Nationally, small businesses represent 99.7% of all employer firms, employ about half of all private sector employees, pay more than 45% of the total U.S. private payroll, and perhaps most importantly, have generated anywhere from 60% to 80% of net new jobs annually over the past decade.

Here in Piscataquis County the situation is very much the same, as the vast majority of firms located here possess far fewer than 500 employees. Furthermore, "microbusinesses" (businesses with 4 or less employees) made up 26.0% of total county employment in 2004, according to James McConnon, Jr. of the UMaine Cooperative Extension.

Our county economic development plan states that Piscataquis County will have a diverse economy, and you cannot achieve that goal without a large number of small businesses. Our plan also states that Piscataquis County will support start-up entrepreneurs, the individuals who will hopefully create the next generation of small businesses.

A huge part of my job is to help create more employment opportunities in Piscataquis County, and I think that it's far easier to help the businesses that are already located here expand and add new jobs, and help entrepreneurs start new businesses, than trying to lure a business from elsewhere to relocate here (though I'm not against doing that if the opportunity should present itself).

To help assist small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs, the PCEDC is proud to be involved with the Rural Small Business Conference and Business to Business (B2B) Show, an exciting event which is being held at the Penquis Higher Education Center on Wednesday, October 17th. This event is being sponsored by the Maine Community Foundation, MaineStream Finance, and the Penquis Higher Education Center.

Now I imagine that most small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs don't have a lot of free time on their hands, and even though this event does take up the better part of a day, it will be worth your while, as it will bring together in one location a wealth of valuable information on a variety of subjects relevant to anyone starting or running a small business.

In the morning, the format of the conference will be a series of small seminars, focused on a wide variety of topics, including: business plans; hiring employees; labor laws; workplace safety; copyrights and trademarks; accounting; bank loans; tax planning; tax law updates; patents; and sub-contracting and government contracts.

During lunch, guest speaker Deb Neuman, host of WVOM 103.9 FM's "Back to Business" radio show, will discuss "Marketing on a Shoestring." The afternoon seminars that follow will continue this marketing focus, with seminars on subjects including creating your brand, developing marketing materials, using the internet to market, and buying advertising.

I hope that all you small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs will be able to join us for this wonderful and informative event. Sign up soon, as there are limited meals and seating for seminars. For more information on this conference, check out their website at www.ruralmainebiz.org, or contact James Macomber at Penquis CAP (564-7116 or jmacomber@penquiscap.org).