Portland Tribune - Business 110414

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Business Tribune NOVEMBER 4, 2014 INSIDE SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY WANTED: COMMERCIAL CONTRACTORS ECONOMY ON THE MEND WHO LIKES PIE? BY JOSEPH GALLIVAN PORTLAND INCUBATOR EXPERIMENT CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS

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Featuring a story on OHSU's fifth annual "Night for Networking," premier job search event for people with disabilities in the greater Portland area.

Transcript of Portland Tribune - Business 110414

Page 1: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

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INSIDESMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

WANTED: COMMERCIAL CONTRACTORS

ECONOMY ON THE MEND

WHO LIKES PIE?

BY JOSEPH GALLIVAN

PORTLAND INCUBATOR EXPERIMENT CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS

Page 2: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

2 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

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Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 3

BY JOSEPH GALLIVAN

The Portland Incubator Experiment celebrated its fi fth birthday re-cently with a round of backslap-ping and forward-looking state-

ments at its annual Demo Day. For anyone with a tech startup in need of

a little help, PIE is usually the fi rst place to apply. Not because it offers nine months of free offi ce space in the Wieden + Kennedy building and all the Tilt fries you can eat, but because it promises plug-and-play ac-cess to Portland’s best tech makers, wran-glers and money men. (Yes, the money is mostly male.)

Demo Day, held on a recent Friday at the Gerding Theater in the Pearl, follows three months of preparation. The show was pre-sented by Rick Turoczy (pronounced too-ROE-zee), Kirsten Golden and Renny Glee-son.

It was a bit of a surprise to see Katrina Scotto di Carlo of Supportland going up on stage. Supportland is a plastic loyalty card you that has been around for years in

stores like Crafty Wonderland and Tender Loving Empire. But Supportland 2.0 is now a “loyalty platform,” promising to bring big data to indie merchants. Rewards work across businesses, so for example, shopping at a toy store earns you a cookie at a nearby bakery. (Not a text fi le attached to a web browser but a real, gluten-optional cookie at real bakery.)

“It’s that warm, fuzzy experience you get when a business hooks you up,” said Scotto di Carlo. She said tests had shown a 38 per-cent higher customer retention rate (to the toy store) and two thirds of those who got the reward showed up at the bakery for their cookie.

It’s not quite a pivot, more a big lurch for-ward, but it’s interesting to see the small-is-beautiful crowd indulging in a bit of Ama-zon envy. The goal is to replicate the plat-form in other cities.

The Outdoor Project is about connecting people to outdoor adventures: rock climb-ing, paddle boarding, spelunking...all the

stuff the modern working stiff craves. In fact, it covers dozens of human-powered ac-tivities, aiming for good content from its 70 contributors — the sweet spot between sloppy bloggerese and professional report-ing. The photos are good too. The goal is to get in bed with the quality brands, such as Trak Kayaks of Washington, the largest sea kayaking company around. It has part-nered with probably one of the best brands it could, OPB TV’s Oregon Field Guide. In the end it’s who you know.

The IOS-only app Nutmeg aims to make texting a bit more colorful, taking you be-yond the LOL and the punctuational sad face, to little animations that express, and maybe even recreate, more complex emo-tions. (Thisisnutmeg.com)

Bill Murray’s laconic chuckle. A fat kid doing the Dougie. Anything Miley Cyrus can do with her face. These gifs — short, jerky animations based on original movies

CONTINUED / Page 4

Portland Incubator Experiment

companies put on the smiley face for potential investors

TRIBUNE PHOTO: JOHN M. VINCENT

COVER: Julie Logan of Nutmeg brings the lulz with her gif texting app. ABOVE: Outdoor Project CEO and co-founder Tyson Gillard hopes to connect people, companies and resources for human-powered outdoor adventures.

PIE times

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4 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Business Tribune

PRESIDENTJ. Mark Garber

EDITOR AND ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERVance W. Tong

VICE PRESIDENTBrian Monihan

ADVERTISING DIRECTORChristine Moore

CIRCULATION MANAGERKim Stephens

CREATIVE SERVICES MANAGERCheryl DuVal

REPORTERJoseph Gallivan

DESIGNKeith Sheffi eld

PHOTOGRAPHERSJonathan House, Jaime Valdez

WEB SITEportlandtribune.com

[email protected]

PortlandTribune OFFICES6605 S.E. Lake RoadPortland, OR 97222 503-226-6397 (NEWS)

or cartoons — are transmitted by text to make a point. They are li-cense-free for this kind of casual use, but the business model is to get the buy-in of big brands who want to spread around gifs of their upcom-ing movie/TV show/book, to build pre-release buzz. Disney tried Nut-meg, using that tough guy raccoon from “Guardians of the Galaxy.” (ow.ly/DzZGX)

Nutmeg was presented by co-founder Julie Logan, who has the same skater-girl sass as Emma McIl-roy the head of clothing e-tailer Wild Fang. Portland tells that story well.

There are endless variations on the fi le sharing magic of DropBox. Who knew that graphic designers and other creative types were hav-ing a hard time with a lot of extra clicks?

Already up and running, Droplr is a platform that makes fi le sharing easier. It cuts down on the amount of fi le conversions, bouncebacks, ad-dress hunts and other irritations that people have to do to get, for ex-ample, that hot poster and jingle idea to the client in New York, and back again with comments. For in-stance, it can easily send screen-shots, or produce html5 previews of pdfs in the browser. The company has already raised VC money and has more than 4,000 paying custom-ers.

If the Digital Millennials are those who cannot remember a time before the Internet, what of those who’ve been playing with a smart phone most of their lives? Two examples came up on stage: Three schoolgirls from Catlin Gabel showed off Want, a news site by and for teens. The idea is to get away from “adult domi-nated mainstream media” and to start you going to: Wantnewsfor-teen.com

And a young preppy called Pat-rick Finnegan pitched World State, another news service. Now it’s an email newsletter, but an app is com-ing. Its goal is to serve up explainer articles, somewhere between Vox and Wikipedia.

Perks of PIEOne of the perks of PIE is that a

team from Wieden + Kennedy helps out with the branding of each com-pany. They call the process of meet-ing the team, exploring the apps and what they like “rapid branding,” and

the results have gone beyond the standard Wieden all-caps declara-tive statement. It’s possible for an app to look good for very little mon-ey, but voicing it is harder.

Another ‘-Er without the E’ com-pany, Krumplr set itself the arcane task of organizing disparate to-do lists. One interface deals with them all, although you can only try it in beta right now.

There were others: Shoptender is an app that links sellers to what’s trending on social media. It’s aimed at Etsy types selling crafts on line, like the 3,300 makers in Portland or the 25 million worldwide. It cuts down on the amount of time they spend clicking around trying to link

to Pinterest, Facebook, etcetera. Shoptender was introduced by man-of-the-hour James McDermott, CEO of Lytics (last week’s cover story) and a former PIE success with Sto-rycode.

Perhaps the most impressive pitch of the day came from Eric Holscher, a software developer who has honed in on a problem for his tribe. Apparently, software develop-ers are supposed to document their work, making a manual as they go in plain English. Every time the ver-sion changes. However, they 1) Don’t like “leaving the comfort of the com-mand line” and switching into Word to write, and 2) They would be high-er thought of, and more competitive

in the marketplace, if they did this in a timely manner.

The free open source is now being extended with a for-profi t version for business, where having the right documentation really matters.

“Software is always late, bad doc-umentation is a part of the problem; the process is broken,” said Holscher. He looked the part: the bearded developer with a slight

sense of impatience, he made the case, in his clipped language, for crossing over to the profi t side.

“We’re open source people and we love it. But now it’s time for a dot com.” This is what happens when GitHub rules the universe.

