.W B lack H istory M onth ’ f
February 2, 2005
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BusiNESSftpfloce
Diverse Perspectives
Business
Business Loan Process
Can Help You Even If
You Don’t Get the Money
by C arolyn C ampbell
T he P ortland O bserver
W hat’s the first think you think
o f when you imagine applying for
a business loan?
Does your stomach tighten?
Do you envision your banker as
Scrooge, hunched over your ap
plication scowling at your finan
cial records? Or, if you’ re like one
o f my clients, you might feel over
w helm ed at the thought o f creat
ing a dense docum ent that takes
you months o f precious tim e and
resources.
Moe M outon, owner o f It’s
About Hair, knows the chai lenges
o f being an A frican-American
business owner. He has seen first
hand the inequities o f getting a
business loan. One o f the ben
efits o f Portland’s reputation as
the city o f small businesses is
that banks are now working to
serve minority businesses by pro
viding tools and resources to
make the process simpler, shorter
and more beneficial. They need
you.
In fact, A lbina Bank has inten
tionally set out to assist business
owners from north and northeast
Portland. T h at's the good news.
W hile it’s still true that a small
percentage o f businesses get ap
proved on their initial request,
Mary Edm eades believes the pro
cess o f applying for a loan can
help business succeed and keep
a business from getting in over
their head.
So, w hether you are looking
for money or simply wanting to
focus your direction, the follow
ing questions can serve you well.
The key, be honest. And, take the
time to address the areas o f un-
Ford Recalls
Trucks, SU Vs
(A P )— Ford Motor Co. isrecall-
ing nearly 800,000 pickups and sport
utility vehicles because the cruise
control switch could short circuit
certainty and capitalize on your
areas o f strength.
W hy does y o u r business ex
ist? W hy here? Why now?
W h o ’s y o u r cu sto m er? This is
a key question. Get specific and
really describe your core customer.
Include testimonials from clients
who love your work. Ask your
clients if they’ll speak on your
behalf. It’s a great way to let them
know how important their busi
ness is to you.
How’syourcredit? Yourbanker
is more interested in you than your
business, especially if your busi
ness is new. They need to trust
that you will repay the money.
How secu re is y o u r business?
Once they know about you, they
want you to dem onstrate that your
business doesn’t depend solely
on you. They need to know that
others are invested as much as
you are.
W h a t a re you financials? Be
clear, concise and honest
How will you navigate the h ard
tim es? W hat I love about this is
that it pushes you to think ahead
and put consider scenarios that
we often want to avoid.
In the meantime, call your bank,
ask them what programs they of
fer to help small businesses suc
ceed. O r check out financial insti
tutions like Umpqua Bank and
Albina Bank in The Pearl. Each of
these has a special focus for help
ing com munity businesses.
Carolyn Campbell is a busi
ness coach and marketing con
sultant fro m northeast Portland
sp e cia lizin g in h elp in g sm a ll
business make a difference. For
more information visit www.the
coresource.com .
and cause a fire under the hood.
The recall affects approximately
792,000 Ford F - 150 pickups. Ford
Expeditions and Lincoln N aviga
tors from the 2000 model year. Also
a ffe c te d are 2001 F -S e rie s
Supercrew trucks that were made at
the same time.
New Specialists at Providence
Five Portland neurologists and a
stroke patient coordinator have
been added to the local Providence
Health System to meet the extraor
dinary challenge o f those affected
with neurological conditions.
Dr. M ark Yerby is the new medi
cal director o f the Providence Epi
lepsy C en ter at Providence St.
Vincent M edical Center. Much of
his practice is focused on the ef
fects o f epilepsy on pregnancy and
treatm ent o p tio n s for pregnant
women with the disease.
Dr. M ichael M ega is the new
d ir e c to r
of
P r o v id e n c e ’s
A lzheim er’s D isease and Demen- Dr. Mark Yerby
tia P ro g ram and the C en ter on
A ging at P ro v id en ce M ilw aukie
H ospital.
Jo in in g the n eu ro lo g y sta ff at
P ro v id e n c e P o rtla n d M e d ica l
C e n ter are Dr. Jo sh u a Johnson,
Dr. M ax D uncan and Dr. D avid
W ilkinson.
Jenny Richardson has been ap
pointed stroke patient coordinator
for the Providence Stroke Center.
She will be responsible for estab
lishing standardized processes and
protocols for how stroke patients
are cared for at all three Providence
hospitals within the Portland ser
vice area.
Jenny Richardson
C A N N O N 'S
Minority Ownership Promoted
RJB EXPRESS
M a rrio tt In te rn a
to doubling the num
tional is boosting its
b e r o f p ro p e r tie s
efforts related to minor
owned by minorities
ity ow nership o f the
over the next five years.
co m p an y ’s franchise
P rio r to jo in in g
h o te ls and lo d g in g
Marriott, Jenkins held
properties.
management positions
T he co m p an y re
in finance and opera
cently named Norman
tions for M cD onald’s
K. Jenkins to lead an
Corp. He is president
e n h a n c e d d iv e rs ity
and c h ie f executive
Norman K. Jenkins
o w nership initiative.
officer for the National
The hotel chain said it is committed Association o f Black Accountants.
Local Business Owner
Helps TriMet
Lillian Tsai o f north Portland has been ap
pointed by the TriM et Board of Directors to its
seven-mem ber Citizens Advisory Com mittee on
the Budget.
In 2002, Tsai founded TsaiComms, a m arket
ing and communications com pany specializing in
strategic m arketing, ethnic com m unications,
cross-cultural intelligence and com
munity outreach.
Her business was named on the
Portland Business Journal’s “2003
Top 25 Minority Owned Businesses”
after its first year of operation.
Ford will notify owners o f the
recall and dealers will deactivate
the cruise control switch for free.
Once the company has an adequate
supply o f replacement switches, it
will send another letter notifying
ow ners that they can get their
switches replaced.
(FORMERLY CHUCK HINTONS)
Catering & Take-Out
O ur S pecialty :
R eal H ickory S moked B ar -B-Q
• Sandw iches • Salads
• C h ick en • P o rk R ibs
• B eef R ibs
Sunday
M onday
T uesday
W ed-Thurs
Fri. & Sat.
CATERING ALL EVENTS
HOURS:
11 am - 8 pm
I la m - 9 pm
closed
lla m - 9 p m
II am - 10pm
Try our new healthy
& vegetarian menu items
* * * N ew L ocation * * *
5410 N.E. 3 3 rd
503-288-3836
Lillian Tsai
JO B S
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) is
currently recruiting for
wildland fire positions.
Positions include:
• temporary seasonal
(mostly during the
summer months),
• permanent seasonal
(6-9 months), and
• permanent full-time
Recruitment period
opens from December
13, 2004 to
January 14, 2005.
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it
For more information
and to apply on-line,
visit the following websites:
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