You've likely invested time and money to generate an identity for your brand and to trademark it, but the reality is, no one is going to protect it for you. You are required to police the use of...

Hang on to your mobile phones, Portland retailers, because thieves may be casing your shop with an eye on your iPhone. Several shop owners have reported that either their iPhones or employees'...

Greenest city, best coffee, hottest indie music scene. In the eyes of others (read: national media outlets), Portland is constantly competing for top listicle honors. In 2012, Travel + Leisure...

These days, it’s not enough to simply publish posts on your blog; you have to share your posts and actively promote them on social media if you’d like more eyeballs on them than your own. But,...

April was an unusual month for Portland's business scene. As always, there are plenty of new bars and restaurants, but last month's new business owners are unique because many of them had grand...

It seems like actually receiving a trademark can be an extracted process, but is there a “normal” time period that you can expect?

Why would a business register a trademark internationally as well as nationally?

Record collectors rejoice! Your national (and fast-becoming international) holiday is upon us again: It’s Record Store Day—the day when thousands of independent music retailers across the U.S....

You’ve officially decided to follow your dream. Whether you’re ready to reveal the product you’ve been meticulously developing in your workshop or studio to the world, or you’re ambitiously...

Today's finally the day: Tax Day.  And, you're either weeping because you just saw the amount you owe, or you have refund dough burning a hole in your wallet. Whichever camp you fall into, we're...

Your retail windows are some of the most important real estate at your disposal. So, how are you making them work for you?

Q. In order to keep costs low, we had a designer set up our page but I am now the one updating and maintaining it. Can you give us an idea of the best way to phase in SEO to get the most bang for...

If March was a good month for new business owners—they opened 16 spots, 10 of them restaurants and cafés—it was an even better one for consumers. St. Johns got a bike shop, northwest got a couple...

Q. With the WordPress all-in-one SEO pack, there's a spot on every page for the title, description and keywords. It seems like putting in a gajillion keywords might help the page get viewed by...

Own Your Ass[ets] is a five-part workshop series that teaches small business owners how to take control of the assets that will make your business relevant on the Internet and optimize your web...

Three months after opening their NW Portland kitchen and lounge, Sepal Meacham and Josh Johnson received a certified letter from Austin, Texas. It contained a strongly worded cease and desist...

Q. I am a studio potter, trying to move towards industrial design as I take a hard look at time and finances. I launched a locally made mug at New Seasons Market for the recent holiday season and...

Q. I currently use Google’s image search a lot more than in the past. What information should I include to ensure the images in my post get ranked?

Change is in the air and the signs are becoming noticeable around town—the days are longer, green grass is sprouting, colorful flowers are beginning to poke through damp dirt, and a few blue skies...

Change is in the air and the signs are becoming noticeable around town—the days are longer, green grass is sprouting, colorful flowers are beginning to poke through damp dirt, and a few blue skies...

February is for baking—at least February 2013 was—as a handful of spots sprung up where you can get fresh-baked bagels, cookies and beignet-style donuts. February also brought with it a downtown...

Q. Blogging is suggested as a “one-size-fits-all” solution for getting good SEO results and for building one's all-important ranking, etc., however, there are MANY blogs out there that simply...

In all likelihood, financial and accounting services are usually best left to the professionals—those that do it for a living. And since finding reliable help in the accounting and financial...

The Big One is coming. The Pacific Northwest is overdue for a cataclysmic earthquake, one that will measure at the upper end of the Richter scale. This is something that most experts can agree on....

Are you looking for lovely, local ways to say "I love you" on Valentine's Day? Supporting locally owned businesses is like giving Portland's economy a hug. So, keep your dollars local and...

As you might've expected, entrepreneurial Portlanders chose not to take a post-holiday breather in January. Because of their gumption, we now have a few new bars to belly up to, as well as new...

It’s a new year, although if you’re like me, you are still writing 2012 on everything. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Many resolutions include the word less: less weight, less clutter,...

The popularity of nachos has never been in doubt, but who do we have to thank for this snackable combo of chips and cheese? The Mexicans? The Texans? Mexican Texans? That's not an easy question to...

Feedback is so crucial to your small biz success—I call it “oxygen for business.” Without it, how do you know that you’re offering the right things, at the right price, to solve your customer’s...

When you started your business, you were likely excited by the fact that you could finally do what you love for a living. Then you found out that being the founder/CEO/big cheese included a lot...