Portland pain #6 in bankruptcies, loses 37,00 jobs, key store By Oregon Small Business Association Business wrap-up It has been a string of bad news for Portland in the past 30 days.   Nationwide bankruptcies have increased by 52% according to Equifax.    Among the bankruptcy leaders is Portland, ranked at sixth highest, and Oregon ranked as 12th highest among states.   In further bas news, the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that Portland lost 37,200 jobs in the last year.  The job count went from 834,100 to 796,900. The job loss came after news that the popular Saks Fifth Avenue was leaving downtown Portland.  The store plans to close completely by July 31st.  In much lesser impact news but still a downer, Portland lost its long-standing rank of the nation’s friendliest bike city to Minneapolis. Read more »

Case study on how Pixetell changes Office Phone

Pixetell has dramatically changed the way Mark Friel does business.  The vice president of Pacific Real Estate Partners in Portland, OR, says Pixetell has replaced the telephone for many of his transactional communications. “Sending someone a Pixetell is, in many cases, much better than a phone conversation,” he says. “When I need to reference something specific on a document, plan or drawing, it is much easier and clearer to do it with a Pixetell. Being able to capture the cursor movements makes it easy to show someone what you want done.”
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Growth in Green Energy Sector Pushes Expansion of Vancouver, WA Vocational School

NW Renewable Energy Institute: Due to the high demand for qualified wind turbine technicians, Northwest Renewable Energy Institute (NW-REI) of Vancouver, Washington has expanded its available classroom space from 9,026 square feet to 14,526 square feet. NW-REI offers a six-month Wind Turbine Technician training course, and this expansion provides additional classrooms to accommodate the rise in numbers of enrolling students.

“Having additional classrooms allows us to accommodate more students “says Tracy Rascoe, Director, regarding their recent expansion. “We have had such a strong response from applicants wanting to enroll in the program that we had to expand the space much sooner than we anticipated. We are fortunate that additional space was available adjacent to our current classrooms. We considered this when we signed our original lease, knowing that we’d expand if the demand was there. The demand is definitely there,” says Rascoe. Read more »

Oregon Small Business Association Update:

(1) Jobs: The Oregon Employment Department reported this week that the state unemployment rate fell form 11% to 10.5%.  Economist are talking about Oregon passing the turning point in the economy.
(2) Metro Recovery: The Portland Metro Business Index rose 1.8% with great news on housing.   The chart below shows an encouraging upswing from a terrible trek of negative downturns.
(3) Environment: This month Portland was credited as the highest ranking Green City in the nation according to the Green City Index (read article).
(4) Roads: Also this month, it was reported that Oregon highways are in the 10 best in the nation as listed by Reader’s Digest April edition.
(5) Film: The local film industry is teeming with news that local Portland director Gus Van Sant may be tapped for the 4th Twilight movie (read here).
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By Oregon Small Business Association,

William Poundstone’s bottom line: consumers don’t really know what anything should cost. In his book “Priceless,” Poundstone zestfully and entertainingly explains the economics, psychology, and intellectual reasoning surrounding the ways in which producers and sellers take advantage of buyers’ lack of knowledge.

Cost and price are two different notions; the first is a value, the second a number. Worldwide, price-consulting firms, experts in the psychology of pricing, advise companies on how to put the most profitable numbers on their products.  They do so in several ways:
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PC Repair shops fail hidden tests
By Oregon Small Business Association,

Two different studies this year exposed serious problems in the computer repair industry which often goes unquestioned by many businesses.   The Wall Street Journal did a secret study with in-store computer repair being offered by big box chain stores.   Sky News did a hidden study that measured honesty and privacy concerns with the repair industry.   Both studies showed terrible results.

Staples and Office Depot have rolled out their own massive computer tech services campaign with the successes of Best Buy’s Geek Squad.   The Wall Street Journal criticized these stores as not the best place to start.  Their study concluded that a connection with a corporation doesn’t necessarily translate to efficiency and reduced costs.
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Black Friday & Cyber Monday: Some Quick Facts

•    Black Friday spending rose 0.5%, ($54 million), to $10.7 billion, this year from last year.

•    Online sales up 17% (Thurs. to  Sun.)  over the same period last year.

•    Cyber Monday up 11%, more than they did a year ago. Read more »

Polls show recession not over, and publis wants business to help not government

82% of Americans think the recession is not over
62% said business will play a larger role in helping the economy recovery than government
45% rated the economy as the most important issue
62% believe economic growth should take priority over environment Read more »

FLIR Hopes to Bring Military Technology into the Home
By Oregon Small Business Association,

Little-known Flir Systems (FLIR), the world leading provider of infrared technology used by militaries across the globe, hopes to bring its technology to motor vehicles.  FLIR’s success booms despite the recession because of the need for infrared technology, especially during a time of war, but if the company can take things one step further, it could become one of the nation’s most successful anti-recession businesses in history. Read more »

Natural gas prices set to go down
By Oregon Small Business Association

Some consumers are set to benefit from a poor economy, as all three Oregon natural gas providers requested reduced rates in filings sent to the Oregon Public Utilities Commission.  The companies, Northwest Natural Gas, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista Utilities asked for rate decreases ranging between 12.41 percent and 21 percent.  New rates will go into effect on November 1, 2009.
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