PIE has had some success: Cloud-ability, VendScreen, Urban Airship and Simple. Many others fi zzled and as anyone at Wieden + Kennedy, will tell you, failure is good.

Business Oregon leader Sean Robbins, fresh off a plane from a China-Korea-Japan trade mission, reaffi rmed that Oregon is getting an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Czar, because economic develop-ment is no longer driven by luring big companies, it’s done by growing companies that are already here. (He didn’t say when or who.)

“We received a very positive re-sponse for Sean Robbins remarks about Business Oregon,” Turoczy said a few days later.

“As for the next fi ve years? We’ll continue to experiment. And try to push the envelope for what a pro-gram like ours can provide for both individual companies and the Portland startup community as a whole.”

Turoczy said that the core prin-ciple of PIE from the start was “How do we create a sense of com-munity.” That’s a mixture of bump-ing into people on Northwest 13th Avenue and seeing a green dot next to their name on your screen.

You only had to be at the after party to see how interconnected folks are in the Portland startup scene, which is still small and cozy enough to be useful, and has not yet degenerated into a series of sub-networks.

Attendee Danielle Alexander [see sidebar] was flush with her new big iPhone 6 at the Armory afterschmooze, showing it off to her many friends. Alexander is a consultant in strategic growth for various tech companies and agencies around Portland, in-cluding Fluently, Uncorked Stu-dios and PivotDesk. She tells them how they can scale and gives them marketing strategies. She worked out of PIE’s space for a year while acting as a mentor, and refers to it as “Mom’s house.”

A local who lived in New York City for eight years, she came back and had a realization. “Ev-erything funnels through PIE.”

■ From page 3Likes PIE

Danielle Alexander, a consultant in strategic growth for various tech companies and agencies around Portland, says PIE’s success in creating a community has a lot to do with inviting people in who would benefi t the community, even if they couldn’t donate a lot of hours.

“I wouldn’t be here without PIE. I grew up here [in Vancouver, Washington] but I didn’t really know anyone. With PIE I was instantly able to make a million connections and make friends I still have today.”

“I remember working on the Storycode pitch, looking for a ‘Moneyball’ references and ways to make an API sexy in a pitch deck,” she said. Being around PIE made her want to move out of fi lm and “get into tech, to foster innovation in larger brands,” so she worked at TechStars, Nike’s accelerator.

She thinks the quality of com-panies is improving, and defi nitely the pitch quality is improving. The teens of Want made her “heart swell a hundred times. Having three strong women leading an organization is always a recipe for success.”

After the words “disrupt” and “pivot,” is she working on next year’s big buzzword?

“I think innovation’s been done to death, I wish there was a better word for it. Innovation is more than coming up with something new, it’s rethinking. It’s thinking from the ground up. It’s not about learning something new, it’s about unlearning things we’ve done. Here’s where we’re at now.”

TRIBUNE PHOTOS: JOHN M. VINCENT

Portland Incubator Experiment program manager Kirsten Golden helps presenters prepare to go on stage for the organization’s annual demo day at the Pearl’s Gerding Theater.

Teenagers Grace Masback, Sydney Palmer, and Annie Barnicle prepare to pitch Want, a news source for teens, by teens.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 5

By JULES ROGERSThe Tribune

Job descriptions outline spe-cifi c specialities, and as job searchers know, it’s diffi cult to sift through the options to fi nd a job matching individual profes-sional capabilities.

Fortunately, networking events help highlight specialities for both aspiring careerists and hopeful em-ployers. On Oct. 22, Night for Net-working (N4N) attendees gathered to connect at the event’s fi fth year connecting business and talent, highlighting people with disabilities.

At the new Collaborative Life Sci-ences building on the south water-front, a reception featuring live mu-sician Ian James harbored 480 at-tendees including employers, spon-sors and facilitators mingled, re-freshing themselves with guacamo-

le, smoked salmon and wine catered by Verde Cocina.

In its fi rst year, the event drew 150 participants according to Michael Tom, founder and chair of Night for Networking and OHSU Affi rmative Action and Equal Opportunity Direc-tor.

“Coming together and doing an event that had never been done be-fore took a lot of courage,” says Tom. “The important thing about the fi rst year ... (is to) see how it works, lining up for next year.”

Tom founded N4N by meandering through the halls of OHSU collecting support. This year, N4N has 12 exec-utive sponsors, fi ve associate spon-sors and 18 partners in the commu-nity.

At the Collaborative Life Sciences Building, a projector displaying a transcript of the speakers’ words and an ASL translator help every-

one understand. Steve Hanamura of Hanamura Consulting Inc. kicked off the speeches as the master of cere-monies.

“October is Oregon disabilities month where we celebrate all of our capabilities,” says Hanamura. “Cre-ate an environment where people with disabilities can connect with one another, have fun, exchange business cards and learn a lot from the employment sector.”

Ian Jaquiss is an OHSU Disability Trainer and Community Outreach Specialist and former paralympic swimmer. He spoke at an N4N event a few years ago and this year re-turned as a co-chair.

“The trick is to network not pro-fessionally, but socially — build friends,” says Jaquiss.

Steve Novick, City of Portland Commissioner, was the highlighted speaker of the evening.

“Something I noticed myself, as a one-handed person ... people with disabilities experience a lot of an-noyances, some small and some ma-jor,” says Novick.

He drew connections to Portland’s TriMet system, which is generally accessible but has two problems. Ac-cording to Novick, some of the street, sidewalks and crosswalks are dangerous and he hopes to improve more neighborhoods’ accessibility.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” says Novick. “Recog-nize everyone deserves a fair chance to get a job by knowing the right people.”

This happened to Janice Kim, N4N frequenter and now Civil Rights Investigator with the Ore-gon Health Authority.

“There are lots of exciting op-portunities (at N4N) getting the word out to qualifi ed applicants,”

says Kim.Kim met her boss Leanne John-

son at the N4N event three years ago. Now Kim and Johnson work to-gether on the Oregon Health Au-thority’s Diversity Unit. Johnson is the Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights Manager there.

“The event works beyond stereo-types about what it means to be em-ployable, professional,” says John-son. “A high-end event is a huge op-portunity for all of us.”

OHSU executive vice president and provost Jeanetter Mladenovic spoke to the crowd on behalf of OHSU.

“Individuals with disabilites are an important part of our strategic plan,” says Mladenovic.

“Talent, initiative, dedication and creativity, all the qualities that make great employees, come in many different forms.”

Night for Networking matches employers with people with disabilities

In its fi fth year, the Night for Networking attracted nearly 5 0 0 people eager to make business connections between employers and people with disabilities.PHOTOS COURTESY : MAILEEN HAMTO

Defi nition of disabilityIn Oregon, the defi nition of disability lies within six

categories: hearing, visual, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care and independent living. Of people in these catego-ries ages 16 to 64, Oregon has a 33.8 employment rate — almost 3,000 Oregonians. The national rate is 32.6 percent, or about 206,510 citizens according to the 2012 Disability Status Reports. The states hiring the highest percentage of its disabled population are South Dakota and North Dakota, at 52.3 and 52.6 respectively.

‘ Ev eryone deserv es a fair chance’

Page 6: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

They’re about to fi ll in an-other square in the tic-tac-toe game that is the development of the North

Pearl District. On Tuesday, Oct. 28, developers,

architects and politicians gathered for the groundbreaking of the Abi-gail, a new residential building which should be completed by fall 2015.

It is classed as a mixed income project, meaning that it mixes af-fordable and market-rate apart-ments. Of the 155 units, 127 will be affordable housing, for families earning 30 percent to 60 percent of the median income ($20,800 to $41,640). They will range from stu-dios to three-bedroom apartments.

