The Lake Oswego Chamber has partnered with West Linn under the Business Recovery Center umbrella to accomplish a variety of important tasks for businesses in our area. These include such items as Covid recovery, business promotion and business education. The most recent example is the “Wander Willamette” promotional video now available. Running about 90 seconds, the video shows off some of the great attractions in our area.

This video is available for your use to forward to anyone you know who may be considering visiting our area for a vacation or business purposes.…

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Each quarter, the Oregon Employment Department performs a statewide survey of business to determine how many employers are currently hiring and specific information about each job opening, such as the job title and educational or experience requirements. They also ask whether the employer is having a difficult time filling positions, in order to report on that aspect of the hiring picture and to determine whether there are ways to make jobs easier to fill. The Department recently released its report summarizing the final quarter of 2022.…

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Chamber partner and friend the Lake Oswego Sustainability Network recently posted updated information on how businesses who are interested in purchasing new fully electric or hybrid vehicles or installing charging infrastructure can qualify for significant tax credits. Progress is being made, or being planned, for charging infrastructure in Lake Oswego and throughout Oregon. If you’d like to consider adding such a facility to your business property, there are also tax credits available! Here are some details:

Why buy an electric vehicle (EV) for your business?…

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If you’ve been wondering how you can diversify your workforce, or if you are a person of color or a member of an underserved, under-recognized community looking for a challenging position, Friday, May 26 is your day! Consider joining in the “Virtual Career Fair” to be held from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. There is no cost for this event!

This Career Fair will feature top employers who are actively recruiting. Current and past participants include Albertsons,…

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In last week’s Portland Business Journal, The Playbook’s Senior Reporter Andy Medici detailed some updates for Small Business Administration loan programs which are coming on line. For example, under the Agency’s 7(a) and 504 programs, the SBA will now begin determining whether a business is eligible rather than burdening banks with that responsibility. This change will take place on August 1, 2023.

The SBA is also launching some new fraud prevention measures using data analytics, third-party data checks and A.I.…

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Submitted by Erik Olson CEO of Fort West – Unlock Truth. Unleash Potential.

From OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Google’s Bard, the cultural conversation surrounding the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) is exploding. It seems like everyone has a point-of-view on how AI is the manifestation of Skynet from The Terminator movie, something out of an episode of Black Mirror, or the catalyst for plugging into The Matrix. With reactions ranging from curiosity to fear, everyone is wondering how the “AI revolution” will impact their lives.As AI continues to evolve and get better,…

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In a recent article for The Playbook published in the Portland Business Journal, reporter Andy Medici provides some advice for small businesses who might be concerned about the current state of banking. Although institutions such as Silicon Valley Bank being taken over recently has been in the news and certainly a cause for some concern, business owners can take advantage of this moment to strengthen both their understanding and closeness of their banking relationship.

The Federal government provides a level of security by insuring deposits up to a certain amount.…

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Most businesses carry many different kinds of insurance – fire, flood, general liability, perhaps vehicle if they have trucks or cars in the field. However, as Chamber Member Oak Tree Insurance reminds us, your business may still be vulnerable to “Employment Practices” lawsuits. This area is often a “gap” in your business insurance coverage.

No business should be discriminating against employees, customers, clients, vendors or suppliers but the day may come when a member of one of these important groups files a claim or lawsuit against your business.…

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Our economy has undergone many changes as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Business owners and managers need to understand these changes as they react to new challenges in attracting and retaining employees. To help us track and understand these changes Oregon’s Employment Department has begun releasing figures defining the employment picture just prior to Covid, giving us a baseline to better evaluate how the workplace has changed and consider if policy changes might be entertained.…

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Andy Medici of The Playbook reported in the Portland Business Journal this week that the Covid pandemic has led to a significant depletion of available funds for unemployment. As a result, unemployment tax rates among the States have already been increased from 1.72% in 2020 to 2.3% in 2022. For some historical perspective, UI rates rose to about 3.5% in 2013, following the “Great Recession.”

Oregon’s unemployment system came under tremendous pressure during the sudden onset of claims due to Covid-19.…

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