Coastal Enterprises Inc. #206

Ellen Golden:

CEI wasn't the only reason we became interested in micro enterprise, but I would say it was our interest in women business owners that encouraged us to get into microenterprise on a larger scale.

Tae Chong:

Immigrants and refugees, they want a safe place to live. They want to raise their kids where education is valued and community is valued. We're all human and we all want what's best for our family and for our community. And everyone wants to be included. And I think Mainers are open enough to do those things.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to Love Mean radio show number 206, Coastal Enterprises Incorporated, airing for the first time on Sunday, August 23, 2015. Coastal Enterprises Incorporated, also known as CEI, has specialized in rural business development and financing since 1977. Founded in Wiscasset, CEI helps create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential. Today we speak with Ellen Golden, Managing Director of CEI Investment Notes and Tae Chong of the CEI Start Smart program, which helps refugees and immigrants start, strengthen or expand their own small businesses. Thank you for joining us. Today. In the studio with me, I have Ellen golden, who is the Managing Director of CEI Investment Notes. Ellen has expertise in research, program and policy development with respect to women business owners and micro enterprise development. She is a recipient of the SBA's Women in Business Advocate, Minority Advocate and Financial Services Advocate of the Year awards for Maine. She lives in Woolwich. Thanks so much for coming in.

Ellen Golden:

My pleasure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I know that what you're doing now, the CEI Investment Notes is a little bit different than what you were focusing on before the micro enterprise and the women business owners programming. Tell me what that is.

Ellen Golden:

You could think of that as impact investing. As you may be aware, there's a history of people being interested in how they can allocate or direct capital in order to accomplish good as well as getting a financial return. So impact investing very simply is about looking for a financial return, but also looking for social, economic and environmental benefit as well. And CEI Investment Notes makes a fixed income product available to accredited investors who have a desire to allocate a portion of their assets to invest in the community because they want to do some good, primarily here in Maine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So give me some examples of projects that you've been supporting.

Ellen Golden:

Sure. It's really. Actually there are two aspects to this program, both of which are fun. One is engaging the investors, right, because they're the source of capital and understanding what their interests are. But then the other is identifying really great projects, high impact projects that are going to benefit the community and putting the money out. I can think of lots of examples. It's pretty diverse portfolio. It's everything from refugee entrepreneurs who want to purchase a small restaurant in order to sort of recapture a life that they lost during a period of time when their country was in conflict. We financed an Iraqi refugee family that had been restaurateurs in Baghdad. They had had 15 years of experience. Obviously they had to flee. They found their way to Maine and spent a long time learning English, saving money, looking for the right opportunity. And we were able to give them a relatively modest loan that enabled them to acquire a restaurant and basically rebuild a life that they had lost. It was great. It's everything from that to manufacturing to young farmers acquiring farms and obviously great lives here in Maine growing healthy food for Maine people and their families.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So it sounds like a win win situation. You have people who want to support the young farmers and the Iraqi family. And then you have the family and the farmers themselves who are doing things to, I guess, give back to the community as well as build their own lives back.

Ellen Golden:

Exactly. So you have individuals or families that have money that they don't obviously need for their immediate needs. They're interested in getting kind of return, but they're not interested in maximizing that return. And they really want to feel good about where their money is going. And the investors have a range of interests. Some care about job creation, some care about affordable housing. Some care about sustainable agriculture or renewable energy. It really varies pretty widely. And we're fortunate that we're able to develop and maintain a diverse portfolio that aligns with their personal interests and values.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It seems as though that's become increasingly important to people to know where their money is going and to feel good about the investments that they're Making?

Ellen Golden:

Oh, absolutely. We launched this program in 2009 and we now have 124 investors and a little bit over seven and a half million dollars that we've raised. And it's been so interesting to see sort of the nature of the conversation sh over that almost six year period where we actually get people reaching out to us, calling us and saying, we've read about cei, we'd like the work that you do and we want to know if there's an opportunity for us to invest with you. So it's great. But it's not just in Maine. That's happening nationally and internationally as well. People are understanding that you can address certain kinds of social issues through, let's say, a thoughtful allocation of money.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tell me about the specialties that you had before in female business owners and also micro enterprise.

