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What do businesses need to help them grow and prosper?
This thought propelled the Chamber to ask that question of Ashland business owners by industry segment and after extensive research and analysis it was determined there were some specific things that indeed would support business development.
Access to meaningful industry information
Educational opportunities to strengthen their workforce
Tips on how to get started in business
Opportunities to create sustainability measures
Inspiration and lessons learned from existing business owners
Economic dashboard for measuring the local and regional economy
Financing and incentives at local, regional and statewide levels
Government regulations, assistance and programs
And all of this in a one-stop location
The Portal was created as a response to results received from business owners who participated in the Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) confidential surveys conducted by the Chamber in collaboration with the City of Ashland. Businesses identified strengths and challenges in the economy which allowed the Chamber to isolate the challenges and develop programs to help solve problems. While businesses heralded the quality of life amenities in Ashland and the high speed internet capabilities, they identified barriers to starting or expanding business as understanding government regulations and determining what assistance is available to small business owners. Information is available but not in one place and requires a significant amount of time and knowledge to know how to find answers. Additionally, firms relocating from other government jurisdictions (different states, counties, or cities) were confronted with new rules.
The Ashland Business Resource is the result of hours of research, numerous meetings and partner input and investment. Over a year ago, Chamber Executive Director Sandra Slattery and Board Members Jim Teece (Project A), Jac Nickels (Architectural Design Works), Meiwen Richards (US Bank) and Lisa Beam (Pasta Piatti) began discussing ideas. The team grew with Board members Nancy Morgan (Yala) and Cindy Bernard (Rogue Valley Roasting) who advised with planning the breadth and scope. The talks expanded with City of Ashland staff (Adam Hanks) and Mayor Stromberg, research into what other cities, the state of Oregon, and other states use as economic development tools and its goals were incorporated from the 2011 Economic Development Plan of the City.
The Ashland Business Resource Portal, a new dynamic website has been created as this one-stop site for business news, economic data, educational workshops and business assistance for starting, growing and developing businesses. Studies show that the majority of business development and job growth comes from existing businesses in a community.
Strong community partnerships with government and other agencies made communications possible and helped to develop the portal. Founding Partners were confirmed with US Bank, Asante Ashland Community Hospital, AFN (Ashland Fiber Network), SOU (Southern Oregon University) and Project A. The Small Business Development Center (Jack Vitacco), State of Oregon Employment Department (Guy Tauer, Regional Economist), Business Oregon (Larry Holzgang) and the City of Ashland (Adam Hanks) helped develop content for the site serving on the Development Team and with staff of Dana Preston, Sandra Slattery and Rebecca Reid (economic analyst) will transition into the Economic Advisory Team. Quarterly data will be reviewed, analyzed and stories written that will publish on the portal identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in the economy. In addition to Sandra Slattery and Dana Preston, the entire Chamber staff has worked on developing the site and will continue to update content and stories including Katharine Flanagan, Graham Lewis, Dana Welsh and Kelsey Holderness.
Quarterly themes will feature the health care industry, food & beverage manufacturing and other key industries that will be explored and showcased through video, business stories and economic analysis.
We invite you to explore the site and get to know it.
Ashland Chamber of Commerce, historically grounded since 1889, promotes businesses and the community by providing business resources, creating events, maintaining strong community partnerships, promoting tourism, conducting community issues discussions and collaborative problem solving, providing community leadership.
