Thinking Local

As previously reported, crowdfunding has gained momentum among small businesses. A direct appeal from a business to its community, prospective customers, and/or concerned individuals for financial support, online crowdfunding platforms like Smallknot and 40billion have made initiating a small business crowdfunding appeal easier than ever. One local church community is flipping crowdfunding onto its head: It got the more...

The strength of Portland’s economy is built upon the small business sector. Small employers make up 95 percent of Portland’s business base, and these businesses are built on ideas, savvy and sweat. But, it also takes money—plenty of money. Cash doesn’t come easy to small businesses. Even financing via the Small Business Administration (SBA), which has a mission to support small business more...

Teenagers seeking jobs in Portland and across the country are facing another unwelcoming summer job market. Reduced funding for summer employment programs and increased competition from displaced adult workers have greatly reduced job opportunities for youth. As noted in our previous article on youth employment, the benefits of summer youth employment includes improved academic success for students that work during more...

Do you remember a favorite summer job? Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith does. “One of my first summer jobs was as a tutoring coordinator at Oregon State University,” Smith says. “I will never forget that experience, which really helped me to become a better communicator and instilled in me the importance of responsibility.” Whether it is working in a retail store or restaurant, more...

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 more...

Who is responsible for job creation? The president, local government, entrepreneurial business people? As we expressed last month in the first installment in our Thinking Local series, you don’t have to look to ambiguous entities to create change in your community. You, and your neighbors, have the power to effect considerable change by just changing your habits. There is power in your dollar, but there is more...

Thinking Local is a new monthly series that examines the reasons why thinking and buying local matters to Portland's economy and neighborhoods. It's no secret that Neighborhood Notes loves local—we're not shy about professing our support of local coffee micro roasters, new locally owned businesses, or evenneighborhood-specific honeys. And while it's fun to share the love for local artisans and more...