By Oregon Small Business Association American teenagers are leaving the auto market and instead spending more on fashion, food, wine and beauty products. Less on cars Research shows that the number of teens owning a used car has dropped from seven million to four million in only five years. Fewer teens today get their driver’s […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Millionaires buy beach homes; billionaires buy islands. But in recessions, billionaires end up selling those islands. Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, is selling 292-acre Allan Island, just off the coast from Anacortes, Wash., for only $13.5 million. The island has been on the market for two years, and there is no […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Best Buy has recently announced it will be closing 50 big box stores across the nation while at the same time opening 100 smaller mobile device stores. None of the larger Best Buy store closures will impact Oregon.  Sears Holding Corporation, parent company of Sears and Kmart, will be closing […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Oregon is an unfriendly state when it comes to business, according to 650 CEO’s surveyed by ChiefExecutive.net. The survey ranked Oregon No. 42, down 15 spots since 2008, the biggest drop in the survey of all U.S. states. Respondents indicated Oregon has wasted its competitive advantage with its beauty, natural […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Portland’s HemCon Medical Technologies Inc., makes bandages for wounded warriors. With only 65 employees, HemCon had revenues of $73 million four years ago. But for more than six years, it has been the target of a patent-infringement lawsuit by Marine Polymer Technologies Inc., a bandage-maker from Massachusetts. The lawsuit has […]

Join the Oregon Small Business Association as we Fight to Save the Klamath River Dams and the Jobs they Support The Oregon Small Business Association strongly opposes the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) because it calls for the removal of the Klamath Basin Dams. These dams are vital to the economy of the Klamath Basin. […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Recent developments regarding the funding, design, and purpose of the Columbia River Crossing’s (CRC) plans for a new bridge linking Portland and Vancouver have renewed concerns of opponents who believe the project is ill conceived, too costly, or who question the integrity of the whole process. Recently, the U.S. Coast […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Small, locally-owned businesses across the country are getting a boost from a new phenomenon called cash mobs which have found their way to Oregon. The economic counterpart to flash mobs, cash mobs are mass runs on a local business for the purpose of buying products and generating income. Started in […]

Online continuing education courses revamps how contractors renew licenses By Oregon Small Business Association Oregon licensed building contractors are finding they have to take an extra step to renew their state Construction Contractors Board (CCB) licenses this year. Effective October 1, 2011, the CCB began requiring contractors to complete continuing education credit hours. Most residential […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Could Seattle get another NBA team? That’s a definite maybe. Though the city has lacked a pro basketball team since the SuperSonics went to Oklahoma City in 2009, three recent developments indicate that the situation may change soon. First of all, Paul Allen, owner of the Portland Trail Blazers, said […]