ROCKLAND, Maine — What does Rockland — population about 7,200 — have in common with such global destinations as Boston, Washington, D.C., Salt Lake City and San Francisco?
The small Maine coastal community on Tuesday learned that it was one of 25 cities and two Native American tribes nationwide to be awarded a $50,000 Startup in a Day grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Rockland’s award will help to streamline the online permitting and licensing process for new small businesses, with a goal of assisting those businesses to get up and running more easily and more quickly.
“We talked to Rockland initially about this competition because they’ve been so business-friendly. The city’s done such a good job reinventing itself over the last 10 years,” Diane Sturgeon, Maine’s deputy district director for the U.S. SBA, said Tuesday. “One of the biggest things I noticed is that among the other cities that were awarded, some were heavy hitters. The fact that little Rockland, Maine, was recognized — we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Rockland is the only Maine community to be selected for the Startup in a Day award. The initiative was announced earlier this year by President Barack Obama and is designed to allow new small businesses to apply for all necessary permits in one business day.
Sturgeon said that aiding the development of small businesses is good business for Maine.
“They are the backbone of Maine,” she said. “In Maine, more than 95 percent of our businesses are considered small.”
In Rockland, she said, city officials seem to work in a “really cohesive manner” and are supported by Rockland Main Street Inc., the downtown booster organization, and the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, both of which she described as “very active.”
Rockland’s winning proposal calls for creating an online portal called Smart Start Rockland that “will direct entrepreneurs to a variety of resources including: educational and training material, business counselling, funding and financing,” said Rockland’s Community and Economic Development Director, Audra Caler-Bell. The city also will make its Smart Start portal available to other municipalities in Maine for their customization.
Rockland Mayor Frank Isganitis pointed out the city’s reputation for being business friendly with two recent local recipients of SBA awards — Kate McAleer from Bixby & Co. was named 2015 New England Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and Heidi Neal of Loyal Biscuit received the Maine Small Business Person of the Year award for 2015.
“If you thought before that Rockland was open for business before then just stick around a while longer — we’re really going to take off,” Isganitis said.
Gordon Page, executive director of Rockland Main Street Inc., said he is thrilled the city was awarded the $50,000 grant.
“I think this award is testimony to the hard work of so many people over the last several years, to make Rockland more vibrant,” he said. “I think people are beginning to recognize the fact that city staff, the people involved in code enforcement, planning, all of those departments, are all pulling in the same direction — to make Rockland a great destination. In order for us to do that, we have to work closely with businesses, helping them do the things they need to do in order to be successful.”