The building will be wedged in by the railroad tracks that run par-allel with NW Naito Parkway. Its front will be on an extension of NW 13th Avenue and its south side on NW Savier Street, with access to the Fields Park.

It will have retail and communi-ty spaces at ground level. Two six-story buildings, linked by a trans-parent bridge building, will mix residents of different income lev-els, with the higher priced, market rate apartments being on the up-per levels.

Affordable housing advocates showed up in spades. Congress-woman Suzanne Bonamici who is up for election, Mayor Charlie Hales as well as Tracy Manning from the Portland Housing Bureau. Dan Saltzman sent a staffer.

The developer is BRIDGE Hous-ing from San Francisco.

“BRIDGE is excited about being here,” said Cynthia Parker, the CEO. “I don’t think you can be a carpet bagger when you are in-volved at this level. There are 21 million households who are not able to rent housing within their means.”

Parker said BRIDGE has created 15,000 units of affordable housing and has 700 units planned for the Pearl. A Portland State University graduate, she pointed out both Portland’s livable city reputation and its new status as one of the two hottest real estate markets in the country.

“I can remember when the Pearl was the Warehouse District.”

Mayor Hales also harked back 30 years, to when there were 2,000 va-cant and abandoned houses in North and Northeast Portland.

“The neighborhood association district coalition in Southeast was called Southeast Uplift. Anybody think Ladd’s Addition needs uplift any more?” he asked the crowd. “The housing market has changed a lot and now the school system is on the rise. It’s abundantly clear that the fl ight to the suburbs was a round trip, and all those people want to live here now.”

Hales told the Tribune, “The conventional wisdom was the prob-lem in the inner city was disinvest-ment, now it’s hyper investment. We have the lowest offi ce vacancy rate in the country, $400 a square foot condos all around us, and the highest rate of in migration of col-lege graduates in the country. All that means it’s really hard to pro-vide affordable housing.” He held up San Francisco as the cautionary tale.

“As the United States shifts more to an urban economy, how do you keep families in the city? Well the City has to have skin in the game and put some of our housing in-vestment in to create some of this affordable housing.”

He added, “In those days the mindset was the close-in neighbor-hoods were fi ghting decline. Now we’re fi ghting gentrifi cation. Thir-

ty years isn’t that long to go from such a different housing environ-ment. It shows you’ve got to adapt.”

Mixing incomes in the same building is still relatively rare. There are six market rate units in the affordable Sitka nearby.

“In the Pearl you often have market and affordable next to each other and often people don’t know

which is which. Our goal is to make it a really nice affordable place to live,” said Nicole Peterson, BRIDGE’s Director for the Pacifi c Northwest based in Portland.

She added that prospective resi-dents can call for leasing opportu-nities to get on the wait list as soon as the construction fence goes up. “There’s a lot of pent up demand for affordable.”

BY JOSEPH GALLIVAN

Groundbreaking for mixed-income project named for women’s voting rights activist attracts a crowd

Architects SpeakArchitect Ankrom Moisan’s web

site states, “The west building responds to the urban character of 13th Avenue, while the less formal character of the railway and river alignments infl uences the east building.”

The Abigail will have laundry lounges, a fi re pit and three unique outdoor spaces. “The design has a lot to do with the geometry of the site,” said Jason Roberts, Managing Principal at Ankrom Moisan

Associated Architects, who helped design it.

“We’ve worked in the neighbor-hood for a while we’ve been inspired by the brick and the warehouses, but with this we’re thinking of changing the typology, to make it more mod-ern.” He says the building is meant to stand out. “This building wanted to have its own identity. BRIDGE wanted to come into the neighborhood and have a new, fresh face on it.”

“The number one goal is to make decent places for people to live, and we have to temper our architectural

whims,” said his colleague Isaac Johnson.

Roberts said saving money on the budget is a challenge. “Affordable housing is not necessarily lower cost to build, it has a lot to do with the tax credit. There are plenty of market rate projects that are built for less than affordable housing.”

Affordable housing owners com-mit to a minimum 60 years of affordability. “So if they do a low-cost cladding and then in 10 years have to come in and redo it, they don’t have that kind of money.”

TRIBUNE PHOTO: JOSEPH GALLIVAN

Canaries in a gold mine: locals pols, including Suzanne Bonamici and Mayor Hales, showed up for the groundbreaking of the Abigail apartments last week.

ABIGAIL’S PARTY6 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Urban pioneers: The Abigail mixed income housing will bring a more modern look to the North Pearl, as well as new retail and residents.COURTESY ANKROM MOISAN ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS

Page 7: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 7

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With Thanksgiving ap-proaching, our minds are focused on two things: How am I go-

ing to cook the turkey this year, and where am I going to go shop-ping over the weekend?

For decades, Black Friday has signaled the start of the Christmas shopping season. Some consumers even get more excited about shop-ping the day after Thanksgiving than about the holiday itself!

The thought of scrambling through crowds at a giant depart-ment store at 5 a.m. to wrestle over the last Tickle-Me-Elmo gives me anxiety. At this time of year, I’d much rather focus on family, friends and community — and I’m not the only one.

In 2010, American Express creat-ed Small Business Saturday to en-courage consumers to not just fl ock to the big box stores for their Christmas shopping needs, but to also visit local small businesses and support their hometown.

Buying local isn’t just a passing fad. The small business community is the backbone of America. It em-ploys half of the workforce in our

country and makes up 99 percent of all U.S. businesses, according to the Small Business Administra-tion.

Now in its fi fth year, Small Business Saturday has already be-come a holiday tradition. Con-sumers spent $5.7 billion on Small Business Saturday last year, according to American Express and the National Federation of Independent Busi-nesses.

Make sure your business is on shoppers’ lists this year. The fol-lowing suggestions can help you stand out on Small Business Satur-day, taking place on Nov. 29, 2014.

1. Have an online presenceConsumers are searching the In-

ternet for local businesses, so now is the time to spruce up your web-site and social media pages. Make

sure your site is search-friendly and clearly displays your location and hours.

Capture potential customers and have fun by engaging in conversa-tions and posting about your best merchandise, especially what will be on sale. Create a photo album with images of your products so people can have a preview before coming to your shop. Be sure to use the hashtag #SmallBizSat on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2. Promote yourselfAmerican Express is offering

free, personalized marketing mate-rials that can help get more shop-pers to stop by your business. Cre-ate online ads, utilize in-store pro-motional materials and even get listed on the Shop Small Map. Go to ShopSmall.com to get started.

3. Promote your neighborsOn your social media pages,

highlight other great businesses in your neighborhood. They may re-turn the favor, sending even more visitors your way, and making this a true community event.

Collaborate with other small

business owners in your area to hold a mass “sidewalk sale.” Also put fl yers or coupons for nearby businesses’ products or services into your customers’ shopping bags, and have them do the same for you.

4. Start a relationshipYou may not be able to compete

with giant retailers when it comes to price, but you can offer more value to customers with your knowledge, service and small touches.

Make an extra effort to deliver outstanding customer service this holiday season. One of the main reasons a customer will shop at an independent retailer rather than a big box store is because they’re seeking friendly, personalized ser-vice. A good impression will have a lasting effect, practically guaran-teeing a return customer.

Offer free extras such as cookies or snacks, stocking stuffers, gift-wrapping service or home delivery.

Make your store kid-friendly by holding a holiday coloring contest or ornament-decorating station. This will help keep tired or fussy

children occupied while their par-ents shop.

At the point of purchase, invite customers to sign up for your newsletter, visit your website or fi nd your social media pages. Track their purchase history and keep in touch throughout the year, providing customized shopping recommendations and alerting them to sales they may be interest-ed in. A personal relationship goes a long way toward gaining some-one’s loyal business.

