Portland, ME – September, 23, 2011 – Kirk Hill, founder of the Maine Entrepreneurs Group on the social network LinkedIn.com, has announced that the group now has more than 2,000 members. The group, which also meets once a month in person, is the largest to be centered in Maine.

According to the 2008 US Census, on average, 2,356 people become entrepreneurs daily. The Maine Entrepreneurs Group was founded as a mutual support network for those in Maine who are joining those ranks.

“Being connected to over 2000 members, certainly carries my business into many concentric circles beyond my location!” says Cathy Roberts, of Pieceworks, Inc in Liberty, Maine. “I believe that Maine entrepreneurs are a vital piece to the current economic solution,” says Roberts.

“I was drawn to this group because it represents the best group brainstorming I could ever ask for. As a small business, it is often hard to stick your head up out of your daily routine of driving sales, managing production, and maintaining your financial stability.” Says Aron Buterbaugh, owner of Beachstone Recycled Surfaces.

Serial Entrepreneur, Kirk Hill, founded the Maine Entrepreneurs Group in 2008 when he found networking opportunities for Maine small businesses to be lacking. The group is composed of small business owners from all over the state. Businesses vary widely from marketing companies to real estate agents, to technology consultants.

When it began, the monthly live meetings drew, on average 6-12 entrepreneurs. Today, face-to-face meetings can swell to dozens and are even attended as a field trip by entrepreneurship classes from Southern Maine Community College. Members meet the 4^th Wednesday of each month at the Law Offices of Bernstein Shur in Portland. (There is no September meeting due to a schedule conflict)

The Maine Entrepreneurs Group provides members the opportunity to:

• Share ideas and solutions online;
• Meet and network monthly for free;
• Discuss the latest trends affecting Maine small business.

“Maine Entrepreneurs is a great platform to exchange ideas, share experiences and learn from each other,” says Anamaria Salguero of Butts Commercial Brokers, “at the same time we are building a great network of valuable resources.”

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site with more than 75 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. LinkedIn allows users to create “groups” which provide people with similar interests to meet and hold discussions.
Interested entrepreneurs can join LinkedIn and become members of the Maine Entrepreneurs Group for free.

About Kirk Hill
Kirk Hill is a Maine native who co-founded the technical consultancy Quai, Inc. in 1996. Hill is a graduate of MIT, a serial entrepreneur, and a real estate investor. He’s the co-author of the book, due out in 2012, No Shoestring Startup: How to Start Your Business With Little or No Money.

For more information contact Windsor PR agency Maine

The discussion is going to be filled with ways in which Social media can launch Nonprofit businesses into so many aspects of their target audience’s lives to educate and promote. An exciting highlight of this breakfast is a presentation of a case study of how an organization does just this. This case study will be presented by Cyndi Amato who is the Executive Director for SARSSM (Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine) and she is going to present just how SARSSM uses Social Media.

Including Cyndi Amato, we have two other presenters, Emily Brackett and Marc A. Pitman, making this a fantastic line up. Emily Brackett is president of Visible Logic, Inc., a boutique graphic design firm that works across all media to build complete branding systems. Visible Logic Inc. also designs individual projects for clients across the U.S., including not-for-profits, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. Marc A. Pitman is the author of Ask Without Fear!  and founder of Fundraisingcoach.com, a website dedicated to practical ideals for fundraising more effectively. He also teaches internet marketing at Thomas College.

The background, experiences, and perspectives that all three of our exciting presenters are going to bring to this Friday’s discussion will make for an informative and thought provoking Social Medal Breakfast.

Please visit www.socialmediabreakfastmaine.com for more information and to reserve your tickets for this month’s upcoming Social Media Breakfast.

This month’s breakfast is sponsored by Flyte New Media, Filmosity Productions, and Maine Video Systems. Please find more information on them at www.socialmediabreakfastmaine.com/sponsors/.

About Hall Web Services
Hall Web Services of Portland, Maine offers a suite of site status and management tools, web marketing consulting and full service web services to B2B businesses.  Hall’s full service options include web design and development, managed hosting, internet marketing, inbound marketing strategies and multimedia production.

About Social Media Breakfast Maine
Social Media Breakfast Maine is a monthly opportunity to get together to share experiences, stories and learn from each other on a variety of different topics in and around the social media scene. Each month’s topic is a different spin on how social media can help you, whether you are a business owner trying to add social media to your marketing/PR mix, or a social media newbie, each breakfast is filled with those that want to teach and those that want to learn.

An English degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and a Media Production degree from Boston’s Emerson College enabled Josh to hone his expertise in digital marketing, while still staying true to the original, and most important, form of engagement and communication – the written word.

