Entrepreneur Challenge
Amanda Leigh Clark, LCSW, is the winner of the 2017-18 Main Street Skowhegan Savings Entrepreneur Challenge! Clark will receive more than $23,000 in benefits and incentives—including a $10,000 forgivable loan from Skowhegan Savings Bank—to start her business, River Trail Counseling and Wellness Center.
Matthew Gallant, a junior at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, was selected as the winner of the Junior Entrepreneur Challenge for his business idea, Gallant Media. He plans to use his first-place prize money—awarded via a grant from Skowhegan Savings Bank—to fund his start-up.
Clark developed her business plan over the course of five Entrepreneur Challenge business seminars in the fall of 2017. She met with the Main Street Skowhegan Business Enhancement Committee to further refine her plan before making her final pitch to a selection committee made up of local economic development professionals.
Clark will open her new business in Skowhegan in summer 2018. She will specialize in helping clients overcome challenges and set goals that will improve their quality of life, personal capacity, and productivity. In addition to counseling, River Trail will offer health and wellness services, including community workshops, massage therapy, and yoga. Main Street’s Business Enhancement Committee will continue to work with Clark and provide guidance and mentorship as she prepares to open and throughout her first few years in business.
As the winner of the Entrepreneur Challenge, Clark will receive a benefits package that includes the following:
- $10,000 forgivable loan from partner and leading sponsor Skowhegan Savings Bank
- Consulting from Kyes-Carpenter Insurance
- Three months of payroll services from Total Payroll Solutions, Inc.
- Consulting services from H&R Block
- Carpentry services from Dionne & Son Builders
- One-year membership to the Skowhegan Area Chamber of Commerce
- Computer supplies and business backup software from Computer Improvements
- Legal consulting from Mills, Shay, Lexier & Talbot
- Three months of internet access and up to two phone lines from Bee Line Cable
- Photography services from Brandie Burrill Photography
- Promotional video produced by Somerset Community Television
- Reduced rent from participating property owners
- Storefront signage design and development from York Signs
- Website design, marketing consultation, and promotional services from Main Street Skowhegan.
Developed by Main Street Skowhegan’s Business Enhancement Committee in 2015, the Entrepreneur Challenge is designed to strengthen Skowhegan’s economy and spur business development in the region.
Read the full press release about the 2017-18 Entrepreneur Challenge winners here.
