Alternative lending in an uncertain economy
Posted on 31. Jan, 2009 by admin in Opinions
On March 11, the Bellingham Whatcom Economic Development Council will partner with the Port of Bellingham to host the Second Annual Alternative Financing Seminar. The BWEDC and several other presenters will offer detailed explanations of lending programs designed to grow local businesses, create new jobs and expand economic opportunity throughout Whatcom County.
Small-to mid-size companies can [...]
Another year, another BOL
Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by admin in Opinions
It’s that time of year again when we put to bed our big project for the year: the Book of Lists.
The Book of Lists is an annual supplement to the BBJ, and it takes months of preparation. We start in the summer by calling each and every business that was on last year’s lists, and [...]
Governor made the right decision
Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by admin in Opinions
Gov. Chris Gregoire had a tough call to make.
With a budget shortfall of more than $5 billion and counting, it has to be tempting to tap into a tax base of businesses that can only whimper as the ax falls. But staying true to her word to not raise taxes, Gregoire instead took the ax [...]
Exploring the wonderful world of Wikis
Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by admin in Opinions
In my last posting, I talked about social media. Several months have passed now, and I can say with a bit more experience under my belt that I still don’t have the time, energy or interest to blog or read others’ blogs.
But wikis are wonderful — within limits.
What’s a wiki, you ask? According to Wikipedia, [...]
Tourism industry a key player in economic recovery
Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by admin in Opinions
I’ll admit — my crystal ball is a little foggy. Otherwise I might have purchased a few shares of stock in a little known start up tech firm or coffee company a few decades ago. So while I am not purporting to predict the future, I am willing to share a few facts and figures [...]
Integrating strategies, tactics into your small business
Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by admin in Opinions
Did you know that according to a recent study, most small businesses do not use strategic planning when marketing their businesses? Or that, according to a study by Ron Robinson, that businesses using strategic planning and management benefit from better decision making, objective assessments, and, ultimately, more progress?
In general, business owners want their success [...]
Let’s go shopping
Posted on 30. Nov, 2008 by admin in Opinions
For the past few months, I have been talking in this column about the rocky economy. After all, along with the presidential election, it’s all the media seems to be interested in.
But now that the election has passed and it’s been a couple of months since the economy started its downward spiral, I’m ready to [...]
Port and city like a bad marriage
Posted on 30. Nov, 2008 by admin in Opinions
The city and the port are in some serious need of relationship counseling.
What is most disturbing about the recent collapse of communications between the city and port is how quickly things came to a screeching halt in early November.
It all started looking like a bad marriage on a daytime soap opera, with enough stubbornness and [...]
Buy Local Week chance to support local businesses
Posted on 30. Nov, 2008 by admin in Opinions
Whatcom County’s 6th annual ‘Buy Local Week’ is December 1-7, and this year that message is more important than ever before.
The financial markets crisis affects us, particularly those nearing retirement and already retired. We face increasing commodity prices that influence the cost of daily necessities. The correction in the nationally over-heated housing and construction [...]
Riding the roller coaster
Posted on 31. Oct, 2008 by admin in Opinions
What a month this has been!
Let’s have a quick recap:
The stock market plunges.
In one month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost a couple thousand points and stocks have lost about $7 trillion in value (yes, that’s trillion with a “t”).
The U.S. dollar is up.
The [...]