Josh has worked with various businesses, organizations, and musicians to achieve success in web marketing. He helped develop content for new website launches and redesigns; produced digital video in the promotion of new music; and spearheaded entire web marketing and social media marketing campaigns, from genesis to fruition, for various organizations.

Josh’s current role is Chief Marketing Strategist of his own firm, Promenade Media, which offers social media marketing and digital media production for small businesses, musicians, and sustainable causes. Promenade Media also provides webinar production, SEO, and overall web strategy consultation.

Josh became an official Board member of the Maine Marketing Association in September 2007. He eventually went on to spearhead the entire website redesign process and helped launch the successful 2009 membership drive. He also continues to create the bi-weekly e-newsletter sent to over 1400 Maine professionals.

Josh is also actively involved with the Maine Animal Coalition and Maine Businesses for Sustainability. When not working or playing music, he enjoys skiing, attending U2 and Phish concerts, and hiking trips with his wife and Bulldog.

The Maine Marketing Association (MMA) was founded in 2001 in Portland. The goal of the organization is to provide ongoing marketing-related education and support to its members and to the region’s business community.

The Maine Marketing Association is pleased to announce their annual May seminar, Cause Marketing 2010: Exploring strategies for your business and community. The seminar will be held at the University of Southern Maine’s Lee Auditorium in Portland on Friday, May 21st from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

“It can be very frustrating relying on another company – Google – for the success of an SEO campaign and, ultimately, the growth of a business,” says Owner and Chief Marketing Strategist, Josh Valentine. “We strive to motivate business owners, activists, and musicians to take control of their marketing efforts and focus more on social media optimization (SMO) – such as participation on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, consistent blogging, or online video. SMO is becoming more and more important – until, of course, the next thing comes around.”

Promenade Media’s past projects include work with USM’s Muskie School of Public Service, Working Together: Expanding Maine’s Workforce, Maine Animal Coalition, and Maine Businesses for Sustainability. They have also done video campaigns for The Island, a side project of the popular national jam band, The Disco Biscuits. Currently in the works: a video campaign for New York jam band, God Street Wine, social media marketing for Maine Center on Deafness, and an interview series on social media for musicians with Tears For Fears co-founder and bassist, Curt Smith.

“One of our company goals is to differentiate ourselves in the crowded world of social media and internet marketing,” says Valentine. “We look to work closely with small business owners or marketing executives and coach them on growing their business using online tools; maintaining web presences for non-profits looking to promote a cause; or musicians interested in taking control of their career and promoting their art without an intrusive record company.”

Valentine goes on to explain that Promenade Media is a “green business, highly focused on social responsibility and sustainability. The expansion of non-profits and theses types of activities will only be a boon to Maine’s future economy.” He says, “non-profits must be as aggressive as small businesses when it comes to participating online. Social media is a new way of doing business and the transparency it creates is mostly a good thing.”

Promenade Media was founded in 2007 by Josh Valentine, Owner and Chief Marketing Strategist. Josh is also the President of the Maine Marketing Association (with his term beginning next month). Connect with Promenade Media on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

About the seminar

Despite our love affair for all things technological, in a recent survey of top sales and marketing professionals, event marketing was voted the number one discipline for producing results. Bob Tiernan, President of Cameo Marketing, will explore the power of one-on-one event marketing and how it can help your organization build strong consumer relationships that result in the creation of brand evangelists and drive sales. You’ll leave with a greater appreciation for the importance of maintaining human connections, especially in today’s world, in which we as marketers have become increasingly dependent upon electronic and digital communications.

Topics include

• The definition of event marketing and its history as a relatively new marketing force.
• The seven key benefits of event marketing and how well-crafted brand experiences can connect your organization with its consumers.
• Why and how event marketing continues to deliver an exceptionally strong ROI.
• Real-world examples of how Cameo Marketing clients have benefited by strengthening their connections with customers through event marketing.

About Bob Tiernan

Cameo Marketing was founded in 1992 by Bob and his wife Bonnie, and represents the fulfillment of Bob’s dream to build a second career. A native New Englander, Bob spent much of his professional life in the broadcasting industry and held executive level positions at Selcom, Westinghouse Broadcasting and CRN International. Bob provides leadership and creativity in the design of Cameo projects – from concept to fabrication to execution

Networking and registration for the seminar, which is open to both MMA members and non-members, begins at 11:00 AM. The presentation starts promptly at 11:40 and ends at 1:00. The cost for lunch is included in the fee: $15 members, $35 non-members, $10 students. TechMaine members may also attend at the MMA member rate. To register for the Lunch & Learn, please click HERE.

The Maine Marketing Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing ongoing marketing-related education and support to its members and to the region’s business community. It is the first group of its kind in Maine, dedicated exclusively to marketing education. Membership is just $89 for a full year.