Ellen Golden:

Sure. So I started working actually a number of years ago with women business owners at a point when there really wasn't. They didn't have much credibility and they weren't particularly visible in the community. Nobody was putting them on the front page of the newspaper and highlighting their accomplishments. So we started by doing some research because at the time there was so little known about even the kinds of businesses they were starting, the kinds of situations that they faced, their experiences altogether. And what we discovered was of course, that although there were many women who were working very hard at being self employed or as business owners with employees, they weren't necessarily generating the income that they wanted or needed just for support themselves and their families. They weren't necessarily getting access to the resources they should have. They were fairly isolated. So we took that research and started to design and develop programs and ultimately created the Women's Business center at CEI which continues to thrive. And we do a lot of individual advising to women business owners, both women who want to see start businesses as well as women who are in businesses. And we're also able to provide access to capital and equally important, although in different ways, we can help women form networks of support. I mean, there's nothing like having, as I'm sure you know in your own life, a great peer network to give you some advice and feedback on what you're doing. So it's been great over a number of decades to be able to see that not only are women accomplishing more, but they're finally getting recognition for what they're doing.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And what about microenterprise?

Ellen Golden:

Well, Maine, you know, everybody is fond of saying that Maine is a small business state. Well, it's also really a microenterprise state. And when we're talking about micro enterprises, there are a couple of ways to think about it. Some define it as businesses with five or fewer employees. And others say businesses that need capital in relatively small amounts. So under $50,000. There are over 100,000 micro enterprises in the state. And in some of the states, counties, particularly rural ones like Lincoln county, where there really aren't many major employers, that's a primary source of employment in the county. Not unlike women business owners, because they operate on a small scale, many micro enterprises have difficulty getting access to resources. They also are sometimes not taken as seriously. People will misunderstand and think that their hobb when in fact people are really very serious and genuinely need the income. The overlap between micro enterprise and women's business development is that many women tend to start their enterprises on a very small scale, in part because they haven't had access to money, they don't have a lot of savings, they may lack confidence, they don't have experience, they don't have the vocabulary, and they may sometimes be building a business out of something that they've done as an avocation or a hobby. So they tend to really start fairly small. And in fact, CEI wasn't the only reason we became interested in micro enterprise. But I would say it was our interest in women business owners that encouraged us to get into micro enterprise on a larger. On a larger scale.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It seems to me as though if somebody has started doing something, maybe even just as a hobby or an avocation, that it's something that they really enjoy doing. It's something that they really can put their energy behind and they really, they could really make a go of it because there are a lot of things that many of us do that maybe we don't care quite as much about.

Ellen Golden:

Right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So is there a skill to changing something from I really enjoy doing this. I don't need to make money off of it, but it's something that makes me happy to. I really enjoy doing this. I want to keep doing it. And I'd also like to have it become my life's work.

Ellen Golden:

Yeah, there's a very. I think there's a huge shift in terms of how you think about it and the way that you think about your time and resources. This is not an example from one of our clients, but it's an example that I love from years ago. It came from another organization, one of our peers in another state where they were working with a woman who loved making egg rolls. She loved to cook, and she thought she was going to make a business out of egg rolls. And she charged, let's say for the sake of argument, a dollar apiece. Well, then she did the math and discovered how many egg rolls she'd have to make in a year in order to make a living. So as a hobby you wouldn't care, right? You would simply just continue to make egg rolls because you love doing it. But if you thought you were going to make a living out of, then you would have to start looking at the whole process very differently and thinking about how many X widgets do I have to make? What's the actual cost of it if I need to make X? Is there a large enough market to absorb requires a little bit more thought in planning and analysis. I think it's really important for somebody who's thinking about that to really think about what their ultimate goal is. Do you want to make a great deal of money? Do you want to make a modest amount of money? Do you want to be in a position to create job? Do you want to have a home based business? Do you want to sort of move it out into another space where you can really grow? So there's sort of a range of things. I mean, there's a business owner maybe, you know, Mad Gab, she does wonderful products. Anyway, she's a business that CEI has worked with over a long period of time. And as you may know from her story, she started making lip lube on a part time basis as a student. And she's a perfect example of somebody who has really had to learn to think differently as her business has evolved and as she's had to, you know, she's had her, you know, her challenges like every other business owner. But as she's tried to grow it and develop new products and think through what the markets are and what her competition does doing.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I do, I am familiar with Mad Gabs. I have teenage daughters, so a fair amount of their lip balm in our house.

Ellen Golden:

That's great.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it is a great story. You're right. I think that several years ago I read about her initial forays into this as a college student and it is interesting to me that this is something that she was able to do from a fairly young age. So she didn't have to wait until she was established anyway. She could kind of keep showing up every day, keep putting our energy behind it and actually build something over time.

