T H E M O N T H LY B U S I N E S S S E C T I O N F O R L I N N A N D B E N T O N C O U N T I E S A N D T H E M I D - W I L L A M E T T E VA L L E Y
www.democratherald.com/business • www.gazettetimes.com/business
JULY 2012
Tim Fitzpatrick, of Fitzpatrick Painting located on Pacific Boulevard in Albany, is one of many mid-valley small business owners who doesn’t have a large staff to rely on when he wants to take a few days off. DAVID PATTON | MID-VALLEY INBUSINESS
Small companies, big sacrifices With few or no employees, business owners have little time for vacationing is a job. We’ve worked to put systems in place so that it can operate with or without me, and it’s taken us a long time to do that.” He said that in the past, if a crew was out on a painting job and the client asked for some additional work — painting the fence in addition to the house, for example — the crew would call him for the authorization and pricing information. “Now, my employees know exactly how to do that job and how to charge for it,” he said. “They can handle it. My phone rings 10 times less now than it did when we were 10 times smaller.”
By JENNIFER ROUSE hen summer hits the midvalley, most of us like to pack up and head for the beach or the mountains. But when you own a small business, taking a vacation is more complicated than just figuring out how to fit your luggage in your car. If you run a family business, then taking a family vacation means having a number of key employees — or in some cases, all the employees — gone at once. “We have to take turns going on vacation. One of us goes at a time,” said Casey Collett, co-owner of Oregon Coffee and Tea in downtown Corvallis. She and her husband, Dennis Collett, run the shop with help from their daughter and son. Their daughter was gone for a few days in July; Casey plans to spend a week visiting family next; later in the year, her husband will take time away. “We’re here 52 weeks a year,” Collett said. “Our business is the type of thing that’s a comfort for our customers. When you need coffee and tea, you want it to be here, and we take that seriously.” The Colletts are not alone. According to the Manta Wellness Index, a survey of small businesses released this month, half of the owners polled said they won’t have time to take a vacation this summer. That’s a lot of people not relaxing. Small business owners make up a significant chunk of U.S. firms. According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, 61 percent of U.S. companies have fewer than four employees. Even more telling is the fact that
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Priorities and balance
FILE | MID-VALLEY INBUSINESS
Dennis and Casey Collet co-own and, with their children, run Oregon Coffee and Tea in Corvallis. three-quarters of U.S. firms — 21 million companies — have no employees at all. These are self-employed individuals, and for them, taking time off means planning in advance to do without income they could have earned if they stayed and worked.
Time and training In the mid-valley, business owners who are able to vacation this summer say that waving goodbye to their business — even for a short trip — requires two things: time to build up the business and a well-trained staff.
Tim Fitzpatrick, owner of Fitzpatrick Painting, spent the month of August last year road-tripping with his family in an RV. But it took 16 years of building the business before he felt comfortable leaving for an extended trip. “I’d never have done that even five years ago,” he said. What makes it possible now, he said, is having systems and procedures in place for every aspect of the business. “You can build your company so that you have a specific job, and if you step away it falls apart,” he said. “But then, the company owns you, and all you own
Brian Egan, owner of Corvallis Custom Kitchens and Baths, said he also encourages employees to take on additional responsibility for that reason — so that he and his wife, who also works for the business, can take time away. “It’s always been a priority for my wife and me to keep a balance in our lives. We worked for that from the beginning,” he said. But in some businesses, like retail and restaurant work, employees tend to change jobs more frequently, making it tough for owners to count on a regular vacation. “It’s completely dependent on the staff I have at the time,” said Errol Noel, who with his wife, Katey Noel, owns the Toy Factory in Albany and Corvallis. “Sometimes I have staff I feel quite comfortable leaving the store with, and other times I have a newer staff and we’re in the store more frequently.” SEE SACRIFICES | A7
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MID-VALLEY InBusiness
July 2012
