Budding restaurateurs once again led the way in October, opening more businesses in Portland than entrepreneurs in any other service sector. The doors swung open on French, Italian, Thai, pie, and burger joints, as well as locales serving up Tex-Mex cuisine and Greek-style pizza as several restaurateurs-entrepreneurs looked to expand their brand and businesses' offerings with new storefronts and locations. Still, more...
Food waste is a problem that escapes the attention of even the most food-obsessed locavores. You may think of food waste as scraps leftover from a home-cooked meal or the uneaten portion of food scraped from your plate at a restaurant, but it actually refers to the now-black rainbow chard or fuzz-covered raspberries sitting in your fridge and the day-old muffins at your neighborhood bakery that are tossed in the more...
To call the myriad offerings on the Internet extensive may be a slight understatement. And while it’s tempting to generalize the growth of the Internet as exponential, the reality is the Internet’s growth is actually sigmoidal (apparently), or S-shaped. In this choice-filled online world, small business owners know best that the vast number of options available, in everything, online are overwhelming. more...
Portland’s Occupy movement and like-minded activists around the nation have highlighted, using various methods, the benefits of transitioning from big banking to small during the last 12 months. And while some 6 million Americans have switched "their banking business from corporate-level, for-profit banking institutions to not-for-profit credit unions that strive to promote economic growth in our more...
Visual content is on the rise in social media and popular as ever in other mediums. According to Portland SEO consultant Michael Cottam, last night's presenter at the October Search Engine Marketing Association of Portland (SEMpdx) event, original images even keep Google's Panda happy. In a nutshell: Image is everything. But before you shell out a lot of dough on a camera setup for your business, consider more...
By writing quality consumer reviews, you have the opportunity to contribute to the success of locally owned businesses, not just by influencing others' buying decisions but also by providing critical feedback to business owners. Your input will enable businesses to provide better services or products, which will in turn help them stay open and thrive. The reviews that you write also help local businesses gain more...
Author Amy Cortese coined the term locavesting in her book Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit from It. Just as locavores focus on foods grown close to home, a locavestor aims to only invest in businesses within 50 miles of his or her doorstep. The emergence of locally focused investing is potentially good news for small businesses that are struggling for the capital needed to grow their more...
It's never unusual for new eateries to dominate our monthly list of new businesses—of the 16 that opened in August, 15 of them were bars and restaurants. And while we all love to eat (and drink), it's a pleasant surprise to see retailers gathering some of that entrepreneurial steam. So while September brought us plenty of new culinary treats (tacos, sushi, Korean-style fried chicken wings), it also more...
The use of visual media online is rising. Photos are the stars of social sites like Pinterest and Instagram, and experts recommend adding photos to your website or blog to attract more eyeballs and improve SEO. But if you’re not a photographer, how do you get the photos you need? Here are some common mistakes made by small business owners: Using a photo found via Google Images or other search engines. more...
A blog is like the Leatherman of marketing tools for small business owners. It’s an efficient and affordable tool that can help you perform a variety of essential tasks. It may not be able to open that flat top beer can, but a blog—hosted on your business’ website—can help you with everything from establishing your company’s credibility to improving your search engine optimization. more...