What we do for children, we also need to be doing for the baby businesses among all other businesses.

What do you think? How does this work? How can a television show help small businesses?

Possible answer: People enjoy going behind the scenes to try to see what's really going on, and often to try to understand, "What is their secret to success?" The more we see that there are no secrets, but hard work, discipline, and first principles, others become fortified and encouraged. Tenacity, coherence and agreement create special continuities that allow for real relations to develop. Real relations, where people trust and work together, create the very special dynamics and that is what we are seeing within the State of Maine and what makes for a successful, sustainable business.

This can be replicated throughout the country. If we nurture the youngest businesses among us, help them understand growth pains, read their vital signs, and stretch into doing things they never thought possible, a new era of creativity will be unleashed and we will reverse that 70% failure rate (with all the agonies that go with it) and increase the prosperity for many.

Key Idea #2: These are stories that we need to tell our children and each other. Dana Connors says it so well when he asks rhetorically, "How could you not love that show?" Everybody has a story. We work on our own by listening to the stories of others. We find courage, strength, and inspiration when we see our friends and neighbors, ordinary people, doing extraordinary things.

What do you think? Is your story worth telling others?

Possible answer: . If the answer is "No" then you need to begin working on that story. Where is your generous spirit? What are you doing that pushes the edges of your creativity? Could your product/service be enhanced in special ways?

Our life journey is our story and every day is another page. If you don't like your story, take a respite from the rat race. Did you notice the little island off the coast of Maine in the opening of this show? That's Monhegan island. It is a magical place. Take a little break and go to a place like Monhegan Island and just think for awhile about the meaning and value of your life. You'll come up with new ideas!

Key Idea #3: There is no lack of source material. Lou says that they could do a daily show, four hours a day. One business per half-hour, eight per day would be 2500 businesses within a year. In Maine the total population is just 1.2 million people. That means there are about 100,000 small businesses in the state. If they even tried to touch just the top 10% or 10,000, Made in Maine would only have four years of productions!

At Small Business School, there are always over 100 businesses recommended for every business and their owner who can be studied.

Topic for discussion: Every day we talk with the station's programming directors and station managers about the merits of this topic. Most people distrust business because in these days, so much is driven by the bottomline and return to shareholders. Those are the publicly-trade business (less than 10,000 businesses), and the 23 million small businesses can not, and should not, be lumped in with them.

What do you think? Of course, Lou's comment is a stretch (four hours a day of small business profiles), but surely doing just 26 to 52 such shows per year (versus his 2500), barely touches the surface. Would 52 stories hold the interest of the viewing public?

Possible answer: Yes, especially if after each broadcast the viewers could actually talk with the business owner and some of those small business advocates within the state. This is called online collaboration using the Internet backbone as a virtual Town Hall Meeting room. In the merging of broadcast- information- and- communications technologies, it is possible for one of the small business advocates of the state to open up a discussion of this study guide with all the viewers of the show in Maine.

That is grassroots television where we all help each other understand and build our businesses.

Most people want to know: 1) What it takes to go out and actualize the business of your dreams? What does it take to recognize your deep-seated gifts and talents? How do you live life fully?"

Key Idea #4: We all need to encourage people to turn our backs to the narrow band within New York City and Hollywood who give us the dark side of commercial television. We can explore the edges of creativity on public television and turn off any commercial television that exploits people and appeals to depravity and delusions as their way to find viewers.

Topic for discussion: What is the future of public television to be? When "The Sopranos" win Emmy after Emmy, what does it say about who we are and what we are teaching the world?

What do you think? Here we go behind the scenes of Maine Public Broadcasting and meet some of the people who make up the family generally referred to as PBS. Educational television. With very few exceptions, these stations are small businesses and need the same nurturing as every other small business.

These are good people doing good things on very small budgets.

Public television only began in the 1950's. Many stations began in the '60s and '70s. Though it is is still a relatively young medium, cable emerged in the '70s as well. Looking for markets, many cable stations were developed around public television's model; for example, WGBH-TV initiated This Old House and the Victory Garden and now the House is gone and we are competing with the Home & Garden channel.

In every venue, mega-businesses with huge dollars behind them have been introducing programming to compete. Mostly owned by publicly-trade companies, these stations must produce advertising revenue and that requires viewer numbers.

What do you think? ... is there a role for public television in the future of this evolving industry (which is also being merged into publishing, information, and communications technologies as well)?

