A Critical Analysis of the Small Business and Startup Community in the U.S. State of Maine: A Sustainable Way Forward

This study is a student-faculty research collaboration that examines the landscape in which small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs operate within the U.S. State of Maine with the aim of bringing invaluable insight and creating awareness. Supporting small business is a salient topic for local economic development councils, governments, and agencies. A survey was conducted and distributed to small business owners and entrepreneurs to gather their perspectives and opinions. One finding is that there are significant gaps in awareness with regards to support entities and their associated programs in general. Another finding is that survivorship bias has a large presence in the data collected previously by other agencies as well as by the data collected by the study. Finally, sustainable recommendations are suggested which, when implemented by the state of Maine as well as by municipalities, counties, or regional development boards, governments, and business support organizations, will increase the efficacy of existing policy and create a more cohesive, diverse, equitable, inclusive, resilient, and robust small business, startup, and entrepreneurship community.