Ellen Golden:

Well, you know, it's an advantage. There are so many different ways you can get into business. I mean, some people buy an existing business, some people Save. It varies a lot with the kind of business, but there are lots of businesses that you can get into on a fairly small scale, as she did, where it was more or less within her means, or she may have had a little bit of family help in terms of a little bit of capital to help get her going before she looked beyond that. But by the time she started looking for outside capital, she also had a little bit of a track record and she had some experience. But you'll sometimes see people who start by catering, for example, and ultimately then go into a restaurant or people who will do specialty foods and do it at home before moving into a larger facility. Or even people who will start with, for example, a home based childcare and ultimately expand into a larger facility where they can care for many more children. I think there are lots of examples where there is a path where you can start by limiting your risk. If you start small, gain some experience, test the market, see whether or not your original idea is really the one that's going to work. Because lots of people start with an idea and end up in a very different place once they actually start presenting whatever they're doing to the market.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, that's an interesting point. Because there has to be a flexibility, I would think a flexibility of mindset.

Ellen Golden:

Oh yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Between what you see as a possibility and what you learn over time is the likelihood.

Ellen Golden:

Absolutely. I mean, over the years, obviously we've reflected a lot on why some businesses grow and some don't, why some succeed and others don't. And I would say one of the biggest factors is that ability to adapt. Right. To be able to pay attention to what's happening, to see and understand trends, be aware of changes in the market or changes in competition, but then also to be strategic and make changes as you need to. You may love a product beyond all reason, but if nobody else does, it's obviously not going to be very successful. So you may have to abandon something. It may even be the first thing that you, you know, made to go into the market. And I'm sure that can be very difficult for somebody. But in order to be successful, you have to, to be prepared to really respond to what's happening outside of you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's also an ability to see the things that are happening outside of you as not failures.

Ellen Golden:

Absolutely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

As you know, if you start with something that you love and it doesn't really work for whatever reason because the market doesn't support it, there just isn't enough interest, it doesn't mean that it's not valuable or valid. It just wasn't valuable or valid enough. And it's something from which you can learn.

Ellen Golden:

Absolutely. And sometimes it's really a question of timing. I can't think of a good example off the top of my head right now, but there are lots of businesses where somebody had an idea and it didn't work, but five years later it does. Right. Because the market's just not there yet. Things are constantly shifting. It's pretty dynamic.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes. I was just thinking about a conversation I had with an art professor up at Bates, and he just reminded me that many artists never become popular during the time in which they create their art. It's only after they pass away and they cannot even financially benefit from this.

Ellen Golden:

Exactly. I mean, that would be a perfect example of people doing something that really matters a great deal to them. In case of artists, you can only do what you can do and the public just not being ready for it. Yeah, it's often sad and unfortunate. Van Gogh is a famous example of that, of somebody who was certainly not appreciated during his life, and look at him now.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And your job as someone who is trying to match up investors with people who are seeking investors is to try to make sure that the timing is right, that the product that whoever is wanting to put out in the marketplace actually is going to be wanted and create success.

Ellen Golden:

Well, the way that we actually work. So our investors are actually investing in a pool of funds, so they don't have a direct connection with a particular project, although we certainly let them know where all the pool of funds has gone. But fortunately, in addition to providing capital, CEI has a great staff of business advisors. And so we're able to make sure that people have access to the good advice that they need in order to make sound decisions. And it. It's an amazing resource because, in fact, there's no charge for all of that advice. So it's really. Maine is a great place in some ways to be able to start a business because we do have a lot of resources available for business owners.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How did you personally become interested in this line of work, and how did you end up in Maine?

Ellen Golden:

I moved to Maine. It was sort of a sense of adventure. I was living in New York City and felt that my future wasn't in New York, and I had friends in Maine. I think it's the way a lot of people get here. And we had spent some time up here, and so we thought we would give this a try. And of course, there's so many things about Maine to love beyond the physical Beauty. But there are so many interesting and engaging people here. I think the scale of life, certainly after living in New York City was something I really valued. The fact that as an individual, you have the potential to make a difference here in the way that you can't in a more densely populated place. And certainly as a, as a professional working at cei, you have access to policymakers and decision makers in a state like Maine, where you as an influence, as an individual or as an organization can have some influence. But in terms of cei, quite honestly, I wasn't necessarily interested in economic development, but what I was interested in was working for an organization that aligned with my personal values. I was personally interested in social and economic justice and wanted to do something that was closer to the community, something that would add value and do some good, benefit some people. And I was fortunate to stumble across cei. And so it's been, for me, it's really been a great opportunity to align both personal and professional life and values.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Talk to me a little bit about this idea of social justice and what that means to you.

