A year ago, Mike Verbout, member of the North Portland Business Association, and Dr. Robin Anderson, dean of the Pamplin School of Business at the University of Portland, founded a roundtable discussion group aimed at helping North Portland’s small business community.

The group is comprised of Verbout and Anderson, Dr. Jon Down, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at UP, and ten NPBA member businesses, including North Portland Chiropractic, and Orleans Candle Company. In order to participate, business owners must commit to attending the meetings and regularly participating in all aspects of the roundtable.

Verbout described the roundtable meetings as a “pilot program” to help the businesses discuss issues they commonly confront, and hopefully brainstorm ideas as to how to abate those issues. “The whole agenda is driven by what the small-business people see as their issues, issues that might impede their survival,” Verbout said.

 
Small businesses today, according to Anderson, face an array of obstacles, including governmental regulation, an increasingly competitive market, and a slumping economy. With the odds stacked against them, Anderson noted, small-business owners often lack an outlet to comfortably share their experiences with one another.

“Being an entrepreneur or owner of a small business can be, in one sense, a lonely position,” said Anderson. The intent of the discussion group, then, is to promote open dialogue between small businesses so as to “develop a way that [the businesses] can survive, and maybe even thrive,” Verbout said. 

While both Verbout and Anderson identified particular issues that often impede the growth of business in North Portland, including the presence of empty storefronts, high rent, and limited expendable income amongst residents, they both feel that North Portland is not exceptional in this regard.

“Every area has its challenges,” Verbout said.

Meetings so far have centered around taxation, marketing, cost reduction, social networking, and implications of gentrification. UP faculty members or professionals from the community are invited to participate in the discussion and share their expertise.

UP became involved as an effort to actively contribute to the surrounding community, Anderson said, adding that the program was “mutually beneficial” for both the community and the university.
 

For more information about the Business Roundtable got to The North Portland Business Association.