Leigh Kellis’ donut company was growing fast. New to the business world, she had gone from cooking a dozen donuts a day to 100,000 a month in what seemed like a flash. Her business, The Holy Donut, was growing so quickly she had trouble keeping up.

Knowing she needed some guidance, Leigh last January attended SMCC’s Launch or Grow Small Business Success Conference. There, she heard from keynote speaker Bob Johnson of Scratch Baking and attended breakout sessions on topics as diverse as her flavors of donuts.

“There was a tipping point for me when I realized I had to stop running in circles and start learning how to run a business,” Leigh says. “I thought I had to broaden my horizons to running a business rather than just being entrenched in it.”

After two successful Launch or Grow conferences in South Portland, SMCC’s Entrepreneurial Center is bringing the conference to our Midcoast Campus in Brunswick on Oct. 17. We are committed to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Midcoast succeed, and helping others who are interested in learning more about starting a business. To register, visit http://www.smccME.edu/sbs.

The half-day conference has two tracks to choose from: starting a small business or launching a small business. You’ll hear from experts about obtaining funding, having the right mindset for growth, and social media marketing. One workshop will cover the pros and cons of owning your own business and help you decide if it’s right for you.

Becoming an entrepreneur was the right choice for Leigh Kellis, who was a bartender at a Portland pizza shop when she decided that making donuts — ones made out of mashed potatoes — was her true calling. She started out by making a dozen a day in her home kitchen after work and selling them to a local coffee shop.

Her donuts were a hit and soon she opened her own donut shop in Portland, and then a second. She has 15 wholesale accounts, including Whole Foods (but you better get there early or they’ll probably be sold out). She has 30 employees and will make 1.2 million donuts this year. Her bestseller is dark chocolate sea salt, but she has plenty of other varieties to keep you coming back, like sweet potato ginger, coffee brandy, fresh lemon, and baconcheddar filled.

Hers is a success story. But she’ll also tell you she’s had a lot to learn as her business took off and that she continues to learn everyday. As part of the process, she and her brother-in-law, who is her operations manager, attended January’s Launch or Grow conference. She was especially taken by a session called, “Things I Wish I had Known Before I Started a Business.”

“We liked it all,” she says. “We both left feeling re-energized.”

Our conference in Brunswick will energize you as well.

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By Dr. Ronald G. Cantor is president of Southern Maine Community College.