Thinking clean, thinking green SOIL-SCIENCE COMPANY GROWING TO PROMINENCE By MIKE MCINALLY product developed by a Corvallis soil-science company is being considered by Japanese authorities looking for ways to deal with soil contaminated by radiation in the wake of the tsunami and nuclear-reactor disaster that struck Japan last year. And the product has helped the company, Earthfort, earn semifinalist status in the CleanTech Open, an international competition that seeks to find – and fund – companies with ideas that address energy, environmental and economic challenges. If Earthfort’s product fulfills in Japan the promise it’s shown in testing at Oregon State University, it’s potentially a massive deal for the company. As Scott Smith, the company’s CEO, put it, with a touch of understatement: “The market in Japan is not a small market.” Earthfort develops soil microbiology products – products that use natural microbes, for example, to repair damaged soils. When a Japanese contact reached out to Earthfort’s Matthew Slaughter, the company’s president and lab director, to ask whether Earthfort products would be of any use in dealing with the irradiated soils in the Fukushima region, the company’s initial response was, well, we don’t know. But Smith and Slaughter knew who to ask to start getting some answers: Earthfort reached out to OSU’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics. Professors in the department, always on the lookout for research projects that can involve students, responded enthusiastically – and it helped, Smith said, that the OSU researchers had a nuclear reactor they could use to irradiate soil samples in columns, essentially big tubes made of PVC pipe stuffed with dirt.
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AMANDA COWAN | CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES
Scott Smith, left, and Matt Slaughter, both of Earthfort, pause for a photo with their soil microbiology product in the front room of their Corvallis office. Below, Slaughter displays a soil column. The product may be used to deal with contamination in the Fukushima region of Japan. The results of the test indicated that Earthfort’s product demonstrated promise in limiting the movement of radiation into ground water. Here’s why that’s potentially a huge deal: If the product can successfully slow or limit the spread of radiation, that means there’s much less contaminated soil for Japanese officials to deal with. It’s not, of course, a done deal: Slaughter’s contact in Japan has a contract with the Japanese government to do additional work, but there’s no indication when the government might release the needed funds to deal with the issue. And other companies are pitching other potential solutions as well. Earthfort plans to begin small, the product to Japan so that users by shipping one-liter containers of there can assess it for themselves.
MOVERS&SHAKERS CHANGES AT SUBLIMIITY: Andrew Trower of Albany will take over as president of Sublimity Insurance Co. on Jan. 1, 2013, the company announced. Trower will step in for Rick Budke, who is retiring after 17 years as company president. Trower is executive vice president of marketing and underwriting and has been with Sublimity for 13 years. Originally from Corvallis, he has been in the insurance industry since 1983. Kevin Lucke of Aumsville, senior claim executive, will move into Trower’s position. As part of the succession plan, Budke will retain the position of chief executive officer and will also continue to serve on the board of directors through June 2013. SMITH EARNS AWARD: The Edward Jones financial firm has presented Leo Smith of its Lebanon office with the firm’s Ed Armstrong Award for exceptional achievement in building client relationships. Smith has been with Edward Jones for 24 years as a financial advisor. Originally from LaGrande and a graduate in economics from Eastern Oregon University, he worked at Boise Cascade before going into financial services. The Lebanon Edward Jones office is located at 56 East Airport in Lebanon. Smith can be reached at 541-451-4402. AMSBERRY ELECTED: Steve Amsberry, a small-animal veterinarian and owner of West Hills Animal Hospital in Corvallis (westhillsanimal hospital.com), has been elected vice president of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, a nonprofit membership group for Amsberry veterinarians. As vice president, Amsberry holds an ascending position on the association executive board and will be president during its 2013-14 fiscal year. Amsberry completed his undergraduate work at Oregon State University, and is a 1979 graduate of the veterinary pro-