5. Get involved with a charityChoose a charity that you and

your customers care about, and do-nate a percentage of your profi t to it. The value of a purchase then be-comes even bigger than the prod-uct or service itself. You will not only inspire others to give to a greater good, but your generosity will ensure your shoppers do not forget about you once the holiday season is over.

Megan Lum works for the Better Busi-ness Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington. She can be reached at: [email protected].

Stand out on Small Business SaturdayMeganLum

B E T T E R B U S I N E S S

Page 8: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

8 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Today, P&C Construction workers are adding an el-evator to a Johns Landing school and a credit union

to the Providence Park Fred Meyer store, but P&C President Steve Malany worries about the availabil-ity of skilled commercial craft-workers in the future.

“The shortage that we’re looking at is not an immediate one,” he said. “It’s more of a two- to three-year knowledge that we’re going to be needing more workers.”

A decade from now, Manaly ex-pects his current work-force will be-

gin peeling off — into retirement. “Of our core group, we probably

have a duration of about 10 years before our people start retiring,” he said. “We need to be ready for that, training the pipeline, so that we have a lot of people ready to as-sume leadership roles and com-plete projects out in the fi eld.”

Malany’s not alone with his con-cern.

“Ten thousand Boomers retire every day,” said Mike Salsgiver, ex-ecutive director of the Associated General Contractors’ Oregon Co-lumbia Chapter. “For every new employee in our workforce, four are leaving.”

Pew Research population pro-jections suggest that, from now until 2030, roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the golden age 65 every day. As for the 1:4 worker attrition, that can’t be as easily confi rmed.

In Oregon, anyone being paid for construction improvements on real property is expected to be licensed by the Construction Contractors Board. In the four years since Sept. 30, 2010, the number of commercial licensees has dropped nearly 10

percent — from 9,564 to 8,642. The biggest drop came at the

end of 2012, with nearly 400 fewer contractors getting licensed. The lower numbers continued through the summer and have yet to recover.

“Summer is the big peak for construction,” Malany said. “...Instead of the standard, of be-ing able to contact our steady employees to come back to work, we were going through

the carpenter’s hiring hall.”That meant new workers, albeit

union workers, with unproven skills. “Without knowing the skills of the new people, we might have some contractors on the site for a week and have to get rid of them,” Malany said. “That made the begin-ning of the summer diffi cult be-cause of the turnover.”

Indeed, commercial contractors responding to AGC’s Oregon Workforce Survey increased their subcontractor use by 65 percent over the past year “because of diffi -culty in fi lling positions.” Thirty-eight percent used staffi ng fi rms and 15 percent, like P&C Construc-tion, turned to unions.

“Over the past 50 years Oregon, like much of the rest of the nation-al, has systematically disabled its vocational education program — wood shop, metal shop, auto shop,” Salsgiver said. “It’s hurt our basic industries considerably.”

For those like Malany, worried about their future worker “pipe-line,” the issue is this: “What can we do to get construction educa-tion back in the high schools?”

In August, the Associated Gen-eral Contractors of America re-sponded by reaching to the high school level for recruits. Portland’s ACE Academy Charter School be-came AGC’s fi rst high-school chap-ter.

In its seventh year, the academy operates from 61,000 square feet of shared space in outer northeast Portland. Up to 120 students from four east county school districts spend half of every school day studying construction math, sci-ence, English and hands-on proj-ects in architecture, construction and engineering.

“Schools like this,” said Ken-neth Simonson, chief economist for AGC of America, “are becom-ing increasingly vital to the suc-cess of the industry — to encour-age people to try out for a con-struction career and give them the skills they need to get off to a successful beginning.”

Simonson visited ACE Acade-my in late-October to release 2014 results from AGC’s survey of 1,000 commercial fi rms across the U.S. Oregon had the largest number of fi rms by state — at 45 — completing the survey. Twen-ty percent of those fi rms report-ed “a hard time fi lling all key

professional and craft worker po-sitions.” Hardest to fi ll jobs in both categories were project managers/supervisors (averag-ing $75K), estimating profession-als, IT staff, electricians, plumb-ers, roofers and painters.

“For construction it’s really important to tie grade school, high school, college and profes-sional programs all together to build a stream [of trained work-ers],” Salsgiver said. “It’s going to take us a long time to rebuild this pipeline.”

Jennifer Meacham is a freelance writer. twitter.com/glad2meacham

New data reveals craft-worker shortage in Oregon

Hammering outa living wage

Portland’s craft workers aver-age $33,000 on up to $93,000 (for elevator work) per year, according to 2014 Oregon Wage Information for Multnomah and Washington counties. Commercial construction jobs often also include health and pension ben-efi ts.

When Portland’s incomes are combined with the rest of the state, the average construction worker in Oregon made $51,600 in 2013. That’s 16 percent more than the state-wide average for private sector wages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Working as a commercial con-tractor “is not just a job,” said Mike Salsgiver at the AGC Oregon Columbia Chapter. “It’s a career; you can support a family through your entire career in this industry.”Beginning apprentices — open

to workers with a year of algebra and a GED — start at 50 percent of the journey-level wage, accord-ing to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries’ website. Elizabeth Cardoso at the NW College of Construction said this translates to starting wages of $11.19 for apprentice laborers, $12.36 for carpenters, $13.50 for cement masons and $15.66 for those laying bricks.

Electricians ($77,108) 100% (3 respondents)

Plumbers ($77,591) 100% (5 respondents)

Roofers ($45,370) 100% (4 respondents)

Painters ($37,547) 86%

Carpenters ($46,668) 75%

Drywall installers ($52,944) 75%

Equipment operators ($57,872) 63%

Laborers ($39,715) 41%

Iron workers ($42,057) 25%

Pipefi tters/welders ($42,127 to $77,591) 17%

Cement masons ($59,094)14%

Sources: AGC of America 2014

Workforce Survey and, for average annual salaries,

2014 Oregon Wage Information for

Multnomah and Washington counties

as reported to the Oregon Employment

Department.

Help wantedAssociated General Contractors of America recently surveyed its Oregon members for a nationwide 2014 Workforce Survey. Responding commercial construction fi rms reported having trouble fi lling “key craft worker positions” as follows:

BY JENNIFER MEACHAM

WANTED:COMMERCIAL CONTRACTORS

ACE Academy Charter School students were on hand late last month when Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for American General Contractors of America delivered the results of a survey, which showed the need for craft workers. COURTESY: OLE OLSEN, KOIN 6 NEWS

Page 9: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 9

Michael Westfall loves to talk about beer.

As the owner of Tap-phoria, the new growler

bar that opened on Pacifi c H ighway this summer, Westfall has spent the past three months living his dream.

“It’s great, I love it,” he said on Tuesday as he prepped the bar for its 4 p.m. opening. “Although, even-tually, I would like a week off.”

Tapphoria is the latest in a trend of bars specializing in selling draft microbrews in 6 4 -ounce containers.

Tapphoria, which celebrates its three-month an-niversary next week, isn’t your

typical bar. It opens late, closes ear-ly, and is family-friendly.

“It’s the opposite structure of a normal bar,” Westfall said. “We don’t have to call taxis for people. A lot of people come in after work, have a glass of pinot grigio and a chicken Caesar salad and don’t have to worry about typical bar stuff. Nothing against bars, I go to all the bars around here, but here, I don’t have to listen to people playing pool, or a DJ in the corner and the con-stant noise.”

The bar offers a selection of 26 types of beer, wine, cider and kom-bucha, as well as a selection of local spirits.