Possible answer: Every person in public television would like to know the answer. Every station manager struggles to meet their budget and to figure out how public television uniquely defines itself in the future.

Obviously, the biggest part of the future of public television is children's programming. We do not need our children getting hit constantly with advertising to buy the "latest and greatest." They need time for introspection, self-reflection, and analogical thinking and that is the richness of our children's programming.

After the children go to bed, then what?

We believe the future of public television is continuing education for adults and the biggest single segment are the people who start, run and grow the businesses on the Main Streets of our home towns and cities. Over 60% of the population is directly involved with small business and 100% of the population uses the services and products that come out of small businesses.

Business is about value creation or it is not business. It is exploitation or worse. Television is a great medium to lift up role models for goodness. Most of commerical television today focuses on the exploiters; most of commercial television is attracted to bad news. You'll often hear their editors say, "Bad news is good news."

There is a very important future for public television to provide an alternative to the manipulative effects on our heart- mind- soul by our constant exposure to commercial television's nattering nabobs of negativity.

Key Idea #5: Recognize the greatness in each other. Being in front of that camera is actually good for everyone.

Topic for discussion: There is magic in seeing somebody on television. There is magic in seeing yourself and your friends on television.

Kathie Leonard, talking about her business and the experience her employees had seeing themselves on television, says it so well: "(They) can tell the story in their own words. It's not scripted. They're more animated, and I think we all respond to that better as an audience."

We have said in the opening of our many of our episodes, "no actors, no journalists, and no gurus, just the people who are doing it."

There is real greatness in each of us. It needs to be nurtured, cultivated and brought out. This kind of storytelling does it.

Key Idea #6: The Governor's support is one of the keys for the success of Made in Maine.

Topic for discussion: The Governors of every state need to weigh in and stand firmly behind their station, and their state's entrepreneurs and small businesses.

What do you think? ? The leadership of a state starts with the Governor and continues with those in Congress. Governor John Baldacci, like every other state governor, is also running on a very tight budget. On one hand, the Governor is charged to look for waste and duplication, and to be a motivational force so the government employees give their all every day. But on the other hand, the Governor is also looking to motivate all the citizens to do better, be more creative and more productive.

Governor John Baldacci recognizes that a program like Made in Maine informs the public at the same time it encourages all business owners to do just a little bit better.

This show is a powerful tool for the citizens of the state to learn how hard it is to start, run and grow a business and what important texture, individuality, and dimensionality these small businesses give each local community.

Key Idea #7: Reduce the failure rate by 10% and then get 10% of the state's small businesses to add one job; the State of Maine would face over-employment!

Topic for discussion: Most states have a quasi-public group like Maine & Company to go out an attract big business to come into their state. These groups are fiercely competitive; and to compete effectively, they make concessions to the big business to get them to open a branch office or an assembly plant in the state.

Every state is looking for new jobs for their people. What we especially enjoyed hearing from Joe Wisherath and Ed Dinan (the Chairman) was their respect for the Maine work ethic.

Add to that work ethic, encouragement and support for new business startups, and the state will have new jobs. If the startups are by those over 45 years old and the people are coming out of a big business background, the success rate is quite high -- over 70%. But the failure rate of startups for those younger than 45 is abysmal -- about 70% fail in their first year. A show like Made in Maine actually encourages and helps new startups. Its educaional components help to drop that failure rate.

Now if Joe and Ed were to encourage and help their existing 100,000 small businesses to add just one new job this year, there would not be enough people to go around!

While we were in Maine, we also did another episode about those Maine businesses where the majority of their sales came from out of state. We are constantly reminded by the US Department of Commerce that our balance of trade is way out of balance and that small businesses need to do more to export. We've done shows about small businesses where as much as 50% of their income is from exporting.

One of our hopes in lifting up a show like Made in Maine is to encourage people like Joe and Ed to create incentives to get their small businesses to export, first beyond Maine, then internationally.

Key Idea #8: If you are struggling, get some help. Small business owners have been historically reluctant to ask for help. Today, the help is not far away. In Maine the educators are ready to jump in. Programs like Valarie Lamont's can move a business toward sustainability (Step 7).

Topic for discussion: In state after state we are discovering people like Valarie Lamont and Jim Wilfong within the university system and people like John Massua, the State Director of the Small Business Development Centers. There are 1500 Small Business Development Centers all throughout the country with counselors waiting for you to ask for help.