Ellen Golden:

So social justice really means, it's about equality of opportunity. Opportunity in one way, and certainly that's been the focus of the work that I've done at cei. It's really about making sure that people get access to the resources that they need. That as jobs are created, for example, in a small business, that they don't automatically go to the easiest to hire people, that there's an effort made to make sure that people, low income people or people who are unemployed or new Americans or women, have access to the information about those jobs, that they're well prepared when they go for those interviews and so that they've got a chance to compete. Unfortunately, there are sort of structural flaws in the way that society is organized. And so some of us don't, as we're growing up, as I'm sure you know all too well, just don't have access to the same opportunities. I was personally fortunate to get access to a good education, lived in a middle class family. I don't know anything personally about hunger. So I'm conscious of my own personal privilege and would like to see that everybody would have access to the same kind of opportunities that I personally had for a place like cei. Ironically, it's using, you could say, the tools of capitalism to address social issues. So it's about making sure that people have access to capital and sort of understanding the good that can come from the allocation of capital. So, you know, obviously we talked, I talked earlier about impact investing. That's one aspect of it, but it's also investing in businesses that have good practices. So we wouldn't work with a business that was a polluter, that didn't have a safe work environment, that didn't treat its employees fairly. So we're interested in sort of promoting the kinds of workplaces that are aligned with our organizational values that will then create good opportunities for people here in Maine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It sounds like there's more than enough of those types of organizations that are out there that are seeking help, you know, it's.

Ellen Golden:

I think so. It may be, of course, that the kinds of organizations that come to us are self selecting, but I'm quite honestly amazed on an ongoing basis to see how many entrepreneurs are out there with great ideas who really see their business as an opportunity to make a contribution to the community in one way or another. Where they're thinking about being a good employer, they're thinking about how it relates to some larger social issues. I can give you an example. We recently supported something called Blue Ox Malthouse, which you may or may not have read about, but a young entrepreneur who's really steeped himself in the technology of malting grains. And as I'm sure you know, malt is a key ingredient in making beer. With the growth of Maine's microbreweries, there's been a desire to do more organic beer, but there hasn't been a source of organic malt in the state of Maine. So this young man has come along and he's basically providing a missing link in the supply chain. So there are growers in Worcester county who are interested in growing organic grain. He's going to be able to process that in a way so that it can support the main, you know, the growing craft brewing industry in the state. And he's also going to be creating jobs. So he's. I mean, he's a perfect example. I'm sure he wants to make money, but he also really cares a lot about what he's doing and wants to do it in a way that he thinks is adding value to the community.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Ellen, I'm fascinated by our conversation. And I think, like many people who live in the state, I truly believe that there is something important about, I don't know, living your values, creating a business out of your values. And it sounds as though cei this is something that's of pretty significant importance to your organization as well.

Ellen Golden:

Absolutely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How do people find out about the work you're doing with CEI investment notes or just CEI in general.

Ellen Golden:

Yeah, we do have a website, it's www.ceimain.org and of course they can always call us at 882755 and we do have a Facebook page and I understand we're also on Twitter.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well great. I hope that people who if you're listening and you have an interest in the type of work that CEI is doing, the type of work that Helen is doing, you go to their website. We've been speaking with Ellen golden who is the Managing Director of CEI Investment Notes. Thank you so much for the work that you're doing and bringing great businesses together with the investors that are looking to support them and keep up the good work.

Ellen Golden:

Thank you and thank you for inviting me. It was fun, fun to talk to you. Thanks.

Ellen Golden:

Love

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

There are many guests whose names are Precede them whose reputations are out there. And then when we finally get them on the show, it's kind of fun to meet them. Today I have one of these guests. This is Tae Chung, who works in business development services at Coastal Enterprises Incorporated. Tae provides counseling through CEI's Start Smart program, helping refugees and immigrants to start, strengthen, or expand their own small businesses. Tae has lived in Portland for 36 years, where he has been actively involved in local and state issues regarding immigrants and refugees. It's great to have a chance to meet you.

Tae Chong:

Oh, thank you. Thank you for having me on the show.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I'm very interested in your background because you came to Maine from South Korea, Halloween of 1976.

Tae Chong:

That's right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And there weren't that many people from. Well, maybe there were no people from South Korea that were moving to Maine in 1976.

Tae Chong:

Probably true. Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So how did that happen?