It’s a bar for people to appreciate what they are drinking, Westfall said, and to have a good time.

“We don’t get a lot of 21 st birthday parties in here,” Westfall joked. “I mean, we’re selling $ 5 microbrews, nobody’s coming in here to drink Pabst.”

U nlike many growleries in the ar-ea, Tapphoria offers a full menu, as well as spirits, Westfall said.

The bar’s taps are constantly ro-tated, and Westfall makes sure to bring in customer’s recommenda-tions when he can.

All about that tasteWindfall operates three business-

es across town — Tapphoria, a cof-fee kiosk on Scholls Ferry Road and a Portland party bus. H is days are spent at the bar, his nights often transporting people across Portland in his bus.

After years of driving bachelor parties around Portland with his party bus, Westfall said it was time for a change.

“All these 3 a.m. days, it gets cra-

zy,” he said. “So I said, I’m opening up a growler shop in Tigard.”

Growlers have become all-the-rage among beer and wine drinkers. The reason for that is simple, West-fall said.

“It’s the taste,” he said. “People love the fresh taste of a draft beer. I had a beer a couple weeks ago that was super common, and you could get it anywhere. But I tried it on tap, and it was phenomenal. There is something about it being on tap that just tastes better.”

They are often more convenient, Westfall said.

“If you’re going to a barbecue, you often don’t want to show up with a case of Coors,” he said. “I spent $ 1 0 for a six-pack the other day. With the way those prices are going, they’re reaching growler territory, and this way you can get it fresh.”

Portland’s strong micro-brew cul-ture is well documented, and it seems everyone from bars to gro-cery stores are offering some sort of growler service to customers these days, Westfall said.

But Tigard has largely been ig-nored in both those trends, Westfall said.

“The beer scene almost skipped Tigard completely,” Westfall said.

There are only two local brewers, Max’s Fanno Creek Brew Pub and Red Ox Brewing, which don’t distrib-ute outside of the city. The area is home to only one other bar like Tap-

phoria, The Growlerie at Progress Ridge.

Westfall has big plans for Tappho-ria. H e said he wants to see it grow and become a place where people gather.

“I can already see it happening,” he said.

About half the company’s busi-ness is comprised of people taking

home growlers for parties and get-togethers, the other half use the bar as a local watering hole.

“We have people who come in and grab a growler, and maybe something for the wife, and we have others who come in and hang out all day,” he said.

Westfall said he wants Tapphoria to showcase local breweries and dis-tillers. On tap at the bar this week is a selection from Sherwood-based brewer Two Kilts, and it offers Indio Spirits, a Tigard company located near Bridgeport Village.

“Everything is just from Ore-gon,” Westfall said, examining his selection of rums, vodkas and other liquors. “You’ll never fi nd tequila here, because there are no distillers here in Oregon.”

Someday, he said, he might make the switch from bartender to brewer.

“People say how great it would be to have your own beer in the store, but baby steps, man,” Windfall said. “We haven’t even been open for three months yet. We’ve got time.”

Tapphoria has 26 brews on tap as well as wine, ale, cider and kombucha

BY GEOFF PURSINGER

PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTOS: JAIME VALDEZ

Tapphoria owner Michael Westfall pours a sample beer at his bar on Pacifi c Highway. Westfall, a Tualatin nativ e, said he knew he wanted his growlerie in Tigard, which has been skipped ov er in the region’s rush for growleries and local micro- brews.

TIGARD GROWLERIESERVES UP A GOOD TIME

Tapphoria opened in July, offering 2 6 different beers, ales, wines, ciders and kombucha. He plans to make it an ev en 3 0 .

Page 10: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

10 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

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By JOSEPH GALLIVANThe Tribune

Steve Holwerda, Ferguson Well-man Capital Management, was awarded the William S. Naito Out-standing Service Award last Tues-day night.

The Portland Business Alliance Business Leadership Evening cele-brated leadership in the business community with words from Ted Wheeler and keynote speaker Clare Hamill, VP Global Growth Initiatives at Nike. But it was Holwerda (and his daughter Sina) who inspired the gathering with their way with words rather than numbers.

Holwerda proved to be more than just another bespectacled money manager when cracked jokes about always losing by betting on Oregon Republicans in elections against PBA CEO Sandra McDonough, and about possibly donating the $1,000 award to the conservative Cascade Policy Institute.

He also quieted the room briefl y just so he could boast that he could silence 600 business leaders and a dozen politicians “to shut up and not say a word for fi ve seconds.”

A video encomium featuring oth-er business people mentioned that he buys Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” by the case and that he is a persuasive debater.

“Relatively boring yet, I hope, humble” (in his own words) State Treasurer Ted Wheeler remarked that the video showed the room was full of people who believe Holwerda was worthy of the recognition.

“The fact that we can still make fun of the man says a lot about him,” said Wheeler. “He serves as an ex-ample for the younger people in this community, as an example of the dif-ferent kinds of leadership you can provide, the kind based on him fol-lowing his heart. The reality is he loves the community and the state of Oregon and he’s made a huge com-mitment to the community.”

In the large ballroom at the Port-land Art Museum, the big screen al-so showed music video of Holwer-da’s high school-age daughter, Sina, rapping about what a good father he is. The daughter, who has a You-Tube presence as a rapper called Wynne (ow.ly/DAQgi) mentioned his mechanical banks and being a good shot, to the surprise of the audience.

To illustrate how the “PBA cre-ates harmony between the business community and government,” he took a piece of rope, cut it in two, knotted it, and then magically re-moved the knot, leaving a single piece of rope again.

Nike’s Clare Hamill talked about the story of Nike, its passion for in-novation and research, dedication to top athletes and commitment to women athletes. Her biggest inspira-tions are the marathon runner Joan Benoit and the U.S. Women’s Na-tional Team that won the 1999 World Cup.

Steve Holwerda’s award was to recognize exceptional leadership and service to the business com-munity. It is named in honor of Bill Naito.

Money Manager Steve Holwerda honored at Portland Business Alliance’s leadership event

The v irtue of selfl essness

TRIBUNE PHOTO: JOHN M. VINCENT

Stev e Holwerda, Principal and Chief Operating Offi cer for Ferguson Wellman Capital Management, was giv en the William S. Naito Outstand Serv ice Award.

Page 11: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 11

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By VANCE W. TONGThe Tribune

There was good news delivered by Dr. Tom Potiowsky at the 2014 Fall Kruse Way Economic Forum last week.

The Oregon economy has gone from the economic emergency room to the recovery room, and is continu-ing to improve.

“I defi nitely feel we are leaving the hospital,” said Potiowsky, who is a professor at Portland State Universi-ty and is the director of the North-west Economic Research Center (NERC).

There were, however, some cave-ats.

Although the nation’s economy continues to improve, it is slowing

down. Potiowsky pointed out that one of the factors contributing to this slowdown is the gradual strength-ening of the U.S. dollar. Because it is slowly gaining val-ue, exports may be slowed due to their increased cost to importers.

Another factor, that came as no sur-prise to anyone in the room, was that interest rates are not going to stay at the record-low rates they are cur-rently at.

“They are going to go up,” said Po-tiowsky, adding that the question was when they are going to go up. The danger now is that lending insti-tutions may be tempted to ease the requirements for credit — which is one of the key contributors to the great recession.

As for jobs, the news was both good and bad.

“We’re back to the same number of jobs we had in May, 2007,” said Po-tiowsky. However, that means the

country has only recovered jobs lost and has not made job gains in seven years.

Nonetheless, Potiowsky pointed out that seven years isn’t a bad frame of time to turn an economy around.

“This is relatively fast for coming out of a fi nancial crisis,” he said.

