Rearranging the furniture

I will be rearranging the furniture at REACH. And I will be taking a couple of weeks off.

Friday's Fishfry and The Weekend Walkabout will be replaced with the Oregon Business Overview and The Small Business Review. OBO of course will have an Oregon flavor, whereas, the SBR will have national tilt that can assist or give insights to Oregon Small Businesses.

I also want to write for Reach, not just report on topics of importance. I will be reaching out to others in our community and to small business bloggers. Or, that is my intent.

I have been doing this for six months, and it is now time to take the training wheels off.

I'll see you around mid-July.

Have a good holiday.

Joel

Oregon Business Overview

Open Source Census Gaining Traction Globally as Enterprises Gain Visibility

Oregon State University Open Source Lab has joined the Open Source Census.

The Open Source Census, a global, collaborative project to collect and share quantitative data on the use of open source software, today announced that after its first two months, more than 220,000 open source package/project installations have been discovered. Additionally several organizations have joined The Open Source Census at various levels, including: ActiveState, EnterpriseDB, Microsoft, Oregon State University's Open Source Lab, and OSAlt.com (Open Source as Alternative).

Open source software can give the small business an alternative to commercially packaged software. If you are unfamiliar with "open source" software, go here: http://www.opensource.org/

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Makeover ahead for health care?

As businesses struggle to provide health benefits to employees due to rising insurance costs, the best thing they can do is to stay informed and flexible in regard to the changes that lie ahead. That’s the message Oregon Health & Science University professor Mark O’Hollaren delivered to members of the Portland Business Alliance on Wednesday.

Pressure on the nation’s health care system is mounting, with insurance premiums rising 100 percent between 1999 and 2004. But businesses won’t lead the way toward a new health care economy; instead, individual consumers are driving the changes in the market, he said.

O’Hollaren likened the shift in the health care industry to changes that have occurred in the travel, banking, investment and entertainment industries with the advent of the Internet.

Consumers are moving to online services that give them direct access to their accounts and loads of information, he said.

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Oregon Business Overview

A new home for Oregon business news

The Oregonian and OregonLive.com have moved all business content to a new online home: oregonlive.com/business.

The Oregonian's business editors and reporters update this page regularly with business and finance news from across the state and the nation.

If you've linked a bookmark or RSS feed to this page, please consider changing to oregonlive.com/business

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Need a job? Look to green economy

Portland’s first conference for green professionals links booming energy industry with potential workers

At a time when Oregon’s economic downturn has led to slower hiring, the clean energy industry is madly recruiting graduating students and professionals looking to change careers. And workers are flocking to the state’s emerging green sector.

More than 300 job seekers and employers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries packed The Governor Hotel in downtown Portland for the Green Professional’s Conference held Monday.

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New guild raises its glass to Oregon distillers

Oregon is a hotbed of vintners and craft brewers, and the recent formation of the Oregon Distillers Guild -- the first such in the country -- is strong evidence that the state is becoming a leader in artisan spirits, too.

The guild, comprising 16 Oregon craft distillers, was formed with $5,000 in seed money from the Portland Development Commission. The Oregon Distillers Guild Inc. will operate as a nonprofit corporation to promote the common interests of the state's licensed distilling businesses.

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Role of 'sustainability' in Oregon food production

Scott Exo is one of those people who wakes up in the morning wondering about the state of sustainability in Oregon and across the country.

Exo is the executive director of Food Alliance, a Portland-based nonprofit organization with a mission to encourage sustainable agricultural practices in the items that ultimately end up on your dinner plate.

The group certifies about 300 farms and ranches in 19 states, including such products as Country Natural Beef, known for being an Oregon leader in sustainable meats.

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Local electric auto club charges ahead

At this car show, the stomach-shaking rumble of a powerful gas engine was nowhere to be found. Instead, the whirring glide of Tim Kutscha’s electrically powered Porsche 914 proved infinitely more intriguing to those who attended, rather than the usual discussions of cubic inches, horsepower and dual exhaust.