Tae Chong:

My uncle and my father, they were orphans after the Korean War. And there was an American gi, George Wintle, who actually grew up in Windham, I believe, and befriended my uncle while he was in Korea. And so when my uncle was a teenager, George wrote a letter to my uncle and said, why don't you come to Maine? It's a great place to live. And so George sponsored my uncle to come here, and he ended up in South Portland, and he had that American story where he came with just like $10 in his pocket, a couple suitcases, and ended up being a janitor at the local church and also at Fairchild. And he ended up working his way to being a general manager at Fairchild and ended up being vice president amd. So obviously he said, life is good here. There's opportunities. And in 76, Korea economically was in terrible times. And so my father said, all right, you know, what's important is not my life, but my children's lives. And so he wanted to immigrate to the United States and give his kids the education that he thought that the country could provide. And so we ended up in South Portland for a day on Halloween, which was culturally amazing because there's no Halloween celebration where I grew up. And so I just remember vividly, like, meeting my cousins for the first time who didn't speak Korean. And we had. I have two older brothers, and the three of us were sitting in the living room just kind of looking at each other, wondering what we're supposed to be doing while my parents and my uncle and aunt went looking for an apartment. And all these kids would knock on the door with costumes, and they would say something in GIBBERISH because we could. Couldn't speak English. And they'd take, you know, my oldest brother, you know, not knowing the culture or the custom, would grab handfuls of candy and give it to these kids. And there was like this universal aha in the neighborhood. And all the kids just swarmed to our house and they took all the candy. And just like, you know, we learned the new ritual, which is like, you know, once all the candy's out, we turn off the lights and just hide and pray that the kids don't knock on the door. So that was the introduction to America for us. And so, yeah, it was where I'm still learning, even though I've been here for 30 years. But, I mean, almost 40 years. But that was. That's. That's how America was introduced to me, was through Halloween. And as a kid, all the candy being gone, not having any for me,

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

especially like the part where you had to turn the lights off and have it saved. I can only imagine, as a small child being, why is this, that people do this in this country? So. Yeah, that's interesting.

Ellen Golden:

Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You reminded me of the story that I sometimes tell where I came to live in Maine, in Yarmouth during the Clam Festival. So I was pretty young, and I remember going by the Ferris wheel, thinking, wow, what a great place. Yarmouth has a Ferris wheel.

Tae Chong:

It's great. It's here all the time.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Exactly. So it's the same sort of like, strange introduction to your new home. And then you moved to Portland. You actually grew up in Portland, correct?

Tae Chong:

Yeah, I've been here almost my entire life. I grew up on Bracket street in the West End, and just being a young person, I lived in almost every district in Portland. But now my home is in Winding Way off Capisik street in Portland. And so it's a great, great neighborhood. And I just love how Portland has transformed, you know, being the only kid of color now, 42% of the school's population are multicultural, and 40% of all the kids under the age of five in Portland are multicultural kids. So from, you know, I used to joke, there are only four kids of color in the Portland school system, and three of them, you know, two of them were my brothers, and I was the other one. And there was a Vietnamese kid who. And this is a true story, who ended up being my police officer when I worked for the police off. Police department. Department. And that's all I saw were those, you know, three other kids of color, including myself. And it wasn't until the mid-80s when you saw the Vietnamese and Cambodian kids come to Portland, and I could see Portland starting to transform, but I never would have imagined what it is today. And thankfully, it is reflective of what the nation is. And so we might think Portland is an anomaly. But if you go to any major city in the United States States, it's actually more diverse. And if you look at where the country is headed, it's going to be like this for the foreseeable future, if not more diverse. And so I think it was fortuitous that I was here to see that change.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You were telling me before we got on the air about going to the Reiche School and having people follow you because they were so interested in the fact that you didn't look like everybody else and waiting outside your door to see you come out. And you described walking down or going down Congress street and having cars actually stop to look at your family.

Tae Chong:

Right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

That must have seemed kind of weird, given that you came from a place where that didn't happen at all.

Tae Chong:

Absolutely, yeah. It's both scary and. But also fascinating. You know, so my wife had a similar experience. You know, my wife is from New Jersey. She's Irish, Ukrainian, and she has blonde hair. So when we went to Korea, it was the opposite. So she stuck out and all the, you know, whenever we went to a park and all these school kids saw her, they would run to her like she was a rock star, and they want to ask her all kinds of questions. That was sort of like what I experienced growing up. But I couldn't communicate and I wasn't in charge because I was only seven. So that's where it was a little scary. But, you know, it was also fascinating. And just, you know, being the only one that stands out, you end up being the observer. You are always looking for clues and cues. You know, that's what we do when we go abroad. We're always looking to see what's the social norm, how are people reacting and interacting. And that's how I grew up. And I still kind of grew. I still have that where I'm always trying to observe, you know, what's the norm, even though I've been here for almost 40 years. You know, that's the kind of education you get as a person of color in a place that's not very diverse. You're always not necessarily fitting in, but just trying to understand your surroundings. So that's where it was fascinating.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's interesting that you're able to take that view of it and you've been able to. To parlay it into something that has become your life's work rather than feeling so threatened by it that it made you angry or frustrated or cynical or bitter somehow. You've taken all of this experience when you were younger and as you were growing up and you've worked with it in a really interesting way.

