If March was a good month for new business owners—they opened 16 spots, 10 of them restaurants and cafés—it was an even better one for consumers. St. Johns got a bike shop, northwest got a couple of neighborhood pubs, and a new Little Big Burger set up shop in southwest. March also brought with it the opening of several specialty shops, including a wedding boutique where brides-to-be can get fitted more...

Q. With the WordPress all-in-one SEO pack, there's a spot on every page for the title, description and keywords. It seems like putting in a gajillion keywords might help the page get viewed by more people looking for information, but is using a few really focused keywords is better? How should I choose the keywords? more...

Own Your Ass[ets] is a five-part workshop series that teaches small business owners how to take control of the assets that will make your business relevant on the Internet and optimize your web presence. Sign up for a single class or for the entire series. Make Your Blog Content Easy to Create, Find and Share April 17, 6:30-8:30PM 3 Things Every Small Business Needs to Be Relevant in Local Search April 24, more...

Three months after opening their NW Portland kitchen and lounge, Sepal Meacham and Josh Johnson received a certified letter from Austin, Texas. It contained a strongly worded cease and desist letter from a Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill located in the heart of Stumptown’s unofficial sister city, asking the two burgeoning bar owners to “dissolve our business immediately,” Meacham explains. more...

Q. I am a studio potter, trying to move towards industrial design as I take a hard look at time and finances. I launched a locally made mug at New Seasons Market for the recent holiday season and intend to present a new form this year. My blog is neglected, as are updates to my website. After much experimenting with blogging and social media, I have settled on a quarterly emailed newsletter that goes out to a more...

Q. I currently use Google’s image search a lot more than in the past. What information should I include to ensure the images in my post get ranked? more...

Change is in the air and the signs are becoming noticeable around town—the days are longer, green grass is sprouting, colorful crocuses are beginning to poke through damp dirt, and a few blue skies and fluffy, white clouds are occasionally pushing gray, rainy days aside. This all means spring is beckoning—which also means it’s time for you to get outside, clean up what winter left behind, and start more...

February is for baking—at least February 2013 was—as a handful of spots sprung up where you can get fresh-baked bagels, cookies and beignet-style donuts. February also brought with it a downtown spot to get fresh-squeezed juice on the go, as well as a kitchen dedicated to serving cuisine of the Jewish diaspora. We saw a pair of independent yoga instructors find new spaces to teach classes, and two sisters more...

Q. Blogging is suggested as a “one-size-fits-all” solution for getting good SEO results and for building one's all-important ranking, etc., however, there are MANY blogs out there that simply languish because people are not natural bloggers or diarists. I think that reflects poorly and that it's worse to have a stale blog than no blog at all. Do you agree? more...

In all likelihood, financial and accounting services are usually best left to the professionals—those that do it for a living. And since finding reliable help in the accounting and financial services sector is crucial to the success of your small business, Neighborhood Notes has scoured the field for a selection of professional, qualified and local bookkeepers, CPAs and financial planners who are eager to work with you. more...