As for Oregon’s economy, Potio-wsky reported that typically the Bea-ver state lags about 1 percentage point behind the U.S. economy. Case in point, the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.9 percent, while Oregon’s un-employment rate is at 7.2 percent. What many people forget is that what drove Oregon’s economic re-covery was Portland. While Oregon’s overall economy was beginning to recover and statewide employment was starting to trend upwards in 2010 and 2011, jobs were still being lost in communities outside of the Portland-metro area. In fact, it wasn’t until mid-2012 that job growth out-side of the Portland area began to oc-cur. Today, there is still a signifi cant disparity between job growth state-wide and job growth in Oregon with Portland removed from the equation.

Echoing the trend identifi ed with re-gards to employment, Potiowsky es-timates that Oregon will be back to where it was pre-recession by mid-2015 — approximately one year later than the United States as a whole.

But that’s not all that’s going to change in the employment picture.

Potiowsky pointed out that the percentage of the working age popu-lation, 25-54 years old, is declining in Oregon. Florida is no longer the only state where folks go to retire. Oregon is becoming one of the new retire-ment hot spots. According to the Or-egon Offi ce of Economic Analysis, a comparison of the years 2006-2008 and 2010-2012 revealed the ratio of working age people as a percentage of population dropped anywhere from 4 percent to 8 percent in the Portland-metro area.

So what does that mean for Ore-gon’s economy?

“You’re going to see labor shortag-es,” said Potiowsky, adding that they probably won’t hit for another fi ve to 10 years, but they will come.

Nonetheless, there were still plen-ty of positives to be found in Potio-wsky’s presentation.

Oregon’s total non-farm employ-ment increased 2.46 percent in the past year, which was the sixth-fast-est growth rate in the country. Ore-gon also enjoyed 5 percent growth in personal income for the second quarter of 2014 compared to the same time period last year.

“We still have a ways to go,” said Potiowsky, but the message was clear: Oregon’s economy is on the mend.

Dr. Tom Potiowsky says the economy is slowing down, but is still improving

Economy on the mendEconomist, speaker, kayaker

Dr. Thomas Potiowsky is the chair of the Portland State University Department of Economics, the former state economist for Oregon, and the director of the Northwest Economic Research Center.1983: Moved to Portland, where he chaired the economics department at Portland State University and was co-director of the Applied Economics Research Group.1999: Appointed as Oregon’s Acting State Economist and later State Economist.2006: Returns to Portland State University to teach.2008: Appointed State Economist.2011: Steps down as State Economist and returns to teaching at PSU.Spare time: Golf and white-water kayaking

POTIOWSKY

Page 12: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

12 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Analysts have been pontifi -cating for a while that the Great Recession is, well, receding.

But if you’re looking for proof that maybe, for once, they’re right, cruise down Northeast Marine Drive or Sandy Boulevard and take a peek at the explosion in industrial develop-ment.

“There’s a really good feeling out here — the demand has returned,” said Tom Talbot, senior vice presi-dent with K idder Mathews, a Port-land-based commercial real estate fi rm. “Companies have to be here

now because this is really the most ac-tive hub.”

Talbot is referring to

the industrial area east of 18 1st Ave-nue, which, thanks to a renewed surge in development, has attracted distribution centers for national companies like F rito-Lay, Staples and F irestone/Bridgestone.

K idder Mathews is representing developers for two buildings that will bring an additional 4 15 ,000 square feet of future light industrial space.

Prior to the economy’s crash in 2 008 , developers of speculative in-dustrial-zoned land fl ocked to Gresham and East Multnomah County, fi guring companies with dis-tribution center needs would be lured by its easy freeway access and proximity to Portland International Airport.

Confi dence was high among build-ers that businesses riding the wave of fi nancial success would soon be expanding and the East County area was ripe for additional commercial space.

Then the recession hit and con-struction came to a grinding halt.

“We had more than 3 million feet built in that cycle that went on the market all at once,” Talbot said. “Va-cancy rates went from 5 percent to double digits. So nothing has been built in the speculative market since 2 007 , because it took us 6-7 years to absorb that.”

But times have changed.

K idder Mathews is negotiating with tenants for its two buildings scheduled to be completed in De-cember or early January. The Prolo-gis PDX site at Northeast 192 00 and Riverside Parkway, has been de-signed to accommodate two busi-nesses within a 2 07 ,000-plus- square-feet area. F ifty one dock doors pro-vide transport needs accessible from the south side of the building.

In contrast, the 2 15 ,2 5 0 square foot Gateway Corporate Center, just off Northeast 18 1st Avenue and Sandy Boulevard, can be “divided down the spine” for multiple tenants, with dock door access from both the north and south sides of the build-ing.

It could be viewed as risky for de-velopers to construct mega-sized buildings, given that the safer bet might be projects geared toward smaller businesses looking to ex-pand.

But, Talbot said, industrial space

is in such demand that building 2 00,000-plus square foot facilities pretty much seals the deal for long-term leasing.

“The economics associated with these buildings are that they’re more effi cient and developers are able to offer rents that are more rea-sonable in the marketplace,” he ex-plained. “If you build smaller build-ings, you have to charge higher rents.”

While the $2 5 million industrial project in Gresham is a boon to the area, it’s only part of $12 0 million in the east metro area construction pipeline.

Talbot cites a 4 90,000-square-foot construction project in progress near Portland International Airport. Portland-based Capstone Partners’ industrial development going in be-hind IK EA has been fi elding occu-pancy inquires for months.

“They have leases pending on ev-ery available space out there,” Tal-

bot said. “We knew there would be demand for this, but to be 100 per-cent committed before construction is even complete? ”

So what’s the reason for the sud-den interest in industrial/distribu-tion space in these parts?

Simple, Talbot said — economics.“Companies are fi nding they can’t

service this area and the Northwest from distribution centers in Califor-nia any more,” Talbot said. “They’re looking to reduce their transporta-tion costs. We’re seeing an absolute mix of local businesses that are ex-panding and national names that can no longer ignore the Portland market.”

F or its part, the city of Gresham has greased the wheels for industri-al development by offering incen-tives that send the message the city is open for business. They recently reduced a lengthy land-use review process from the state mandated 12 0 to 66 days or less and employ a Rap-

id Response Team to work with traded sector users to make the de-velopment process more effi cient.

While the city is embracing na-tional companies and those looking to establish roots in the area, it’s al-so hoping to revitalize interest for the shovel-ready land in the Gresh-am Vista Business Park (GVBP).

The 2 2 1 acre site between South-east Stark and Glisan streets was originally owned by LSI, who intend-ed to use the land for fabrication plant expansion. A decline in chip manufacturing caused LSI to sell their fab plant to ONSemi Conduc-tor in the mid-2 000s. The Port of Portland snatched up the remaining land in 2 011 and created the Gresh-am Vista Business Park. Shannon Stadey, director of Gresham Eco-nomic Development Services, said the hope is the property will be a draw to other high tech manufactur-ing companies, like Intel and Wafer-Tech.

“We have excellent transportation access so for the companies who are moving goods and services, having rapid access to (Portland Interna-tional Airport) is huge,” Stadey said. “While there hasn’t been any activi-ty on the GVBP to date, the city and the Port feel that the tide is turning. When the right user or users come along, we feel that site is prime for development.”

In the meantime, the notion that Gresham and East County have been nothing to offer, outside of horse drawn carriages and dirt roads, has been dispelled by devel-opers who are claiming the area as an industrial hub. And according to Talbot, credit goes to city leaders who have put out the welcome mat.

“The city of Gresham has been fantastic to work with,” Talbot said. “We’ve worked on project in Wilsonville, Woodburn and Port-land, but the city of Gresham has been proactive in working with the real estate market. They have great relationships with the key employers in the area and bringing them to the table. And they’ve streamlined their approval process to 66 days. This is just a good place to do business.”