Tae Chong:

Well, I've had my angry moments and cynical moments. I think everyone goes through that. You know, as you get older, you realize we're all connected, you know, and it doesn't really matter. It's just how you educate and how you present yourself. The energy that you give out and how it's received is really important. And being here when you're here long enough, you know, before we got on the show, we realized that there's already a connection, you know, and that's the beauty of Maine. And you know, Portland is small enough and Maine is small enough that even if I'm a person of color, I can find a way to connect with you, with a friend or an event or something. And that's what makes Maine special. And so you realize that, you know, as you build relationships with people and you build relationships with the place and you try to cultivate it, you want to be part of it, you want to add to it and make it better. And that becomes, you know, that becomes everyone's life work. I think whether you're a business person or a clergy or whoever, you want to make the place that where you are better. And if you can do it in a way you're of service rather than trying to conquer it. You realize that doing things through service has a lasting impact. Whereas if you're trying to conquer something, it's all about being angry and going for the win. It's short lived and I learned that after 20 years of advocacy and community work. And so now I'm in that stage where I'm trying to be of service and hopefully that will be my reputation.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes, we were talking about your having graduated from during high school a few years ahead of me and how both Yarmouth and during high school we were at the one act play festival and there's that drama intersection and I. And I. And one of the things I find really interesting about that is that Yarmouth, if you had three people of color, four people of color living in the city of Portland when you were growing up, Yarmouth had zero right, or maybe one right. But so even by Yarmouth coming into the quote unquote big city, we were actually experiencing some diversification, but we didn't even really think about it that way. It was like all Right. We're at the one act place. You know, we're all going to be doing this thing that makes us kind of happy because it's about drama and it's about getting to know people. And it really seems like that's kind of the ongoing story of Maine.

Tae Chong:

Sure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

People in sort of the same place at the same time realizing, you know, there's a lot of commonality.

Tae Chong:

Absolutely. Yeah. And it's the touchstones, you know, and it sometimes it takes work to find what the touchstones, where the touchstones are. You know, immigrants and refugee, they want a safe place to live. You know, they want to raise their kids where education is valued and community is valued. But sometimes we just can't get over the appearances. But, you know, it takes work to find the touchstones. And we did that with other communities, whether it was the French Canadians that had to integrate. They loved God and Christianity as much as the Protestants. It was just a different touchstone. But that fear, it took a long time for that fear to kind of absolve. And it was through relationships and education. And I think that's where we are with immigrant, refugee populations and multicultural populations. Yeah, we're all human and we all want what's best for our family and for our community. And everyone wants to be included and everyone wants to feel like they're part of a greater fabric. And I think Maine has that. Maine gives people the opportunity to do that because it's so easy to build relationships. It's small enough, and I think Mainers are open enough to do those things.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I would agree. And I also think it's great that CEI is doing the Start Smart program where you're actually helping people to do something that enables them to have a sustainable, financially viable life within the state.

Tae Chong:

Absolutely.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So tell me about that program.

Tae Chong:

