It was Stacey Cote’s dream to own and operate a hospitality business in Southern Maine. When she found the property New Harbor Cottages for sale in Wells, she knew it was what she was looking for. She came to a Purchase Agreement with the owner, had some working capital, but needed financial help to purchase the property. Because the property needed some improvements, she was a new hospitality business, and Maine was just coming out of the pandemic, banks were very cautious. After being denied a loan from other banks, her Realtor connected her to SMFA. SMFA in turn brought…

T&D Wood Energy, founded by Tony Wood and his father in 2018, manufactures premium wood pellets for the heating market in the Northeast. The company sells to all New England states, and in each of the three heating seasons, they have sold out of all their product and needed to make more. The owners had been working on developing a wood pellet plant for almost 11 years before they got close to building a facility. When the company was ready to close financing on its current plant, Coastal Enterprises brought Southern Maine Finance Agency (SMFA) into the relationship. "Working with…

Organic and environmentally responsive soaps and skincare. When Robin and Jim Bedford started making soap as part of their family business, they determined to make it the best they could utilizing natural ingredients and being environmentally conscious. When their son Derek and Jennifer were married, soaps were the wedding favors. Derek and then Jennifer joined the business sometime after, determined to further develop the soap business. The business began in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and the name Possum Hollow Farm Soap came about because there was a possum hollow behind the family farmhouse. While in Pennsylvania, Derek and Jennifer…