If you have started business and you are struggling, click on Resources, then on your state, to find help near you.

Key Idea #9: Financing a good idea is possible. Bankers work with the state to find cash for deals that do not yet qualify for a bank loan. You meet Susan Snowden and Charlie Spies. They put money into deals.

Though Maine is a special place, there are people like Charlie and Susan in every state. But, before you walk out the door, you have to do your homework. Business plan? Financial projections? Key critical ratios?

If you don't have any of the above, get to work.

Topic for discussion: We have the highest respect for the people of Key Bank. With the state's Economic Development Commission, they are the sponsors of Made in Maine. You have to have your sights set on the biggest horizons to invest in public television. Shows like Made in Maine set the foundations for the future. To fund it requires a large spirit and forward-looking people. To that end, we encourage all small business owners to support their station, and support those businesses that make this kind of programming available.

The SBA preferred lenders, the utility companies, the economic development agencies of any kind, the SBDCs, SBA, university business schools, and business press all need to support MainePBS as a way of supporting and encouraging the growth of all of Maine's small businesses. And, that same formula is true for every other state in the USA and every other country in the world.

Key Idea #10: Learn how to work with the government. Everybody in this state is entirely approachable. Most people in every state are.

Today, every state recognizes the role of their small businesses. Towns, states, and federal government agencies have all discovered -- small business is responsible for over 50% of the economy. When big business has a downturn, often small business can pick up the slack because we all can adapt to change faster. We can turn our boats around almost on a dime.

To learn more about the key role of government, visit with Michael Novak.

Key Idea #11: Respect even the 1-2-3 person company is the Lightbulb. If you already own a business, or if you want to start one, Maine is a friendly place. There's a banker who actually smiles at you. The biggest reason you will succeed in Maine is you are not looked down upon if you only have two or three or four employees. People are proud of your success if you're doing good work. You're given respect. They don't seem to be hung up on your sales revenues as much as on what you are actually doing for your customers.

The fact that Maine Public Television has been producing a television series since 1987 that takes viewers inside of some of the state's smallest companies, and big ones, too, is proof that there is enormous respect and fascination with what small businesses are able to produce and create.

We wish that every PBS station would find a way to shine the spotlight on the great small companies in their viewership area because we know they'll also find that small is beautiful.

Key Idea #12: Learn how to work with the people in your state's Economic Development Commission and SBA/SBDC offices. Every state has such people. Many countries have the equivalent and every country in the world will follow.

Did you hear Jack Cashman? These people are helping small businesses with incubator spaces, technology grants, financial assistance and trade shows. They are actively recruiting higher technology, bio-med and aqua-culture. If you have growing expertise in these areas, give Jack's agency a call, then get the Maine & Company (above) to help you move to Maine (weather wimps, think twice).

How about Jeffrey Butland (SBA)? Last year in Region 1 of the SBA (New England) they helped over 10,000 people. This agency is preparing the small businesses of each state to compete nationally and internationally. Are you selling outside your state? ... outside the country? Call you local SBA office and get them to open some doors for you.

These are your public servants waiting to serve you.

Key Idea #13: Work with your trade associations -- their sole purpose in life is to fortify their members and most are small businesses. You hear two statewide trade associations, one for metal products and the other for wood products. Both associations know the players within their industries. They are important people to help qualify businesses to be profiled.

We often say that the people we profile are respected within their industry and loved by their community. We turn to the Chambers of Commerce and the local trade associations to help us make our selections. These trade association people know which small business owner is a mentor and expert in their industry. They know who are generous within their local community. That combination -- good citzenship and professional stewardship -- are the role models that we all need to study and emulate.

Question: Are you a member of your national trade association? ... regional trade association? If not, check out these listings: Business Types.

Key Idea #14: Pride in workmanship drives owners to perfection. An owner is looking way down the road while employees are often looking toward just the end of this week. Yet, to the degree we can get all people to understand the very nature of business -- value creation -- so everybody participates at a higher level, we all win.

A consistently well-produced television show like Made in Maine lifts the bar higher for everybody in the state. By selecting businesses that are doing special work, everybody is encouraged to do their own work better, with as much pride and creativity as one can muster.

We salute MainePBS for their show and the people of Maine for supporting this show and supporting their station.