Sure. It's a program that's been around for about 20 years. It's about 17 years old. And we've helped about 13 immigrants and refugees through business counseling. We've started over 300 businesses in the state of Maine. It's not just Portland and Lewiston, but it's throughout southern Maine and some parts of northern Maine. And, you know, if you look at any main streets in Portland and Lewiston and now in Biddeford, you see ethnic restaurants and stores. That's where CEI has had a part in helping those businesses. In fact, almost all the businesses on Lisbon street, that's kind of the gateway of Lewiston. That's where CEI has helped so many halal stores and restaurants. The same is true for Portland's. Whether it's Congress street or Washington Avenue or Forest Avenue or Brighton Avenue, all those ethnic stores and restaurants, we've had a part in helping to, to create those businesses. And according to the Federal Reserve bank of Boston, in 2010, they did a study on the impact of multicultural businesses in the state of Maine. They contribute $400 million to state's economy. So it's not, you know, it's not a small number. It's a significant number and it's a growing number. And in fact, the multicultural contributions to the nation's economy. So if you throw in, you added up all the GDP of the Latino, Asian and African American, Native American population in the United States, it would be the sixth largest economy in the world. It's over $4 trillion. And that's because they're a third of the US population. By 2044, it's going to be almost 50% of the nation's economy. I mean, a nation's population. And that's not that far away. In fact, by 2030, it's going to be almost 40% of the US population. And that's the upgrowth. I mean, that's where the young people are. That's where a lot of the energy is, in addition to what everyone's already doing. So we have to include that as part of our strategic plan as the nation evolves. And that's what I'm trying to do in Portland. I want to kind of of carry that message. We can't, just because we're in Maine, we can't forget what the rest of the nation is doing. And a great example is Massachusetts, where in 1990 there were a half a million immigrants and refugee. Today there's over a million. And so you can see how it's transforming Boston and Greater Boston. And I think that demographic change is going to make its way to Portland. You can already see it in southern New Hampshire. And if Maine doesn't jump on that, it's like missing the French Canadian immigrants. Back in the turn of the century, we wouldn't have the mills, we wouldn't have the businesses that we have today. And we need to see that as an opportunity and try to reach out to those communities and make it welcoming. And Portland has done a great job and so has Lewison and other cities. But as a state, we need to do that because as you know, we're the oldest in the nation by far. I used to joke that I always on the. I was always on the other side, but now I actually jumped over to the older side. But, you know, the median age is 43.9. And when I testified, you know, before the state legislature on behalf of the New Americans Resource center, it was 42.7. So that's pretty scary when we're aging that quickly and we don't have people to fill in the boomers who are retiring, filling those skilled jobs. And we simply don't have enough kids in the state of Maine to fill those skilled jobs. We have more deaths than we have births in the state of Maine. So mathematically it doesn't work. We've got to figure out how to be more welcome inclusive if we want to keep Maine the way it is. Because, you know, Maine's gonna change if you don't have people. You know, really the concept of Maine isn't sense of place. It's the people who make the sense of place. And it doesn't matter if that person happens to be brown or black or yellow, because when they come here, they value what all Mainers value, which is we want to create a safe environment, we want to respect nature, we want to respect the place that we're in. And, you know, that's what you know, those are main values that every immigrant has adopted, whether you were French Canadian or Irish or German, because they were always the other at one point. But now they're the keeper of those values. I think immigrants and refugees will do the same, just like all the other immigrants before them.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What are some of the issues that you see as you're counseling some of these business owners and trying to just help them understand how to better work within the city of Portland or the state of Maine?

Tae Chong:

Well, it's just familiarity with the US Business culture and how you set up shop in the Middle east is different from how you set up shop in the United States. So there's a lot of technical assistance that needs to happen. It would be wonderful to have more business advisors to kind of do that work. It's also access to capital. When you're an immigrant or a legal resident, you may not have the capital because you don't have the credit history. And so not having credit history makes it difficult for someone to get a commercial loan. So they come to cei. We're a non profit financing organization. So we have products that we could offer. But it would be wonderful if people could get credit so they can get other or be able to get other products on the commercial market. And the other barrier is that we have a large Muslim population. It's the fastest growing population in the State of Maine. It's the fastest growing religion in the United States. And you know, they adhere to, you know, the Sharia law, which basically means you can't take or accept interest. And so it's on a fee base which is really, it's very similar to an interesting, but it's the law. So right now in the commercial banks there's nothing for that particular product. And to me it's a missed opportunity for commercial lenders because if you have about 15,000 customers, which would be larger than the city of Yarmouth, and there are several banks in Yarmouth as there are several banks in Falmouth, just imagine having 15,000 customers who are loyal that wants to do business with you. If you create a new product for them. Someone could be very rich doing that. So I hope that that message gets across that we need to work with this particular population because they're some of the most entrepreneurial people I've ever met. Because they're not investing in stocks, some of them or investors interest bearing products, they're investing in businesses. So what I see are young people who have acculturated and they have a bachelor's degree or a Ph.D. but they'll start a business on top of their professional job. And so that's the kind of stuff that I think commercial lenders are missing out is if we could create something like that, that would be wonderful. And those are basically the two biggest barriers. It's really financing and technical assistance.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I've been thinking about my sister in law who is from Tunisia. She met my brother in France and she was trained as a neurosurgeon. They have a different educational system there. But in order to come to the United States to practice medicine, she actually had to go back. First of all, she had to learn English much better than she had known. And then she had to pass all of the exams just to be considered a doctor, even though she had already been a practicing surgeon. And then she had to go. Then she had to make the decision as to whether she was willing to go back through a neurosurgery residency. So all of the things that she had done up until that point were only somewhat relevant. She had to almost start. It wasn't completely from the beginning, but it was pretty close. And yet she did it. And now she's a neurology resident. She's going through her training all over again. She's learned English very well, but just the amount of effort that she has put into doing this, it's just staggering to me.

