Work is a four-letter word, but for a number of Portland residents, it’s a good word. These people work hard, frequently putting in much more than a mere 40 hours, but they have fun on the job—and that’s all that matters. But how do you go about finding that perfect job?

May 2000

By Eve & Millard Carr

Working His Way Up

Rob Tod, the 31-year-old President and Brewmaster of Allagash Brewing on Industrial Way, found his ideal job after trying other careers. With a geology degree from Vermont’s Middlebury College, he moved to Colorado. Here, he enjoyed carpentry and construction work, but wanted to return to the East Coast. While deciding whether to get his master’s degree or continue woodworking, Tod washed beer kegs at Middlebury’s Otter Creek Brewery.

“On my first day in the brewery, I just fell in love with it,” he recalls. “I thought that it pretty much had everything I enjoy wrapped up in one business.”

Through on-the-job-training and formal courses, Tod soon learned the brewing process. In September 1994, with family backing, he started his own brewery. By the summer of 1995, he had sold his first pint of beer.

“I tried not to bite off more than I could chew,” he says. “I felt strongly about I doing it one step at a time —although I did get into it pretty fast.”

So, instead of starting a big brewery, he worked alone and specialized in Belgian-style ale draft beer. But, when he slipped some disks, he realized that his business needed to grow. Today, Tod has three full-time employees and a bookkeeper. And, for now, he pays himself a salary of $20,000, so profits go back into the business.

Tod’s geology education—especially the chemical composition of water—has been very helpful in brewing, and his carpentry, plumbing, and building skills help him save money—and make him happier.

“I like physical work,” he emphasizes. “I can’t sit at a desk for too long. I need to be out working with my hands.”

Doug Green: Reinventing Himself

For Doug Green, 44, owner of Green Design Furniture on Commercial Street, it was having the courage to give up the security of being a teacher and pursue his love of woodworking. “In order to discover something new, you have to start out not knowing where you’re headed,” he says. “You pack up your bags and go on this journey with the sense that you’ll be okay—that something will come of it.”

While Green’s official title may be owner of Green Design Furniture, he’s really an inventor who comes up with refreshing ways to realize the full potential of both a piece of wood and his talented employees. Recently, for example, he transitioned his company from traditional hierarchical management to a team environment. Like his innovative interlocking furniture, Green’s employees now work together to create the highly functional furniture that has won such positive acclaim.

“I always felt as if I was badly managed as a creative person,” Green recalls. “So I wanted to create a workplace where people could grow, where there’s opportunity within the job.” To get to this plateau in life, Green had to fight some battles. One was fear. “I had quite a bit of fear about my desire to do something different with my life,” he admits. “It’s not that fear goes away, but you don’t have to listen to it. You don’t have to obey.

“What’s giving me confidence is learning that I can move through a fear to a place where I have this great opportunity,” he says. “I feel a tremendous amount of freedom since I’ve been on this path. It makes me feel wonderful.”

So do projected Calendar Year 2000 sales of $1.25 million.

Experience Leads to Ideal Jobs

As director of marketing for Portland Public Market, Elizabeth Finegan has the delicious job of matching up consumers with Maine food vendors.

She modestly says that she fell into this job by chance, but dig a little deeper and you’ll see that she’s been preparing for this job ever since she was a girl.

“My first job was being a candy striper,” she recalls. “I wanted to help people.”

Today, whether she is reaching out to help vendors, planning a fundraising program, or directing special events, Finegan actively helps Portland residents enjoy not only the fruits, but the vegetables, dairy products, meats, flowers—and a whole lot more—of their own back yard.

But it was her extensive food marketing experience – including her background as a member of the original creative development team that popularized the latter-day specialty produce market inside Boston’s Faneuil Hall- that made her an obvious choice to help perpetuate the Portland Public Market dream of philanthropist Elizabeth Noyce.

Getting people to share the vision for the market was difficult at first, but Finegan’s positive attitude was a major asset.

“I have a wonderful team that works well together,” she says.”And I have an enthusiasm for the agriculture of Maine and am delighted that I can help create a resource for farmers and food processors.” Like many people, Finegan, 43, would like to spend more time with her family, but appreciates that her husband, writer Jay Finegan, often works at home and that their eight-year-old son John enjoys being at the market.

“He’s always excited about the market,” Finegan says, “and proud to be connected with it.”

Thanks to Finegan’s work, a lot of Portland residents and visitors (record monthly visitors have exceeded 100,000) feel the same way.

Growing Older, Not Up

As a boy, Bob Ray and his parents would visit his grandparents in Queens, New York, on Sundays and dine in a Chinese restaurant. It was the nearby toy/hobby shop that captured his heart, though. “It was always closed, and I always found my face pressed against the window,” he recalls:

When the store was open, Ray was in toy heaven, surrounded by water rockets, basketballs, parachute men and a kaleidoscope of multi-colored kites.

During and after college, Ray held a variety of jobs, but they never inspired him. Then, in 1989, a woman convinced him that he could actually have a fun job selling kites. Today, after buying out his original partner, 38-year-old Ray and his wife Nancy own Northern Sky Toyz in Portland and Kennebunkport. In addition to being Maine’s largest kite store, Toyz specializes in “thought-provoking, non-battery-operated playthings.” “We’re in the business of fun,” Ray says.”Everybody’s gotta play.” Like any other business, there are pluses and minuses.

The good part is that the business is theirs. “We don’t have to answer to anybody but ourselves,” Ray says enthusiastically.

One of the drawbacks is that it never goes away. “We live it, think it, breathe it,” Ray says. “And I underestimated the amount of work that goes into running a retail store.” While income is a moderate $40,000 to $50,000 a year, owning their own shop allows them to actively give to the community. But one of the biggest benefits is sharing the business with their children. “Show and tell will never be boring for them,” Ray smiles.

Catering to Others’ Needs

Barbara Winthrop enjoyed teaching, but politics and quality education concerns bothered her. The money wasn’t great either, so she started waitressing in her Brooklyn Heights, New York, hometown. With on-the-job education and formal training, Winthrop, now the owner of Barbara’s Kitchen and Cafe in South Portland, quickly advanced, and left her 14-year teaching career for food service.

“It was very competitive,” Winthrop, 54, says.”There were attempts to discourage women, but I used to play stickball.” In 1988, she relocated to Portland to work at the Portland Yacht Club and pursue her own catering career. Five years ago, without any capital, she bravely started her own business.

“I had worked very hard for other people and put in long hours,” she says. “If I was going to work that hard, I wanted to work for myself – and enjoy it.” Barbara’s Kitchen and Cafe, her small, intimate restaurant, seats about 30, and her catering clients have even included Governor King. Without capital, it was a tough start, but Winthrop sees her dream becoming a reality. “My income fluctuates, but the business grosses about $400,000 a year,” she says. “I’ve covered my basic cost of living, but very little else has been left until this past year.”