As the senate chairwoman of the Legislature’s Workforce Committee, I have had the opportunity to hear from some of the many entrepreneurs who work every day to drive Maine’s economy forward. Earlier this month, the Workforce Committee held a special event at Southern Maine Community College and heard from a panel of local and national entrepreneurship experts about the best ways to support small businesses in Maine. These listening sessions are a great way to find out what is working and what we can do to make improvements.

We heard from Josh Davis, the founder of Gelato Fiasco. Inspired by the best gelato in Italy, Davis and his business partner decided to open their own gelato shop where they would follow the Italian practice of making gelato from scratch every day. Thanks in part to a loan from the Small Business Administration, they opened their first store six years ago in Brunswick. Today, they have a second store in Maine, and more than 100 locations across New England sell their gelato.

We also heard from Heather Sanborn, a co-owner of Rising Tide Brewing Company. She had a thriving law practice in Boston, but returned home to Maine to follow her and her husband’s dream. Now, three years later, the company is rapidly expanding, and distributes beer in four states in New England.

We heard similar success stories from Josh Broder of Tilson Technology and Kirby Pilcher of Artel.

A common thread for their success was a public-private partnership that helped them access capital and business counseling. The resources that are available for startup businesses are a valuable tool for growth.

Mainers, by our very nature, are creative, self-sufficient and hard working. These are precisely the foundational characteristics for a successful business. Small businesses are telling us that access to capital and strong mentoring can help them leap forward. If we are interested in helping our economy work for more people, we need to figure out how to provide better access to these tools.

Maine has the opportunity to jumpstart business growth through a small business development bond to support entrepreneurship. Smart investments in our innovation economy are crucial for our state’s prosperity. As the results of this month’s election showed, the voters of Maine agree. They supported $35 million to help our universities and community colleges expand and upgrade their facilities ”“ to equip our next generation of workers with the knowledge of today, and for tomorrow, so we can keep them here in Maine.

In order to grow Maine’s economy for the future, we need to hear from the small businesses and entrepreneurs who are driving today’s economic growth. Throughout the upcoming legislative session, the Workforce Committee will be working with small business owners and entrepreneurs to do just that.

The industrious and innovative spirit of Maine’s people is alive and well. Maine will have a bright future if we can work together to increase access to the programs that can grow our economy.

— Sen. Linda Valentino is a Democrat who represents the communities of Senate District 5: Buxton, Dayton, Old Orchard Beach, Saco and part of Biddeford. Her column appears on the second Monday of each month.