A Freeport business is among 15 companies participating in a Small Business Administration program designed to help small businesses grow.

The program, called ScaleUp Maine, was kicked off at a meeting last week at the Brunswick Hotel and Tavern, and marked the first time the program was offered in Maine at a location outside of Portland. Keith McBride, executive director of the Freeport Economic Development Corp., said that the meeting was the first of 10 weekly group sessions – the second was Tuesday night in Brunswick – covering topics such as marketing, financing and pricing. Two workshop sessions, in which businesses will work directly with counselors or experts on particular issues, will follow.

Beansprouts Early Learning Child Care Center in Freeport is one of the participating companies.

The new ScaleUp Maine is a collaboration among the economic development offices of Freeport, Bath, Brunswick, Topsham and Yarmouth, along with Coastal Enterprises Inc., a community development financing institution.

“Growth is the idea, and bringing services to the area,” McBride said. “Economic development is always regional. It doesn’t care about town lines. It’s about time people started getting together and thinking regional.”

Angela Garrison is the owner of Beansprouts Early Learning Center, which is undergoing an expansion of its facility on Lower Main Street after only two years in business. Garrison will add two classrooms, an indoor gymnasium and an office on the main floor. She also will remodel the 4,300 square feet of space on the property that she purchased earlier this year.

Garrison said the ongoing expansion might not be her last. Her emphasis on healthy, organic foods and healthy outdoor activities has caught on.

“I’m thinking on other options for expansion, such as franchising,” she said. “I want a better understanding of the thought process. Down the road, we might expand to other locations.”

Garrison said she is a lifelong learner, and looks forward to interacting with the other companies at the ScaleUp Maine meetings.

“I’m committed to the program,” she said. “It’s to gain what other perspectives and challenges are in terms of scaling up their businesses.”

McBride said that ScaleUp Maine is part of ScaleUp America, which is entering its second year helping small business success in Maine and at 14 other sites around the country.

In addition to Beansprouts, companies accepted to the program include Country Farm Furniture, Composite Materials and Halcyon Yarn of Bath; Atayne, Fair Winds, Terra Speakers and Wild Oats Bakery in Brunswick; Dandelion Catering, Ice It! Bakery and Island Treasure Toys in Yarmouth; Dewey’s Lumber in Liberty; Fluid Farms in Dresden; KV Tooling of Augusta; Stone Fox Farm Creamery in Monroe; and Swallowtail Farm and Creamery in Whitefield.

“Strong small businesses are critical to the economic development strategies for our respective communities,” McBride said. “I look forward to collaborating with my counterparts in the area to help local businesses grow, and to find synergies between business, government and other stakeholders in the region.”