemplate the future direction of their working future. Individuals concerned about building or refurbishing homes can learn about new materials and green trends to save them money while being kind to the environment. New entrants to the job market might learn about an industry or organization that they can be passionate about. Stay at home parents, seniors and professional volunteers might discover new community centric ideas they can help to bring alive in their own communities.

If you are interested in making a living in Maine, if you hope your children will have jobs that will keep them here, if you have an idea that you would like to bring to fruition, if you are interested in creativity, passion and the courage to bring an idea to reality or you want to feel confident the Maine economy can evolve with sustainability, you will savor the experience of Juice.

Post courtesy of Lee Heffner, Midcoast Magnet blogger

Creative Economy – Creative Solutions

There are two things that virtually every American believes. You can own your own home and you can make your own living. True, not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur but the power of the option is unassailable.

Independent fishermen are a prime example of entrepreneurship. They invest in their businesses, they strive to be their own bosses and they work hard to provide for their families. Imagine owning a business that every related economic variable is negative. What would you do? Many would be discouraged to the point of defeat. That is the place ground fishermen found themselves in 2007. The Maine fleet of ground fishermen had declined from 350 boats to 70. Stocks were declining, costs of operation were spiraling upward, days at sea were cut by increased regulation and global climate change impacted the stock in ways yet to be defined. Every market indicator pointed to the demise of the industry.

Photo:Peter Ralston
Port Clyde fishermen, as notoriously independent as any fisherman you may know, banded together to save their businesses. They knew to survive they would have to be creative and look at a centuries old business model in new ways. They formed a cooperative, leased a dock for joint use and forced themselves to look at the obstacles that confronted them. They had to seek an alternative way to sustain their businesses.

Two things evolved. They learned to brand their product and they educated their market on the importance of ground fish to the informed consumer. They learned from the example of organic farmers and the Community Supported Agriculture model.

The educated consumer wants to know where their food comes from, how it is acquired and most importantly that it is fresh. Fresh means local. The price for these assurances can be somewhat higher but what is more important than knowing that you are serving the freshest seasonal food available.
The Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative launched a Community Supported Fishery (CSF) that allows consumers to buy harvest shares. In two years the number of share holders has grown from 35 to 350. In addition to shares the cooperative has offered its product at local farmer’s markets and a restaurant demand has also developed.

Photo: Kim Libby
The CSF serves shareholders from Bath to Mt. Desert. To better serve their customers the cooperative has built its own processing plant and the supposed issues of dissent fostered by independence have been mitigated by the results.

The Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative has proven you can preserve heritage and livelihood by looking at old problems as new opportunities.

Post courtesy of Lee Heffner, Midcoast Magnet blogger

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