In the era of $4-plus a gallon gasoline, this display of electric vehicle efficiency drew about 20 people to the first meeting of the Cowlitz County Electric Vehicle Association.

Although not as common as their hybrid counterparts, electric vehicles are gaining popularity as fears of declining supplies of oil and potential environmental impacts creep into consumer consciousness.

Oregon Electric Vehicle Association
http://www.oeva.org/

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Nick Konidaris Joins AISI Board of Directors

Advanced Inquiry Systems, Inc. (AISI) today announced the addition of Nick Konidaris, President and CEO of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI), to its Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to have Nick join our board,” said Michael Wright, CEO of Advanced Inquiry Systems. “He brings many years of outstanding technical and business experience in the specific fields of interest to AISI. We expect our customers will be very pleased to learn that he is helping us guide the company.”

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Where does green business thrive?

Jennifer Allen, former sustainable business liaison for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, is probably more familiar with the history of Oregon’s efforts to attract sustainable businesses than nearly anyone else in the state.

Allen, now the associate director of Portland State University’s Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices, sits on numerous nonprofit and advisory boards, and participates in several policy and business strategy efforts underway throughout Oregon. On a recent trip to the East Coast, Allen says she was struck by the natural advantages the region has for building an economy based on sustainable business practices.

Go to: Sustainable Industries
http://www.sustainableindustries.com/

A Related Sustainable Story: So long for Nau

To the shock of many in the regional business community, Nau, the Portland-based apparel maker with a well-known focus on sustainability, announced May 2 that it was ceasing operations. The company closed its retail outlets the next day and immediately began selling off its inventory online at a 50 percent discount.

Nau opened its doors in February 2007 to much fanfare. In November 2005, this magazine reported on the secretive plans for a company then known as UTW, a shortened handle for Under The Wire. “If there is a direct correlation between the size of a deal and the secrecy with which it is carried out, then the plans for UTW must be huge,” wrote Nik Blosser, president of Celilo Group Media, former parent company of Sustainable Industries, in an editorial.

That company, which eventually changed its name to Nau, had an estimated 18 employees in October 2005, many of them high-profile apparel professionals with experience at Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Patagonia.

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Federal Regulators OK Environmental Review for Oregon LNG Terminal

In a decision that could have long-lasting implications for Oregon's energy supply, federal regulators gave their environmental endorsement Friday to a controversial proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on the lower Columbia River.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that the Bradwood Landing terminal, 20 miles upriver from Astoria, would have "limited adverse environmental impacts." Those impacts, the agency added, would be substantially reduced by environmental measures proposed by the project's backer, Houston-based NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc., as well as 110 additional recommendations from FERC.

FERC's action drew a rebuke from Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who has criticized the agency's laissez-faire regulatory approach and had requested a more thorough analysis of the state's gas needs and the project's effects.

"We will be looking at this report closely and will use all legal options available to us," an e-mailed statement from Kulongoski said. "FERC's decision to move this project forward merely represents more of the same . . . irresponsibly considering this project only from the supply-side of the marketplace."

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Portland Plan takes off, living solutions sought: 20-minute neighborhoods’ capture attention of participants during event’s collaborative sessions

Creating what urban planners call “20-minute neighborhoods” was a recurring theme among residents and city officials Friday afternoon during the launch of the Portland Plan at the Oregon Convention Center.

The event was billed as a Leadership Summit, as the city begins a three-year process of crafting the new Portland Plan.

During break-out sessions in the afternoon, participants focused on the idea of 20-minute neighborhoods, where residents can reach most of their day-to-day needs within a 20-minute walking distance.

Earlier in the day, Gil Kelley, director of the Portland Bureau of Planning, spoke of the 20-minute neighborhood as an emerging idea among planners.

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Sweet ideas after sour times for Oregon strawberry growers

If the Oregon strawberry industry has its way, consumers will soon know that a berry by any other name would not taste as sweet.

