GOOD BUSINESSES ARE THE BACKBONE OF ANY COMMUNITY

By Mike Corthell

Hunting Dearborn, Inc. 6 Dearborn Drive Fryeburg, Maine 04037

The key to success in building a healthy business community in Fryeburg or in any small community is to create an economic development plan that identifies the community's strengths and minimizes its weaknesses. It is very important that the bulk of the citizenry is included in planning and execution.

Strengths might include local history, outdoor recreation or a regional airport that will draw tourists, or it could be a large farming community that could package and brand its own products. Weaknesses might be a town's remoteness — though that could also be a strength — or may be the lack of high-speed Internet. Threats would include anything that looks like it will hurt an economic sector, such as an oversized development that would hurt visitor trade or a state plan to control costs by cutting maintenance on an important local road.  MORE