Category: Blog

Commercial Currents: It’s all about networks

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Whether you’re talking about your business, your community, or life in general, it’s all about networks. Most small business owners feel isolated. Running a small business is something you take home with you and on vacations—it’s always in the back of your mind. Now, imagine running a business out on the water where there is rarely an opportunity to share questions, concerns, or ideas around what works for others in a non-competitive environment.

Archipelago Artist Profile: Joe and Mary Devenney

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Having lived in midcoast Maine for more than 40 years, it is quite possible that you know Joe and Mary Devenney, full-time artists living in Jefferson. Maybe you had Mary as your art teacher or saw Joe’s name credited for a photograph in a New England magazine. Or perhaps, you haven’t met them in person, but you have a sense of them through their pottery. Those that know them, know how love surrounds them—a love for their art, love for each other, and a love for life. Thus, I wanted to the know their story—the whole story—the story that brought them to be the artists and couple they are today.

Student-led kelp collaboration highlights environmental and economic sustainability

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Anyone who has collaborated with others on a project knows that it usually takes a lot more time than simply going it alone does. And if the collaboration involves multiple schools and nonprofit organizations, you’re going to need a healthy dose of patience, persistence, and probably some money. This is one of the many reasons why the staying power of the Kelp4Kids after-school program on Peaks Island, run by high school students from Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, is so remarkable. Now in its third year, Kelp4Kids was started by Baxter alum Emma Christman and allows students’ creativity to flourish, while still educating themselves in hands-on, self-motivated ways.

Commercial Currents: 6 Business Habits to Start in 2020

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Since this month is full of New Year’s resolutions, Craig Olson and Claire Donnelly from the Island Institute’s Small Business team put together a list of six business habits they would like to start—or break—in 2020. What is a habit and how long does it take to form one? How can creating habits help your business?

Winter Reflection and Gratitude for the TLC

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I love my job. I especially love the 60% of my time that is allocated to supporting and coordinating the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative, or TLC, as we affectionately call it. Monhegan, Matinicus, Frenchboro, the Cranberry Isles, Isle au Haut, Cliff Island, and Massachusetts’ Cuttyhunk are all home to small island schools. This year, the Cranberries have the largest student population of the TLC, with nine students in their K-8 school. A network of one- and two-room schoolhouses in Maine and Massachusetts, the TLC connects teachers and students, both virtually and in person.

It’s all about the journey

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An often-quoted phrase when it comes to life is, “It’s all about the journey.” I would like to share a journey I’ve taken over the last year with 28 Mainers looking to start their own aquaculture business. I’m fortunate enough to be at the intersection of aquaculture and business in Maine, managing the Aquaculture Business Development Program for the Island Institute. This key piece of work revolves around helping fisherman diversify their income by starting a business in aquaculture that allows them to continue working on the water.

Commercial Currents: The New Year—A Time to Reflect on Your Business

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The New Year is a popular time for self-reflection. Many people make New Year’s resolutions around their health or well-being. They buy gym memberships, start new diets, or start flossing their teeth. The New Year is a great time to check in on the health of your business, as well as your body. Most of us here in Maine are heading into the slow time of year, so we finally have the time to take a step back and evaluate the big picture.

Island Institute announces new Compass Workforce Grant

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What do you want to be when you grow up?’ is a question kids hear a lot and answering it can get harder as the school years tick by. This is the time of year when it becomes very real as high school seniors and young adults grapple with decisions about what they want to do next in their lives and how to pay for it. Many will go right on to a traditional four-year college, but increasingly, while some will take a gap year before college, others will seek technical training and head into the workforce with a credential of value. Learn about our new Compass Workforce Grant, and how it can support island students and young adults in pursuing workforce development and professional development skills.

Addressing a problem with no clear, historical guidance for a solution

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Owen Casas, town administrator for South Thomaston, is dealing with a problem with no clear, historical guidance for a solution. The problem is sea level rise. Island Road in South Thomaston is a critical route to the working waterfront, used daily by 115 lobster workers and 150 residents. As the seas continue to rise, Island Road is starting to flood during high tide and the problem is only getting worse. The solution is community-based climate action, and the Island Institute is guiding the way.

Commercial Currents: Transplanted Partners and Island Entrepreneurs

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What exactly is a transplanted partner, and what does it have to do with small business? We invented the term in response to the idea of a “trailing spouse,” which is often used to describe a person who follows their partner to a new city or town because of a work assignment. This phenomenon frequently occurs in island communities—for example, when a schoolteacher moves to the island with their spouse.