Women entrepreneurs mix family with profits

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Susun Terese, owner of Minikins fleece clothing store in downtown Farmington, says that it is the longevity of her business and the time it has allowed her to spend with her family rather than dollar signs that are the signs of her business' success.

FARMINGTON -- For Susun Terese business success is measured in moments, not just money.

Moments she's able to spend with her three daughters, and the control being her own boss has brought.

Instead of groggily opening her doors at 9 a.m. because that's when a business is supposed to open, Terese gleefully throws them open at 11 a.m., because that's when she wants to.

And Terese, a self-employed manufacturer of Polarfleece clothing, finds fulfillment helping other women who want to be home with their children. She contracts with upward of 20 stitchers, all who work from home.

"It is important to me that there are opportunities to earn money for those of us who say 'no' to the nine-to-five jobs which take us away from our homes and families," Terese writes on her Web site. "It's very satisfying to know that I can provide jobs for women who want to work at home."

Terese's product -- Polarfleece clothing, from pants to ponchos in happening hues like fuchsia and periwinkle -- is unique. But her way of measuring success is shared by other female entrepreneurs in rural Maine, according to a just-published book "Telling Their Stories.

The book, a collaboration of the Western Mountains Alliance, Coastal Enterprises Inc. and the University of Maine at Farmington's Women's Studies program, showcases 14 women business owners in Somerset, Franklin, Oxford and Piscataquis counties.

"Telling Their Stories" was conceived in 2002 when Temple journalist Jo Josephson read a report by Coastal Enterprises, a Wiscasset-based nonprofit, that revealed that the median household income of Maine women business owners was nearly $20,000 greater than that of the average Maine household.

Josephson enlisted 13 UMF students to document the stories of successful businesswomen in hopes they could one day be used to inspire and educate.

While the subjects of the oral history survey differ -- from a public relations professional to a soil scientist -- their motivations, methods and advice to rookie women entrepreneurs do not.

"What all these women had was a real passion for what they did," explained Josephson. "What we found is that many of these women, 10 out of the 14, were from away and they really loved it here and were determined to find a way to stay."

Tanya Swain, executive director of the Western Mountains Alliance, says in rural Maine, creativity is a necessity of survival.

"Quality of life is one reason people choose to do business in western Maine, but for the women of this publication, starting and running a business seemed more a way to create quality of life than to sustain it," she said.

For many women featured, family -- particularly children -- was the reason to move to rural Maine. Developing their own business was often the only way they saw to support their loved ones economically and emotionally.

"I didn't make a lot of money but I survived as a single mom and was able to take care of my kids, my house and myself for 20 years," says Terese, who owns the fleece clothing shop, Minikins, which started in her home and moved to Main Street in Farmington 12 years ago. "Our successes can look like anything."

Ellen Golden, senior vice president of development for CEI, says the expectation that women will be the primary caregivers in the home determines how they do business differently from their male counterparts.

"If there was an emergency or something I needed to do for my kids, I'd put a 'closed' sign on the door and say 'Gone for 15 minutes,'" Terese told the writers of the book. "I really like the idea of being available to my children and having the flexibility to do things that are important to me outside of work."

Having the time to nurture their families is one of the reasons many women may start a business rather than taking a bigger financial risk and buying one, explains Golden.

Carolann Ouellette, owner of Jackman's Moose Point Tavern, knows that closing her business on short notice to take a last-minute vacation isn't professionally prudent, but personally, it's crucial for her to have the power to do it if she wants to.

Ouellette says she didn't realize what a luxury self-employment was until two years ago, when she scaled back her restaurant to take a 9-to-5 position with the Maine Office of Tourism.

The change gave her a new perspective and Ouellette recently left Augusta to return to Jackman to focus on her own business.

"I realized the freedom I'd given up," she admitted. The challenges of living and working in remote western Maine are also the rewards that make sticking to it worthwhile, Ouellette said.

While Jackman's population of just over 900 means the worker pool for her fine dining establishment is small, Ouellette says it demands that she treats her employees like family and they remain loyal as a result.

Valuing close relationships with employees, customers and the community was a common thread among all of the "Telling" women, said Josephson.

She points to Nina Gianquin to, owner of Up Front and Pleasant Gourmet in Farmington, who wanted to have her business complement others in the downtown, not compete with them.

It is a tendency among women -- including those featured -- to collaborate rather than compete. As Corinne Leary, a soil scientist from Monson, puts it: "We need to stick together in what is still a man's world."

Because their initial goals in founding a business were to spend time with their families, have a sustainable quality of life in rural western Maine and provide a niche service to their communities that reflects their passion -- while not stepping on any toes -- the women profiled saw success not in dollar signs.

"I don't necessarily make a ton of money, but my business, guiding and sewing, allows me lots of flexibility," Jane Barron, the owner of Kingfield's Alder Steam Canvas, is quoted as saying in the book. "For the last two summers, I've taken off for five to six weeks on a long extended canoe trip with friends. I couldn't do that if I had another job. I can do that (again) next week, if I've got my bills paid. That's what really makes it worthwhile."

Backers of the book plan to distribute it to local libraries, economic development agencies and officials, and programs that work specifically with businesswomen, such as the Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community. They hope it will inspire both future female entrepreneurs and policy makers.

Copies of the book can be obtained by calling 778-7254 or 882-7552 or viewed online at www.ceimaine.org or www.westernmountainsalliance.org.

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