indie business—Eastmoreland, Southeast (SE) Portland...

From multi-week courses to single workshops, a variety of small business education opportunities are available to all entrepreneurs more...

"Local business make our region great. And loving local businesses just got sweeter." —Supportland Neighborhood Notes recently sent out more than 75 Supportland rewards cards loaded with points as a thank you to those that filled out our reader survey. And in response, we got a few questions, like “How do you use this thing?” Supportland co-founder Katrina Scotto di Carlo isn’t caught off guard: more...

Any small business owner or organization can create value through creative calendaring. more...

Imagine that you're a florist. You've spent years working in the industry, you've learned the art of arrangement and now you're ready to strike out on your own. So you begin scouting for locations and then, there it is, the ideal place for your dream shop, which you envision in an old house a couple of doors down from a small neighborhood market on a street lined with single-family homes. You're sure that you can more...

If it is, in fact, the most wonderful time of the year, the holidays are also a time of chaos. Dinners must be planned, friends and family must be seen and, of course, gifts must be given. So how you spend your time is just as important as how you spend your money. If you prefer to avoid the cramped, populated aisles of the the big-box retailers or the dizzying experience that is the mall, Portland has plenty of local options to more...

Portland's small retailers have always had to stay on their toes to be competitive in the face of online and big-box stores. Owners work hard to create personal relationships and shops that offer great experiences. Local leaders and business organizations have tried to help inform and motivate consumers with buy-local campaigns. Now, small retailers face an emerging threat from mobile apps that can turn a shop created with love into more...

At the tail end of the last century, as independent craft brewing was on the rise, an inexpensive domestic beer that was nearly forgotten got a new lease on life. The beer, of course, was the iconic Pabst Blue Ribbon. The place, of course, was here. But the reason? Pabst didn't have the capital to market itself, so it didn't, which is exactly why Portlanders embraced it. Well, that, and the beer was, and remains, cheap. In more...

Savvy Portlanders have probably already noticed the telltale signs; craft services trucks, wardrobe vans, and Star Waggons filling up downtown parking lots and taking up side streets in Northeast, industrial-sized theatrical light rigs outside office buildings and hotels, the occasional celebrity sighting. Portland may not be Los Angeles, but in the last couple of years, it has been the home for a number of film and television more...

Heather Hoell talks a good game, and she puts her money where her mouth is. The nonprofit organization Venture Portland does many things, but first and foremost, it fuels growth in Portland’s established and emerging business districts. Hoell is currently at the helm. Portland is a city of street fairs and strip clubs. The former owe their existence largely to Venture Portland. Twice a year, business districts around Portland more...

Tammy Strobel just might be the poster child for success as an independent author and e-publisher. After starting a blog four years ago, Strobel decided to write about her efforts with her husband to downsize to their home in pursuit of happiness and simplicity. By 2010, Strobel had enough of a following to quit her day job. That year, she self-published two e-books from Portland, amassed thousands of blog readers, was in the spotlight more...