Last Chance for Tomorrows Program and More

December 6, 2023

Kindred Connector

A newsletter connecting the Maine family business community!

IFOB Upcoming Events - Quick Look

"If the plan doesn't work, change the plan, never the goal."

-Anonymous

Congratulations to David N for winning our 2023 MFBA Survey prize, a $100 gift card to Renys!

Apply to be a 2024 Speaker!

Use the link below to apply!

Speaker Application

If you'd like to be part of our programming for our upcoming calendar year, submit your program idea and application to us!

We will collect applicant's and our past year's survey data to finalize the programs in December.

Any questions? Please feel free to reach out to Brooke@fambusiness.org

IFOB Events!

"How-To's" - Planned & Unexpected Family Business Transitions - Last Chance to Register!

Thursday, December 7, 2023 | In-person, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Zoom starts at 8:30 a.m. | BerryDunn – 2211 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102 and Zoom

Transitioning a family business to the next generation is hard. It’s even harder when the transition is necessitated by forces outside of your control. Participants in this session will hear stories from other family business leaders on what to do (or not do) to ensure your business is ready for the next generation of leadership. 50% of business owners leave involuntarily: death, disability, divorce, distress/departure, or disagreement. What is the impact of these involuntary departures and how does a family business recover?

Making the decision to retire from a family business and making the transition successful is a set of skills that most business owners do not have but have to learn. We’ll also learn ways to address the elements of a good family business transition that factors in employees and family members. Join us for a discussion with family business leaders who have faced such scenarios. We’ll learn from their experiences and glean what steps you can take to prepare for the unexpected.

Free for members and guests, $35 for future (non) members (in-person), and $15 for future (non) members (Zoom).

Any questions? Email Brooke@fambusiness.org

Join our NEW Working Parents Peer Advisory Group!

Join our working parents peer group here

IFOB Members: Promote Your News!

Promote your company news through the "Resources" section of our website!

One of the many perks of being a member is promoting your latest news and announcements to our Maine family-owned business community. Be sure to share any press releases, articles, podcasts, or other information featuring your business or sharing your unique expertise on a relevant topic or issue.

For more information on how to submit your news, view our video or download this cheat sheet. If you need assistance please contact Brooke Stewart at 207.281.2414 or brooke@fambusiness.org.

Here is a screenshot of our Resources page if you need a visual!

Member Events

JobsinME - Career Fair - Thurs. December 7, 2023

JobsInME, in partnership with sponsors and exhibitors, is pleased to present the ME Career Fair — live and back in person again!

For more than 20 years we've provided job seekers with real, quality jobs online. With our popular ME Career Fairs, we also bring you the opportunity to meet face-to-face with recruiters from some of the best companies in Maine, including our sponsors: City of Portland, Combined Insurance, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, and Paul White Company — plus many other participating employers!

Job seekers, pre-register now. It's fast and free — and allows you to quickly check in with your ticket at the event and avoid registration forms at the door.

flyte new media - AI Marketing Workshop - Launch and Learn - Mon., December 11, 2023

You've seen the headlines about ChatGPT, Midjourney, and other AI-powered tools. Maybe you've even explored a little bit, using AI to help you craft an email or write a blog post.

But you know there's more to it, and you're looking for real-world examples, recommendations on which tools to add to your AI tech stack in 2024, and some hands-on time with someone who's using it every day for a wide range of marketing tactics.

Well, bring your laptop and your appetite, because we're putting on an AI Marketing Workshop Lunch & Learn at the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce on Monday, 12/11.

Through a mixture of presentation and an interactive workshop, you'll discover how AI can help you with:

Audience research
Crafting buyer personas
Content creation
Social media & email
SEO
Note taking
and more!

Learn more and register here

Member News

Renys is Expanding! - Bangor, Me

Renys will be expanding to Bangor in the spring of 2024 and will be the 18th location in Maine.

Previously occupied by The Christmas Tree Shops, located at 46 Springer Drive, Renys will begin renovations of the 31,000-square-foot space at the beginning of 2024.

Good To Know

PUC Public Hearing - CMP Storm Costs - Tues. December 12, 2023

The PUC will be holding public witness hearings in December to hear comments on a proceeding that suggests $56 million of CMP storm costs should be disallowed because the company was imprudent by engaging too many contractor crews and restoring power too quickly. The primary storm in question is the Christmas storm of 2022, which ran from December 22 through December 27 when the last customers were restored. More than 300k customers were impacted by this storm. CMP is, of course, vehemently defending its performance arguing that our goal is always to restore power as quickly as is safely possible, especially during the winter Christmas holiday. Importantly, there is no financial or profit incentive for CMP since all of these costs are a pass through.

The public witness hearing is December 12 in Freeport at the Hilton Garden Inn at 6:00 p.m. If you choose to provide comments, you must register in advance by contacting the Commission at PUCPublicHearing@Maine.gov or 207-287-3831. It is not necessary to register in advance to attend the December 12, 2023 public witness hearing in person.

Member Job Listings

Below are the latest job openings posted on our Job Listings page. Members can submit their own listings when logged into the Member Portal. Once a job is filled, be sure to let us know so we can remove it from the site.

View our Jobs page!