Oregon's strawberry harvest has suffered for years. According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the number of acres harvested has dropped by more than half in a decade. And production value has dropped 50 percent in the same period to $16 million, despite a small uptick in 2007.

The strawberry season is nearly upon us, a few short weeks when Oregon's fresh berries are at their best.

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Portland Business Alliance Report Emphasizes Land-Use Development and Education

The Portland Business Alliance might have declared transportation its biggest issue of the year. But if its Regional Business Plan is an indication of the organization's agenda for the 2009 legislative session, the group also will be stepping up its efforts to reform land-use and education.

The report looked at issues pertaining to land-use, education and economic prosperity, in addition to transportation concerns. Members of the report's steering committee measured the success of these issues by taking into account their social, environmental and economical benefits.

Scott Andrews, president of Melvin Mark Properties and the chairman of the report's steering committee, said he hoped the report would explain what the state and local governments should focus on in the next year.

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Small Business Summary

Each small business needs the right bank

At some point in the life cycle of your small business, you may need a loan — either to start the company or to help it grow. All banks can give you a buck. The real question is: What else can they give you? You'll find the answer in this process.

Be prepared

To get off on solid footing, it's important to understand the criteria bankers consider when determining who qualifies for a loan, and how to best structure a financing package.

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The Power of 'And' Helps Small Business Owners - Inside Small Biz Announces Free Teleconference on 'The Power of And' on June 3 and 20, 2008

Entrepreneurs are often asked the question, "What is the single one thing that made you successful?" And they generally feel obliged to boil it down to one concept or characteristic that drove their ride to the top.

"In our McInstant society we're looking for an easy answer and a quick fix to success," notes Kae Wagner, president of Inside Small Biz, a company that specializes in small business growth opportunities. "There isn't one single answer for success - no silver bullet, no Holy Grail."

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Small Business Success Secrets

One of the major problems that many business entrepreneurs have is that instead of following their own goals, ambitions and interests to gain success, they choose to chase after success by working to establish themselves in a hot business market that may not be of any interest to them. Although it is possible to achieve success by running a business that holds little interest to you, before long, you will find that this sort of venture will drain your ambition, and ultimately have a negative effect on you both personally and professionally.

Think about it: What would keep you more motivated - Being in a job you enjoy, or in a job that you find boring? Not a difficult question to answer right?

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Small-Business Books That Break the Mold

A review of four books. It is worth the read.

- A Whack on the Side of the Head
- How to Get Rich
- The One Minute Entrepreneur
- Life Entrepreneurs

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The Top Ten Small Business Startup Success Secrets

Achieving small business success is yours for the taking. Turn your passions into small business profits. Small business startups around the world continues to grow exponentially, the success rate has remained fairly consistent. Are you ready to achieve small business success ? So what can you do to ensure lasting success for your small business? Take a look at our top ten small business startup secrets.

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Women Business Owners — Afraid of Web Marketing?

Women business owners may be missing out on Internet marketing, new findings suggest.

A survey released today from Microsoft Live Small Business, finds that 61% of female respondents who were small-business owners say they do no online marketing, and nearly 40% say they don’t have a Web site. These women attended Microsoft’s Vision to Venture conference held recently in five U.S. cities.

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Technology Boot Camp offers small business solutions

Hold On! This "Boot Camp" is not being presented in the PDX area. I thought it might spark some interest to present for our local small businesses. This is somewhat of a nostalgia trip for me. I got my start in Small Business development on California's north coast; in the Eureka area.

Small business owners and managers looking to get a leg up in technology know-how will have a rare training opportunity this Thursday as the North Coast Small Business Development Center hosts the Technology Boot Camp, an all-day, full-immersion training session designed to teach entrepreneurs how to transform their business through information technology.

”In one day, it's a look at all the real current technology solutions for businesses, from soup to nuts,” said Northern California SBDC Director Kristin Johnson. “It's taking a bird's-eye view at technology that will really solve problems for a small business.”

Specifically, the program will focus on Web-based solutions for transformative IT, productivity, financial management, operations, marketing and sales and business management.

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