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Craft of Business
Choosing The Right Social Media Platform For Your Business

Twitter or Facebook? LinkedIn, Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+, or even MySpace? The options can be overwhelming (don't click here unless you want your head to spin), especially if you don't even recognize a few of the above names, let alone understand what function they serve. So, which one should you choose? "Fish where the fish are," Ben Lloyd, the president of Amplify Interactive, says. And more...

Thinking Local: Jobs
Is Economic Gardening the Right Approach for Job Growth in Portland?

Job growth in Portland comes from local, small businesses. As demonstrated in the last installment of Thinking Local, a discussion of “Job Creation Not Relocation,” resident companies are growing considerably while nonresidents are losing jobs—that’s negative job creation. In a 10 year period from 1999 to 2009, existing Portland companies grew by 63.6 percent while nonresidents (headquartered outside of more...

Remember... You Can Never Have Too Many Pairs of Shoes.
The Shoe Store. Opens on Northeast Portland's Alberta Street

The Shoe Store prides itself on providing a large range of high-quality, stylish shoes. No matter your budget or style, we’re confident that you’ll fall in love with our shoes. Our brands include Saucony, Gola, Keds, Onitsuka Tiger, The People's Shoe, Unstitched (Recycled shoe made of Tyvek), and Puma. The brands and styles we carry change frequently, so stop by to see the latest shoes, sandals, and socks. Remember...you more...

Now Open!
20 Locally Owned Businesses Opened in Portland in April

April may be the cruelest month for grouchy poets, but it shone an awful lot of sunlight on Portland upstarts last month. These scrappy entrepreneurs opened spots in five of the city's "quadrants," including, but not limited to, several retail outlets specializing in gifts, home design, new and used fashions, and one-of-a-kind rediscovered treasures, as well as a nursery, a pizzeria, three cafes, two bars, a barber shop more...

Craft of Business
Capturing Information And Insights With Surveys

If you think conducting a survey means canvassing your neighborhood with a clipboard and tallying results, you’ve got it wrong. Surveys are an effective, affordable and underutilized business tool that small business owners and community organizations can use to obtain information and evaluate what’s most important to their customers and neighbors. All well-planned projects require the input of outsiders to make sure more...

Peace, Love, and Gumbo
Ragin' ReBellion Hits SE Portland!

You may have noticed that things seem a bit spicier along SE Division St. lately. That’s partly due to two southern-inspired businesses that have recently opened. Pat Marken and Tausha Lell, co-owners of the iconic vintage gift shop Euphoria in Lafayette, LA, closed their doors after 16-plus years in business to parlay themselves into the great Northwest. Breezing into town in November 2011, they’ve planted themselves more...

Food Carts Flourished Under a Largely Permissive Regulatory Structure
Will Increased Regulation Negatively Impact Portland's Food Cart System?

Portland loves its food carts—there’s no doubt about that. While there might be differences of opinion regarding the “best” food cart in town—it’s hard to compare the fishy chips of EuroTrash to the breakfast offerings at The Big Egg—there’s certainly no question that the city’s food cart scene is embraced by the city’s foodie culture as a distinct element that helps more...

Craft of Business: Hiring Your First Employee
How to Figure the Value of Your Time and Cost-Benefit of an Employee

A small business owner recently asked Neighborhood Notes, “What do I need to do to hire my first employee?” We began to answer that question by talking to several small business owners who have already hired their first, and in some cases second, third and more, employee. Simply enough, we asked: “How do you know when it’s time to hire your first employee?” The responses were insightful, full of more...

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Charting a Path For Your Business—The First 5 Years

Charting a Path For Your Business—The First 5 Years

May 21, 2012
Mercy Corps Northwest

About the Program Only a small number of businesses succeed in the first few years. Companies which achieve the greatest success in the long-term share common traits. Kent Lewis, President & Founder of Formic Media, will take you step-by-step through successful traits for any business, from inception through year 5. He has distilled his key insights into relatively simple but powerful concepts: The 3 Fs for year 1, 5 Ws for more...

How to Build Your Business With Networking

How to Build Your Business With Networking

May 31, 2012
Mercy Corps Northwest

Secrets of a Master Networker Revealed Ronnie Noize, the Marketing Coach (www.veronikanoize.com), shares networking tips and techniques that anyone can master. In this exciting presentation, you’ll learn how YOU can make your network rain referrals. Learn about networking the right (easy) way. Plus, you'll learn the absolute worst networking mistake you could ever make. Join us as Ronnie reveals her secret networking more...

Website Search Engine Optimization

Website Search Engine Optimization

Jun 4, 2012
Mercy Corps Northwest

About the Program Having a website is not enough. You need a website that attracts new business. Learn the most important ways to optimize your website for the search engines and others ways to use your website for growing your business. Using step-by-step training and demonstrations, learn how to optimize a website: Effective word and phrase selection How to submit your website to the search more...