After much consideration you have come to the same conclusion that many people have made, there is no better place to live or work than Maine.  Whether you already have a business or wish to start one in the State here is a directory of websites to assist in your search for business information and assistance. 

General Resources:

• http://www.duke.edu/~charvey/Classes/wpg/glossary.htm At this site find Campbell R. Harvey's Hypertextual Finance Glossary.  This site offers definition of 7200 financial terms and contains 18,000 hyperlinks.  Campbell R. Harvey, the site's creator, is the J. Paul Sticht Professor of International Business at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. He is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  This site claims to be the largest financial glossary on the Internet.

Directory

• http://www.businessfinance.com/ Here is the America’s Business Funding Directory with 78,000+ Business Loan and Venture Capital Sources.  This site matches borrowers of all kinds with lenders.

Maine Business Sites:

• http://www.ceimaine.org/  This site, brought to you by Coastal Enterprises, Inc., strives to help Maine people and communities, particularly those with low incomes, reach an adequate and equitable standard of living.  This organization provides technical assistance to new and existing small businesses in Maine.  Also here find the Women’s Business Center which provides workshops, counseling, networking opportunities, telecommunication workshops, and assistance in obtaining financing to new and existing women-owned businesses in Maine
• http://www.mainebusinessworks.org/  Maine Business Works provides access to the comprehensive array of economic development resources available throughout the State of Maine. Here are links to business assistance agencies, business resources, loan & financing programs, labor force profiles, census information and more. 
• http://www.mdf.org/  The Maine Development Foundation encourages sustainable long-term economic growth by enabling leaders to act  and develop new approaches, advancing higher education and skills for workers, informs and guides policy decisions and models organizational excellence.  Look for the survey data available through the Maine Economic Growth Council
• http://www.mainemep.org/  This site belongs to the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership whose sole purpose is to provide small and medium-sized businesses with the help and solutions they need to succeed.  These people solve problems for Maine Manufactures
• http://www.mainesbdc.org/  The Maine Small Business Development Center is dedicated to helping Maine’s small businesses succeed.  This organization provides comprehensive business management assistance, training and information services to Maine's micro and small business community
• http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/regions/states/me/  This site belongs to the Maine District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  This organization offers free counseling, advice and information on starting a business, free consulting service, financial assistance, management and technical assistance and minority enterprise development. Women's Business Ownership Representatives are available to advise women business owners

Regional Maine Sites:

• http://www.emdc.org/  The Eastern Maine Development Center can help with business incentives, financing, marketing, manufacturing, management planning and international business for those who are doing business in Eastern Maine.
• http://www.nmdc.org/  This site is for those who have or a looking to start a business in Northern Maine.  The Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) offers Economic Development, Business Finance, Small Business Counseling and Planning services. 
• http://www.smrpc.maine.org/  This site is for those interested in business operation in Southern Maine.  The Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission offers many services to businesses from this region.

Demographics:

• http://www.usm.maine.edu/~cber/  This site is brought to you by the University of Southern Maine’s center for business and economic research (cber).  The cber’s mission is to provide research and technical assistance to Maine’s private and public organizations through the staff, faculty and students of various colleges at the University of Southern Maine.  Available here is the latest volume of  Maine Business Indicators, which provides a detailed analysis of the State’s Labor Force.  Also available is Maine Census Data as well as the results of surveys conducted by cber. 

Tax Incentives Programs:

• http://www.maineco.org/works/incentives.html This site titled "Why Maine Works" explains Maine’s Tax Incentive Programs as well as other programs that encourage new business in the State.
• http://econdevmaine.com/pdf/PocketGuide.pdf  Here find the Pocket Guide to Maine's Business Resources.  This guide is very comprehensive and is available in pdf format for downloading and printing.  A one stop resource for all state programs that assist businesses.
• http://www.econdevmaine.com/etif101801.htm  This page from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development discusses the merits of tax incentive programs and the contributions they make to Maine communities.