Tae Chong:

You're right. And you know, the New American Resource center at Portland Adult Ed is a vehicle to try to overcome some of those things, but it's staffed by one person. You know, there's over 210 professionals who have professional degrees that are working with Sally Sutton, who runs the New American Resource center, and she's the only person that's looking at certification, but also trying to assess people where they are and also trying to find jobs. You know, there's 1700 people taking classes at Portland Adult Ed. There's 4000 people in the ESL program. There are 4000 people taking classes at Portland Adult Ed. It would be wonderful if it was staffed, it was readily staffed so that we can help people. The state has been wonderful in granting a two year program at New American Resource center, but it's for one person. It would be, I think what's needed is obviously more money and more people and more resources so that they can help your sister and law with the accreditation process. But it's also, it would be wonderful if the city and the state could see that as an important vehicle too, as part of economic development. But you know, it's like anything, they're always competing measures. But to me, if you have somebody that is close to working professionally because they already have the degree, it's a really smart investment. As opposed to waiting for a Maine kid to go through 12 years of education, hopefully four years of college, and hopefully they'll stay in Maine that 16 years. That's absolutely necessary and critical. But if you already have someone who has work experience, who has the college degree and all they need is maybe some English classes or maybe they need some a navigator to go through the accreditation process so that they can be accredited or at least have most of their work history be accepted. That to me is a smart investment. But you know, the state is investing a little bit. But it would be wonderful if that could be bigger. And even then it is an arduous process. There's no guarantee that it's going to be quicker, but if you have more help, perhaps it could be shorter and perhaps we can make a deeper impact. To me, it's the biggest issue in the state of Maine. I was alarmed at how quickly we're aging and how quickly boomers are retiring. John Doerr is a research fellow for Georgetown, used to be the head of the labor statistics for D for the state of Maine. And you know, basically we did CEI, did a presentation to 11 businesses at the chamber. We worked in partnership with John T. Gorman's foundation's PWI Portland Workforce Initiative, Creative Portland. The mayor was involved, Mayor Brennan, Chris hall was also involved and obviously CEO and we were funded by Learn IT Foundation. What he said was, it's not necessarily a number of people who are retiring. It's the number of high skilled employees that are retiring that's alarming. We know that a company like Wex, if they don't have high skilled software developers and they lost, say, half of that population, it has a dramatic impact on their business. The same is also true for idex or any of the high tech businesses that we have, whether it's biotech or semiconductor or computer software, all those great companies that are kind of revitalizing, driving Portland's economy, along with the banking and health care. When all those skilled workers are leaving and there's no one behind them to fill those positions, what happens to Portland's economy? And if Portland falters, which is half of the state's economy, what does that have? What kind of impact does that have on the state of Maine? You know, most people forget that. You know, even though Portland's only 66,000 people, there's every day there's like 40,000 people that come to work in Portland and 15,000 people leave Portland to go work somewhere else. That's a significant number of people that are contributing to the entire state's economy. And sometimes it's those small dominoes that have a rippling effect. And that's why I believe what I'm doing and what CEI is doing and all these collaborators are doing is kind of not necessarily sounding the alarm, but educating and trying to be proactive before it actually happens.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tay, I'm sure people are going to want to learn more about this because, because there have been so many interesting things that you've brought up. I can't imagine those who are listening are going to be left completely satisfied. How do people find out more about CEI and the Start Smart program and the work that you're doing?

Tae Chong:

We're on the website at www.ceimain.org or they can always call StartSmart at 7751984 and they can always email me or John Scribner at cei and we'd be happy to talk with anyone. And thank you so much for this opportunity.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We've been speaking with Tae Chong, who works in business development services at Coastal Enterprises Incorporated. Thanks for coming in.

Tae Chong:

Thank you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You've been listening to Love Maine radio show number 205, bettering businesses and nonprofits. Love Maine Radio is downloadable for free on itunes. Follow me on Twitter as DrLisa and see my running travel, food and wellness photos as bountiful1 on Instagram. We'd love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of lovemain Radio. We welcome your suggestions for future shows. Also let our sponsors know that you have heard about them here. We are privileged that they enable us to bring Lovemain radio to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. I hope that you have enjoyed our Bettering Businesses and Nonprofits show. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. May you have a bountiful life.