Business Bits

MARKET TO MARKET

The City of Beaverton is accepting applications from culturally diverse food, craft and merchandise vendors interested in participating in the city’s annual Night Market event.
Since its start eight years ago, the Beaverton Night Market has become a local favorite, offering a family friendly place to celebrate cultural diversity through ethnic foods, crafts and activities. Markets for this year are scheduled to be held July 23 and August 13.
The Night Market has earned a reputation for supporting established vendors and aspiring entrepreneurs alike. Businesses from the Beaverton area, those with unique cultural offerings, and those with missions that align with the Night Market will be given preference.
Applications must be submitted by May 13. Selected vendors will be notified by June 1. English and Spanish versions of the application are available online at www.beavertonoregon.gov/nightmarket. For entrepreneurs with a primary language other than English, the city will provide support to navigate the process.

STORMWATER PROFESSIONALS TO GATHER IN SALEM

The Northwest Environmental Business Council is slated to present Managing Stormwater in Oregon, June 16 at the Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial St. SE, in Salem.
The one-day event, billed as the largest and most comprehensive stormwater conference in the state, will offer the latest information and best practices for professionals and regulators in the stormwater industry as well as access to exhibitors providing connections to the region’s best industry consultants and technology providers.
Keynote speakers scheduled include Justin Green, water quality division administrator for Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute and professor at Oregon State University College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science.
More information and registration is available online at www.oregonstormwater.com.

GROUPS PLAN OREGON BUSINESS FLY-IN

The Portland Business Alliance, Oregon Business Industry and the Oregon Business Council are preparing for the return of the Oregon business community fly-in trip to Washington, D.C. The trip is scheduled to take place May 9-11.
The trip, which was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, will provide small business owners in the state with opportunities to talk with members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation and Biden Administration representatives about conditions and situations impacting small business and the economies of Oregon and Southwest Washington.
The agenda also will include a reception with policy makers, staffers and key partners; a guest-speaker luncheon; and meetings with national policy experts.
More information, including costs to participate, is available online at https://bit.ly/3M4nX4O.

OAME TRADE SHOW RETURNS AS IN-PERSON EVENT

The Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs Trade Show and Luncheon returns on May 12 as an in-person event at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Portland.
This is the 34th year for the trade show and luncheon, which was held as a virtual event during the pandemic. This year’s theme pays tribute to “Moments in History.”
To learn more about the event, including sponsorship opportunities, visit the trade show page at www.oame.org/tradeshow.

SUMMIT FOCUSES ON DIVERSITY PRACTITIONERS

Business Diversity Institute plans to host a Diversity Practitioners Summit on May 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Port of Portland, 7200 N.E. Airport Way, in Portland.
The summit will focus on three topic areas:
• Managing goals for on-call contracts: On-call contracts can be a struggle to ensure work promised to small businesses actually gets into their hands. This session will look to creative and proven strategies to ensure small businesses are not left behind when on-call contracts are utilized.
• Navigating outreach in rural and remote communities: Minority- and women-owned small businesses exist all over the state. How can you ensure everyone is included in opportunities, and how do you reach them? The session will cover best practices, and strategies that work.
• How to gain inclusion in a race-neutral environment: Many public agencies in the Pacific Northwest operate race-neutral (aspirational goal) programs. Public policies and federal requirements can often make navigating the rules difficult for program administrators to gain meaningful small business inclusion, meet contract goals and ensure public dollars are landing in disadvantaged communities. This class will provide best practices and approaches to race-neutral contracting programs and a greater understanding of race-neutral vs. race-conscious program and their impacts.
Presenters will include Daphne Patrick, small business compliance specialist with the Portland of Portland; Mel Jones, director of inclusion at Hoffman Construction; and Nina Jones, business diversity and inclusion manager at Washington State Department of Transportation.
The cost to attend the summit is $30 per person, which includes morning refreshments and lunch. Attendees will be eligible to receive three CEU credits. More information and registration is available online at https://bit.ly/3KIfF1X.

OUTSTANDING FAMILY BUSINESS TO BE HONORED

The Center for Family Enterprise at Oregon State University’s College of Business will honor the state’s outstanding family owned businesses during the 2022 Excellence in Family Business Awards program on May 6.
Every year since 1988, the Center for Family Enterprise has recognized family businesses that exemplify harmony, generational development, leadership and growth.
This year, the honorees are:
• Dean’s Leadership Award in Family Business and Keynote Speaker: The Papé Group, Inc.
• Family Harmony Award: Alyrica Networks
• Business Renewal Award: Oregon Fruit Products and the Maletis Family
• Generational Development Award: Andersen Construction
The awards luncheon is scheduled to be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Portland Downtown, 921 S.W. Sixth Ave. in Portland. Tickets are $50 per person.
More information and registration are available online at https://bit.ly/3EfQlxV.

A GRANT TO GROW ON

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) Growth Grants program offers grants of up to $4,000. Grants can be used for business needs such as marketing, advertising, hiring employees and expanding facilities.
A grant recipient is selected to receive a grant award each month. In order to qualify, applicants must be NASE members for at least three months. Since 2006, NASE has awarded approximately $500,000 in total funding to members. More information is available at www.nase.org.

SAY ‘HELLO’ TO HELLO ALICE

A free resource for business owners called Hello Alice is celebrating 2022 as the Year of Small Business in big way—by providing 50 grants of $5,000 to qualifying businesses.
The grants being offered through Hello Alice’s Small Business Growth Fund, which provides capital to entrepreneurs ready to take their ventures to the next level.
In order to qualify, applicants must:
• Be a for-profit business;
• Have had less than $1 million in gross annual revenue in 2021;
• Have a strong commitment to their customers and community; and
• Have a clear plan for the use of a grant award.
There’s no fee to apply, though you are offered the opportunity to join the Hello Alice Community.
The application deadline is May 20. For more information or to access the online application, visit www.helloalice.com.