Speculative construction demonstrates high demand for space in Gresham, East County

BY ANNE ENDICOTT

BUSINESS IS BOOMING FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: TROY WAYRYNEN

Stalick, left, and Talbot, right, represent developers for two speculative projects that will bring another 415,000 square feet of industrial space to the area.

Page 13: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 13

Better Business Bureau teams up with Blazers

Just in time for the 2014-2015 sea-son, the Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington recently announced its sponsorship of the Portland Trail Blazers for the next three seasons. The partnership will connect BBB with 950,000 fans across the North-west.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” BBB CEO Tyler Andrew said. “The Trail Blazers are leaders in the region and have some of the best fans in the en-tire country. We are proud to spon-sor this team as it further demon-strates BBB’s commitment to sup-porting the local community.”

Earlier this month the Trail Blaz-ers teamed up with BBB to host Se-cure Your ID Day where the identi-ties of hundreds of Oregonians were protected thanks to the free docu-ment shredding event. Trail Blazers Director of Alumni Relations Jerome Kersey and mascot Blaze both at-tended, helping to add to the success of Secure Your ID Day.

Scott Edwards Architecture adds business manager

The design fi rm of Scott Edwards Architecture had added Ann Trudeau, Business Manager to the staff.

Trudeau, Busi-ness Manager, brings to SEA more than 15 years of business experi-ence with a focus on small fi rm man-agement. Most re-cently, she spent seven years as the Business Manag-er for an architectural fi rm in Mil-waukee, Wisconsin.

The Partners Group receiv es # 1 Healthiest Employer Award

The Partners Group, a leading Northwest based employee benefi ts, insurance, and fi nancial consulting fi rm, has been named the number one “Healthiest Employer” in the 100-499 employee category. This marks the fourth consecutive year the company has received this award from The Portland Business Journal in partnership with Healthiest Em-ployers LLC.

The Healthiest Employers of Ore-gon award was created to recognize organizations that are committed to creating a healthy workplace. Orga-nizations that were vetted out place a high value on the health of their workers and have implemented inno-

vative wellness programs to benefi t their employees. The assessment is comprised of 75 scored questions. For more information on how the awards are determined, visit: health-iestemployers.com

The Partners Group wellness pro-gram revolves around providing full health care coverage to employees who complete a customized wellness program. Completion requires em-ployees earn a total of six points per year by participating in a variety of wellness activities including volun-teering or coaching, participating in walking programs during 15 minute work breaks, giving blood, attending wellness lunch and learn sessions, and even a “Holiday Hold ‘em” chal-lenge designed to help employees avoid weight gain during November and December.

Portland Cider Company introduces Cider Wagon

The Portland Cider Company re-cently introduced its Cider Wagon to Portland-area residents. The colorful trailer, reminiscent of a retro VW van, serves as a mobile taproom from which the company offers pours of its variety of ciders.

The Cider Wagon is pulled behind a car, like a trailer. When parked, the roof is raised to expose a bar com-plete with four kegs and correspond-ing taps.

“Our cider, like the city of Portland itself, is uniquely special,” said Jeff Parrish, the Portland Cider Compa-ny’s owner and chief ciderist. “The Cider Wagon is the perfect, fun com-plement to our line-up of cider vari-eties. We fi nd it is a great way to in-troduce people to our products at lo-cal events and festivals.”

Reaction to the bright red and white Cider Wagon has been over-whelmingly positive.

“It’s a real head-turner,” Parrish said. “When we drive it on the road, we get a lot of people honking and taking photos. When we’re parked at an event, a lot of people stop by out of curiosity, then stick around once they try the cider.”

Brewery Finance announces strategic partnership with craftingastrategy.com

Brewery Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Capital Part-ners, is a leading equipment leasing fi rm in the craft brewery and distill-ery industries.

Craftingastrategy.com (CAS) is an online, digital learning community created by Dr. Sam Holloway, a craft beer industry business researcher and strategy expert. The partnership combines the fi nancial expertise and access to capital from Brewery Fi-nance with CAS’s business strategy

CONTINUED / Page 1 4

YOURBUSINESSEmail your business briefs to:[email protected]

STAFF PHOTO: VERN UY ETAKE

Amy Blondheim, owner of Rubia Hair Salon, and Brittany Waite hav e opened Dick & Jane Wax and Tweezing Salon to early acclaim on Willamette Driv e. Pictured are business partners Amy Blondheim, left, and Lilly Crowder.

By CLIFF NEWELLPamplin Media Group

Amy Blondheim has had a lovely time running her Rubia Hair Salon for nearly six years in Willamette Falls.

But when she met Brittany Waite, she knew it was time to expand her operation.

That is why Blondheim has started Dick & Jane Wax & Tweezing Studio, which has the motto “Less is More.”

The “less” refers to excess hair, and its removal from any part of the body will certainly help the looks of any woman, or any man, too.

“We wanted to expand our philosophy at Rubia,” said Blondheim, who is co-owner with Lily Crowder. “There was room for improvement.”

Eyebrows are always the number one target for excess hair removal. But a card menu offered by Dick & Jane lists just about every place else on your face or body.

Making all of this possible is Waite, who is quite young but has a lot of experience. In her job interview, Blondheim says she instantly knew Waite was the person she needed.

“Brittany was the key to the whole thing,” Blondheim said.

Waite has been waxing for the past seven years, in Los Angeles, Denver and the Bay Area, and she has had many high profi le clients. However, it was love, specifi cally her fi -ancé, that brought her to Ore-gon.

“The key is being consistent every time a customer comes in and giving them a quality experience,” Waite said. “We want to give the customer an affordable, good price for the experience they get.”

Dick & Jane has been open for only a few weeks, but it is already creating lots of cus-tomer satisfaction.

“We want people to say it was the best waxing experi-ence they’ve ever had,” Blond-heim said. “So far that is what they’re saying.”

Waite said that the salon will soon be hosting waxing parties, which will put it at the forefront of waxing studio fun.

New service now available at Rubia Hair Salon

Dick & Jane makes tweezing and waxing a pleasure

DetailsDick & Jane Wax & Tweezing Studio is located inside Rubia Hair Salon at 1684 Willamette Drive in West Linn. For more information, call 503 344-6189, go to the salon’s site on Facebook or go to dickandjanewax.com.

TRUDEAU

COURTESY : THE PARTNERS GROUP

Partners Group employees participated in the spring walkathon, which was j ust one of the reasons The Partners Group was recently named the number one “ Healthiest Employer” by the Portland Business Journal.

COURTESY : PORTLAND CIDER COMPANY

The Portland Cider Company’s Cider Wagon makes an impression wherev er it goes in the Portland area.

Page 14: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

1 4 BUSINESS TRIBUNE Tuesday, November 4, 2014

YOURBUSINESSEmail your business briefs to:[email protected]

content and global network of busi-ness strategy experts.

“Brewery Finance is committed to providing our clients and this indus-try access to the most accurate, up to date business ideas,” says Brew-ery Finance Founder, Rick Wehner. “We continuously search for innova-tions and industry specifi c knowl-edge to support our clients and to ensure their fi nancial futures. Brew-ery Finance’s relationship with craftingastrategy.com is an exciting next step in this direction.”

Current CAS members represent nearly every stakeholder group of the craft brewing and distilling in-dustries. CAS members have a glob-al footprint and have operations on three continents, shipping craft beer and spirits to over ten countries.

