PAST ISSUES: May 2006

Editor's Note:  Is Your Business Ready or Not: The tourists are coming
To rewrite a bit from the movie "Field of Dreams," the saying could be "If you build it, they will come." Here on the Seacoast we’re in the enviable position of having already built much of it, or it was supplied by Mother Nature. So the tourists, they will come to our beaches, our towns and our attractions.

Cover Story:  Many Ways For Businesses to Tap Tourism Dollars
In Portsmouth there are historic house tours, literary tours, garden tours, and ghost tours. One day you could even see a guided Segway tour. Kathryn Stewart envisions just such a scenario as part of her business, Seacoast Fun Rides. "I’m exploring the options," she said. Tourism in the Port City, established 1623, is a real million-dollar baby. It’s one good reason businesses assess where they fit into the picture - or better put, how they can cash in.

Cover Story:  The History Business: Landmark museums fighting for their lives
At first glance they appear as natural historical beacons for tourists in the region. Strong brand names such as Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, the Museums of Old York, or the younger American Independence Museum in Exeter conjure sentiments of a young and developing nation. But looks can be deceiving. In an age when businesses are increasingly being altered by the speed of technology, these living historical museums are seeing attendance and revenues declining, and are in the danger of slipping into irrelevance.

Entrepreneur Watch:  Peter Hamelin says 'it's a love for music'
It takes a leap of faith to go from being president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce to co-owner of one of the area’s iconic, but rundown music performance venues. But that’s precisely what Peter Hamelin did in August 2004 when he stepped down as chamber president to focus solely on reviving the Stone Church in Newmarket, which for decades has hosted as eclectic a music line-up of talent as anywhere in New England.

Law:  Hot topics in law for small businesses to keep in mind
You’ve spent decades building and shaping your business into a success. Now it’s time for you to retire, but what about your business? Do you have a plan for its future? According to several Seacoast lawyers, succession planning is one of the hottest topics facing small business owners today.

Politics:  Senate kills food-protection law
One of the things that draws visitors to the Seacoast region, other than our beaches, is our eateries. The restaurant industry here in Portsmouth, particularly, is booming with eateries literally lined up side-by-side along our quaint streets. So knowing this, it is almost unimaginable that the state Senate would kill a bill designed to protect both residents and visitors from foodborne illnesses. Yet, that is exactly what happened just last month.

Real Estate:  Conference Center: Why should local businesses care?
Economic projections suggest the planned conference center and Westin hotel will deliver millions to city businesses. Downtown business owners are hopeful with a dash of guarded optimism.

Side Bars:  Two beaches look back to the future
...in two beach towns on the Seacoast, business people and citizens have banded together in an attempt to go back to the future and to restore the resort communities to their former glory. Within a decade, and considerably sooner if they can make it so, Hampton Beach and York Beach could look markedly different than today.

Side Bars:  Hiring foreign workers: The legal way
The service was prompt and neighborly, with a smile impossibly huge. But the English was delightfully broken, a world away from Downeast, whenever Denisse Olivos asked patrons at Food & Co. in York for their order. Olivos, a college student from Peru, secured a four month visa to work here over the winter on what was her summer break. She is one of a few thousand foreigners who arrive in New Hampshire and Maine each year to top off a seasonal labor pool that is critical for the states’ tourism-dependent economies.

Vital Statistics:  Older travelers present a world of opportunity
Peter Francese, director of Demographic Forecasts for the New England Economic Partnership looks at the effects of older travelers on the Seacoast tourism industry.

Last Word:  Gourmet treatment
It was a tough story to tell and so I reluctantly assigned myself the challenge. Of course, being totally pampered with food (a sevencourse meal) and drink (seven or eight wines; I lost count) for three hours was necessary on-the-ground research about the hospitality management program at the University of New Hampshire.