16 Reasons to Shop Local Instead of Online

There is nothing more convenient than whipping out your phone, typing in a URL (or opening an app), perusing offerings, and hitting a few buttons to buy somethingโ€ฆanythingโ€ฆeverything. We even get our groceries that way these days. But as convenient as online shopping seems, there are several reasons to shop local.

In person is the way to go this Small Business Season. If you can suspend disbelief for a few minutes, weโ€™ll explain why.

Our Favorite Reasons to Shop Local During Small Business Season

Yes, online shopping is convenient. You donโ€™t have to change out of your PJs and itโ€™s always open. But in the t-chart of holiday shopping options, there are a lot of reasons to shop local.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Youโ€™re supporting your neighbors.… Read the rest

Local Business Takes on the Supply Chain Crisis

The troubles with the supply chain are daunting. Weโ€™re seeing predictions that the holiday shopping season will be marred by empty shelves and disappointed children. While the problems are serious, there are some businesses that will triumph in the face of adversity, and this very well could be the best holiday season for them yet. If you are one of those fortunate businesses, itโ€™s time you market the benefits of shopping with you for the holidays.

The supply chain issues are affecting restaurants, stores, and other merchants who rely on pieces and parts from other vendors and manufacturers from across the country and the world. But local artisans or restaurants that rely on locally grown food may have a significant advantage this holiday season.… Read the rest

How to Make Your Video Calls and Meetings More Appealing

Are you tired of video calls yet? There was something new and fun about them when we were all locked down for COVID, but now theyโ€™ve lost a lot of their sparkle. 

For some of us who work from home, video calls can feel like an unnecessary intrusion where we need to worry about what we look like, what weโ€™re wearing, what our home office looks like, and having to run interference with kids and pets with the possibility of them entering the screen view at any moment. It adds more work and more stress to something that used to be functional communication tool.

But it doesnโ€™t have to be that way. You can bring back the novelty and enjoyment behind seeing a face and gauging a reaction.… Read the rest

SpringRidge at Charbonneau

A luxurious senior living community in Wilsonville, OR

SpringRidge is only a hop, a skip, and a jump from Portland, but seemingly a world away. Situated on ten acres of the natural beauty, greenery and serenity that is the residential neighborhood of Charbonneau, SpringRidge, with its manicured garden courtyards and rich architectural detailing, seems reminiscent of a French Country manorโ€”Portland style.

Learn More!
… Read the rest