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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1999)
• • Oct. 6, 1999 •. * . . • • • e • • * * ÜMWfflWbwa»*,, * ' • 6’* ■» * e*» • ''N ational ¿W ínorftu 'business 'W eek C 13 Œfye ^portlanò (©bseruer YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION WINNER photo by M. Washington Geneva's Shear Perfection Jo h n T r u jillo ’s p a s s io n fo r kayaking is the driving force b e hind his b u sin ess success. W hen John started the C ascade A dven ture C en ter in 1995, he had two w hitew ater kayaks and the d is tin c tio n o f b e in g o n e o f the n a tio n ’s p rem ier kayakers. John w on a silv e r m edal in the 1992 K ayak Slalom W orld C ham p io n ships. He also w rites review s for P addler M agazine and tests every boat that com es out in the m arket Jo h n ’s love o f the sport as w ell as current public interest in kayaking has m ade his busin ess one o f the fastest grow ing paddle sport com panies in the P acific N orthw est. In less than fo u r years, T rujillo has steered his en terp rise from a sm all, w hitew ater kayaking school to a fu ll-serv ice p addle sport es tablishm ent w hich o ffers a fully- equipped retail shop, raftin g trips on th e D e s c h u te s R iv e r an d w hitew ater/sea kayaking schools. His m illio n -dollar business re quires skill and know ledge o f the sport because the sport changes quickly. His sta ff also paddles professionally. John loves w hat he does because he is able to share his enthusiasm for paddling with other people. He teaches all young e n tre p re n eu rs that passio n for w hat you do in life leads to suc cess. M A K IN G P K O G R I SS “T h ere’s been three progres sions in my business. It started with ju st m yself and two kayaks for the school. From there, I brought on my younger brother to help teach the lessons. T hings got busy very quickly. The second progression was 1 Vi years after teaching people, the cli ents were ready to buy gear and equipment. And so, we started to sell the actual equipment and went NW into retail. The third progression was get ting on the Internet. We then put all the products online which opened up the geographical boundaries o f where we could reach customers. E-commerce is nothing new. It’s been around a long time. It is ju st a new medium in reaching customers for the same sale like mail-order cata logs. W e’ve been savvy with the search engines and designing a website that has a good navigation component. So far, we have put exactly zero dollars into marketing our website to date. The premiere o f our expanded website will be on January 3rd and can be reached at kayakusa.com . \S I ( O M M I \ I “ Surround yourself with advi sors, people who have been there. And, don’t miss deadlines and ap pointm ents.” N atural isn’t just your gas company, we’re also your neighbor. That helps us understand you and your needs a little better. It has for over 135 years. So whenever you need us, from a fussy furnace to a softball game, we’re always here at 220-2360. NW N a tu ra l www n w n a tu ra l com We g r e w up here. 425 NE Hassalo, Portland. OR 12201 NE Center St., Portland, OR THE DALLES • (541) 296-2655 1710 W. 6th Ave., The Dalles, OR HAZEL DELL • (360) 574-0471 7815 NE 6th Ave., Vancouver, WA ORCHARDS • (360) 254-3777 10412 NE 4th Plain Blvd., Orchards. WA JANTZEN BEACH • (503) 255-0735 BEAVERTON • (503) 646-7724 MILL PLAIN • (360) 696-4917 8787 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.. Beav , OR 4 00 E. Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, WA TOW N CENTER • (503) 653-9589 CLACKAMAS • (503) 650-8470 15815 SE 82nd Dr., Clackamas, OR 12001 SE 82nd A v e. Portland. OR GRESHAM * (503) 666-2262 DENNY’S GREEN TEAM RESTAURANTS photo by M. Washington N ike joins in w ith th e P o rtla n d O bserver in C elebrating th e many Valuable C o n trib u tio n s made by M in o rity businesses in our G reat S ta te MALL 205 • (503) 254-8460 10428 SE Stark, Portland, OR DOW NTOW N • (503) 236-3727 105 E Burnside R d . Gresham, OR Soon & Joan Chung o f Philly Cafe SALEM * (503)363-3411 3680 Market St N .E Salem, OR Denny's Green Team Restaurants Salute Minority Businesses Denny’s is committed to providing the best possible service to all customers regardless of race, creed or national origin. »