Welcome to the Business Voice - the newsletter for Portland's Business District Associations. To unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page.

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VISIONPDX
Schedule a focus group for your business - contact Amanda Rhoads at 503-823-503-5856 or amandar@ci.portland.or.us. It takes about an hour and there is no cost.

Respond online at VISIONPDX. At question 15, Where did you hear about this, select Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations.
Jean Baker and David Ashton

The City needs to hear from small business.

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Creating your Experts Network
Since electing expert members to your board is somewhere between difficult and impossible for most small business district associations, consider alternate arrangements. Many experts are willing to provide occasional help if you ask.

• Lawyer - Almost every district has a one, unwilling or unable to commit the time to attend your meetings, but often willing to provide assistance, explanations, and occasionally advice. Just ask how you can work together.
  
  
• Banker - or Certified Public Accountant or both. Another busy group of people who may be able to answer specific questions if they know you and your organization.
  
  
• Commercial Real Estate Agent - These people have access to all kinds of information that your district needs in order to make plans for its future.
  
  
• Developer - They very greatly in their vision, but all have a wealth of information about what can and cannot be done on a lot and the costs and profits.
  
  
• Suzanne Vara - She is the Small Business Liaison for Development Services and one of the best ideas the City ever had. Introduce yourself, get a number of her cards, and pass them out every time one of your businesses complains about being tangled in red tape.
  
  
• Jennifer Nolfi - Jennifer is the Small Business Liaison for Portland Development Commission. She is best known by businesses in Urban Renewal Districts, but if you need resources to help you start, move, expand or renovate your business, contact Jennifer.
  
  
• City Liaisons - Many city bureaus have liaisons to the business districts. Find yours and invite them to meetings. The police liaison is your Neighborhood Response Team (NRT) officer.

By expanding your network, you expand your expertise, your resources, and your ability to enhance your business district at the cost of some legwork and face time.

Disaster Planning
As the saying goes, “chance favors the prepared mind,” or in this case, the prepared business. Advance planning can help businesses secure property, commerce, and enable them to release or evacuate employees sooner in an emergency. If there were a big earthquake, a fire, a flu pandemic, what would you do? Here are some suggestions.

• Develop a Plan - Develop an emergency plan and procedures to address the hazards that could impact your business. Review your existing plans and procedures to determine that they work together. Identify your most critical business processes and protect them. Determine the financial and operational impact if you must shut down for a day, a week, or an entire epidemic. Make emergency plans with your suppliers. Decide where you go if you have to relocate. Are you adequately insured. Create a Business Go Box and decide what goes in it, such as:
  • Insurance information
  • Bank information: check books, account numbers, etc.
  • Client, employee, and vendor contact lists
  • Computer back-ups
  • Customer files, charts, etc.
  
  
  
• Secure Property and Assets - Take steps to protect your building, equipment and other assets. Establish a procedure for creating computer back-ups of vital records. If your business is in a multi-tenant building, coordinate with your building owner/manager.



• Establish Communication - Provide procedures for your employees to report their whereabouts and status. Establish procedures to communicate with customers/clients following the emergency. Collect emergency contact information for local, state, and federal agencies. Know where local shelters are located. Keep your plans posted and periodically retrain your employees.

Emergencies never occur to schedule and the best approach to their unexpected arrival is a well crafted plan and a trained and knowledgeable staff.

Coming Events
August 5: Stark street stroll, SE Stark St 76th - 82nd, Alema McCray, 503-318-5741.

August 5: Fremont Fest, NE Fremont 42nd-60th, Sandra Lefrançois, 503-705-9069.

August 6: Old Town First Sunday walk culminates with a Hiroshima Day memorial event at Japanese American Historical Plaza, 6:00pm.

August 6-7: Sellwood Sidewalk Sale, SE 17th Avenue, Gary Nelson, 503-232-6757.

August 19: Multnomah Days - Multnomah Village, Luna Jaffe, 503-245-7877.

August 20: Lents Founder's Day/Parade - Lents Park, Ken Turner, 503-771-3817.

August 20: Multnomah Stroll - Multnomah Village Don Snedecor, 503-244-6933.

August 26: Hawthorne Sidewalk Sale and Upper Hawthorne Block Party - Hawthorne Blvd., Mary Sellin, 503-292-6010.

September 1-3: Art in the Pearl Sidewalk Sale - Park Blocks, Burnside to Everett, Candace McDonell, 503-223-0070.

Tell us about your event - Contact the Editor.

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