Maine Balsam Fir

I met a remarkable woman yesterday. She spoke during the second follow-up session for my entrepreneurship skills class.

In 1983 Wendy Newmeyer started a business. She and her husband, Jack, had moved to western Maine six years earlier, and they were running out of money. They had acres and acres of Maine balsam fir trees and sold the fir as raw material. Then Wendy got an idea ~ she could make small pillows, filled with the balsam fir, to sell in local stores. She spent two days a week traveling to stores to ask if they would sell her products. The rest of the week she worked twenty hours a day making pillows.

Today her business, Maine Balsam Fir Products, is an example of what's possible when someone has a vision and the determination to make it real.

Wendy works hard, enjoys what she does, changes what stops working, has developed an incredible sense for business, schedules time to do what she loves, and is willing to share everything she knows with prospective small business owners.

She held me and my classmates spellbound with her stories of success and failure. She shared moments when opportunities seemed to fall in her lap, as well as disappointments that didn't keep her down. It was easy to see that her sense of humor, optimism, work ethic, and can-do attitude are elements of her success.

Wendy began her talk with a question: why are people so afraid of failure? She didn't have an answer because she doesn't understand that fear. Wendy didn't have the luxury of fretting about whether or not she could make a go of her business idea. She and her husband were living on $500 a month and weren't sure they would be able to stay in the Maine woods that they loved so much.

Wendy had an idea, found a way to make it work, and today is recognized as one of the state's most successful small business owners. She is proud of her business, enjoys travel with her husband, and talks about ideas for future products.

All of us were inspired by Wendy's story. She stressed that each of us has a unique path to follow. The bottom line is that it is up to each one of us to find a way to make our idea work. We can't know everything before we start, and we will make mistakes. We will learn along the way, ask for help when we need it, and keep going if we want to succeed.

Wendy invited us to visit her store and factory in West Paris, Maine. I plan to take her up on that invitation once the roads have recovered from winter's frost heaves. I think by spring I will be ready for another shot of inspiration.