Founded in 2005 by Rick Wehner, Brewery Finance offers startups and established industry leaders access to fi nance programs specifi c to these fast growing industries. Committed to understanding the unique needs of small breweries and distilleries, Brewery Finance has seen their cus-tomers continuously return to their service as they grow, due to the val-ue they provide above and beyond the fi nancial terms of the relation-ship. Their clients range from new startups to established industry leaders.

Z ama Massage therapeutic spa brings salt cav e therapy to Portland customers

Zama Massage announced the opening of Portland’s only Salt Cave Therapy Rooms. Beginning Oct. 15, Zama will add these innovative ‘halotherapy’ rooms to their list of existing spa services.

The use of salt therapy dates back to ancient Egypt and is currently used all over Europe and Canada. Salt has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, an-ti-fungal and anti-infl ammatory properties that provide healing ben-efi ts to the whole body — specifi cal-ly the immune and respiratory sys-tems. Salt therapy can help you breathe easier and live better — from the inside out. Halotherapy is benefi cial to those that suffer from asthma, allergies, bronchitis, as well as skin conditions like psoriasis, ec-zema, and acne. It is also recom-mended for healthy people as it boosts the immune system to help combat the high amounts of pollut-ants, dust, and bacteria we all breathe everyday.

In addition to housing the only salt caves in Portland, Zama offers a

variety of other services. Our sea-soned practitioners provide Acu-puncture, Ashiatsu, Thai Massage, Swedish, Deep Tissue, Trigger Point, Myofascial Release, Pregnan-cy Massage, Cranial Sacral, Reiki, Organic Skin Care, Body Waxing and Natural Foot, Hand & Nail Treatments and Far Infrared Heat Therapies.

Zama Massage is located at 2149 NE Broadway in Portland, Oregon.

Hillsboro Banner Bank adds new manager

Banner Bank has hired Narinder Kumar to lead the team at its Hills-boro-Tanasbourne location at 2072 NW Stucki Ave. As branch manag-er, Kumar will head a skilled team of

banking profession-als to assist Banner clients achieve suc-cess in their per-sonal and business fi nancial goals.

Previously Ku-mar was a business relationship man-ager at Key Bank. With 10 years of fi -nancial services experience to draw upon, Kumar will provide Banner Bank clients responsive, knowledge-able service, connecting clients with the right banking solutions.

Gallagher receiv es Chartered Financial Analyst designation

Morgan Stanley announced that Michael Gallagher, a Portfoloio Man-agement Associate with the Pacifi c Wealth Group, in the fi rm’s Wealth Management offi ce in Portland, has earned the Chartered Financial An-alyst (CFA) designation. Gallagher has worked at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management since 2005.

The CFA charter is a globally-rec-ognized credential for investment analysis competence and integrity and portfolio management. Recipi-ents have successfully completed a graduate-level, self-study curricu-lum and passed examinations cover-ing ethical and professional stan-dards, securities analysis and valua-tion, fi nancial reporting and analy-sis, quantitative methods, econom-ics, corporate fi nance, portfolio man-agement, and wealth planning.

CFA Institute is the global, not-for-profi t association of investment professionals that awards the CFA designation. The CFA Institute pro-motes setting high, ethics-based pro-fessional standards of excellence for the fi nancial services industry.

Chamber tabs new director The Canby Area Chamber of

Commerce has a new executive di-rector — Mallory Gwynn.

Gwynn and his family are no strangers to Canby. Living in the south tip of Clackamas County for more than 25 years, all fi ve of his daugh-ters have, or cur-rently attend, Can-by schools.

“We go to church in Canby and do the vast majority of our shopping in Canby,” Gwynn said. “My business partner, Dan Kinney, and I have developed and grown our own small business here as well.”

Gwynn said he is passionate about the Canby community and has a deep interest in seeing the lo-cal economy grow and prosper.

Gwynn can often be seen on the local access channel (CTV Channel 5) doing interviews, volunteering his time with various organizations and promoting the livability of Canby.

“We are thankful for the diligence of the board of directors that have worked tirelessly during these past few months to fi nd the right person for this position,” says Ryan Oliver, current board president. “Since Mal-lory is a local guy, we are excited that he already has relationships formed here in Canby. We would al-so like to thank Audrey Traaen, of-fi ce coordinator, for the extra load she has carried during the past sev-eral weeks.”

Oregon Technology Business Center mov es to Biggi Plaza near The Round

Last week, the City of Beaverton’s long-time partner, Oregon Technolo-gy Business Center (OTBC), relocat-ed to the Biggi Plaza (3800 SW Cedar Hills Boulevard Suite 260) near The Round in Beaverton.

“The City of Beaverton has a long history with OTBC and helped es-tablish them back in 2004,” said Mayor Denny Doyle. “Having OTBC near city services at The Round will foster even more collaboration with this important non-profi t.”

OTBC’s mission is to support tech startups by offering a variety of ser-vices, including business plans, spe-cialized coaching from business technology experts, networking events, and entrepreneurship pro-grams.

“OTCB is making a difference in helping local startups grow,” said Mayor Doyle. “We support their ef-forts. Our economic development team works closely with them to create jobs right here in Beaverton.”

Biggi Plaza will provide OTBC with more space for private offi ces and cubicles. Startups can rent space, receive specialized coaching and mentoring starting at $195 per month.

“We’re happy to see that these two innovative companies chose to stay in Beaverton and grow their businesses here,” said Jim Mc-Creight, Oregon Technology Busi-ness Center’s director of strategic partnerships. “Keeping Beaverton economically sound is very impor-tant to us. Our goal is to give start-up businesses the resources and space they need to succeed, and have them transition to larger spac-es in Beaverton.”

■ From page 13

By JOSEPH GALLIVANPamplin Media Group

Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette opened its new Outlet Store and Dis-tribution Center last Thurs-day near Portland Interna-tional Airport.

The outlet stores are nick-named “The Bins” for the nine-foot-long tables covered in clothes, toys and appliances that are rolled out for shoppers to rummage through.

According to GICW spokes-person Dale Emanuel, 60 to 80 percent of shoppers at the Bins are resellers. That is, they look for exceptional items, from books to vacuum cleaner parts, and resell them, usually online, at sites such as eBay or Craig-slist.

The new Airport Way Outlet is located at 5950 NE 122nd Ave-nue on a nearly 15-acre site. The building is more than 147,000 square feet and marks the nonprofi t’s 50th opening since 1927.

Cathy Hannam, Director of Operations and Marketing Ser-vices, says the facility serves many purposes.

“The new wholesale outlet will bring in yet unsold dona-

tions and as-is items from local stores and process recycling and salvage goods with greater effi ciency.”

Most wares arrive at the Bins after being unsold at regular Goodwill stores for four weeks. Anything unsold at the Bins is removed for recycling.

Unsold donations are re-dis-tributed to other local and na-tional recyclers as end products (shoes, clothes, and toys) or re-fi ned through additional pro-cessing into bulk grade com-modities such as plastic, steel, wood or wire. All but 10 percent of donations are expected to be kept in the recycle stream in 2014. More than 190 million pounds of donations are antici-pated by year’s end.

Product is priced by the pound:

■ $1.59/lb. for up to 10 lbs.■ $1.39/lb. for up to 25 lbs. ■ $0.89/lb. for over 25 lbs. ■ $0.39/lb. for Glassware Heavier items like furniture

are individually priced. Goodwill is still hiring. The

new site will employ 60 people, and will house its 31st Job Con-nection offi ce, as well as provid-ing classroom space for those learning English as a second language.

Old junk in new Bins

COURTESY : DALE EMANUEL

A line forms before 7 a.m. at Goodwill’s new Airport Way Outlet.

KUMAR

GWY NN

Page 15: Portland Tribune - Business 110414

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 BUSINESS TRIBUNE 15

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