NOMINATED BY RUTH FELDMAN, WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER
It’s clear that as retail businesses have become consolidated in large companies that small businesses have difficulty competing, that’s even more so for businesses based in rural areas, and especially on Maine’s island communities where it takes a 45 minute trip by mailboat to get to the mainland. However, Kendra Chubbuck has been able to build a successful business on Isle au Haut by focusing on the things that make Maine’s coast unique and a draw for tourists looking to get away from their stressful lives in large cities across the country.
Prior to moving to Isle au Haut, Kendra had built up an extensive resume with experience that would serve her well as a business owner. Among the positions she held were serving as an administrative specialist at Bath Iron Works, overseeing workforce issues at one of Maine’s largest employers, at CEI working on workforce, housing, and lending issues, and in HR at The Portland Newspapers and WGME, building her media connections. After leaving CEI and moving to the island, Kendra decided that she would leverage her experience and launch Shore Shop Gifts with advice from her Women’s Business Center advisor. With this guidance, she was able to build a business around a sense of place, focusing on local, unique products that would appeal to tourists and locals alike.
Continuously looking for new opportunities and ways to improve her business, Kendra pursued classes from the SBA’s Veteran Wise training, the Island Institute’s Island Sustainability and Leadership Excellence (ISLE) program, and workshops from the WBC and other SBA Resource Partners. With this attitude of constant adjustment, Kendra can rotate her inventory so that she will always have products that will appeal to her small town and never get stale and find ways to expand her market. By including social media marketing, and offering year round shipping, even though the store is only open during the summer season and by appointment in the off season, Kendra can maintain a profitable business that supports herself and her many local suppliers.
Outside of her business, Kendra has taken on a necessary leadership role in one of the state’s smallest and most isolated communities. After seeing the necessity of improving emergency medical services on the island, Kendra helped to get one defibrillator installed at the Town Hall to improve outcomes before patients could get to the mainland. She also serves as town clerk, notary public, Dedimus Justice, co-chair of the Maine Island Coalition, and supports the many organizations like the local library, church, and Isle au Haut Community Development that make her island such a special place to visit and live.
Because of Kendra’s significant effort to build a successful small business that supports other Maine entrepreneurs, and her support of Isle au Haut and all of Maine’s island communities, the SBA is pleased to name Shore Shop Gifts, LLC as the 2024 Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year for Maine.