gram at Iowa State University. After graduation, he and his wife, Kristi, moved to the southern coast of Oregon, where they started their family and operated a veterinary practice until returning to Corvallis in 1997. Amsberry purchased West Hills Animal Hospital in 1998. JACOBSON JOINS KELLER WILLIAMS: Laura Jacobson has joined the team at Keller Williams Realty Mid-Willamette. Jacobson will work out of the Corvallis Keller Williams branch, with a possible specialization in working with firsttime home buyers. She earned Jacobson her real estate license in June, but, as she explains, real estate runs in her family. Her entire nuclear family is in a real estate-related field, and she has always had an interest in the subject. Jacobson has held jobs such as marriage and family therapist and life and career coach. She can be reached at 541-224-2081, or through the Corvallis office at
1121 N.W. Ninth St. LAUNDROMAT HIRES TWO: South Side Suds Laundromat, 1910 S.W. Third St. in Corvallis, has two new employees. Allison Dean and Ivy Farrell are new customer service associates. The locally owned family business now offers wash, dry and fold drop-off service with a 24-hour turnaround time. Drop-off service is available from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Credit cards are now accepted for drop-off service only. RIGGAN TAKES REINS AT OAK CREEK: A juvenile corrections professional who has headed three Oregon Youth Authority facilities started work recently as superintendent of the authority’s 60-bed Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany. Mike Riggan of NewRiggan berg was named to lead the Albany facility, which serves girls and young women ages 12 to 24 with both correctional and transitional programs. Riggan succeeds Lory Humbert of Keizer, superintendent since 2008, who is retiring. Riggan was an authority employee from 2005 to 2010.
In the meantime, Earthfort submitted the project into the 2012 CleanTech Open competition – Smith said the organizers bill the competition as “The Academy Awards of clean tech” – and recently learned that it had been picked as one of 17 regional semifinalists. (Earthfort’s region includes Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Nationally, there are 150 semifinalists.) Regional finalists are chosen in October and the overall winner is announced in November. The winner gets some $250,000 worth of cash and in-kind services. As regional semifinalists, Smith and Slaughter traveled recently to San Jose, Calif., to attend the CleanTech Academy, a three-day series of workshops and speakers.
For the past two years he has managed Harkins House, a short-term residential shelter care and evaluation program in Hillsboro operated by the Washington County Juvenile Department. Riggan’s most recent assignment for the authority was as superintendent of MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, the agency’s largest close-custody facility, from 2008 to 2010. He also served as interim superintendent of the Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility in Salem and the RiverBend Youth Transitional Facility near La Grande. He holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Portland State University. HOFFMAN JOINS HOSPICE: Katrina Hoffman recently joined Samaritan Evergreen Hospice as board-certified family nurse practitioner. Hoffman Hoffman holds a Master of Science in nursing from Gonzaga
They also were paired with mentors. The event exceeded their expectations: “My expectation was that my head would hurt by the end of the three days,” Slaughter said. “My expectations were exceeded by lunch on the first day.” Smith and Slaughter – and their mentors – are spending the summer refining the Earthfort plan that goes into the regional competition. But, even if the company doesn’t advance to the next level, Slaughter and Smith say the experience already has been golden in terms of contacts gained and information absorbed. “We’re excited about it,” Smith said. “Already, we’ve gotten so much out of this event.”
University, and a Bachelor of Science from Oregon State University. She brings more than 20 years of nursing experience in intensive care, supervising and home health to the hospice team. She is certified in hospice palliative and critical care.
was in the top 2 percent for total loan volume. Norlander has been with Umpqua Bank for more than a year, and has 14 years of local lending experience. He consistently ranks NORLANDER WINS HONOR: among the top Norlander Mortgage loan officer Greg 10 loan officers Norlander has received the for the number Umpqua Bank Home Lending of loans closed and total loan Circle of Excellence award for volume. Norlander is active in the second quarter of 2012. The local community groups. He award is earned by the top-pro- has run nonprofit sports ducing loan officers throughout camps, worked with at-risk chilUmpqua Bank’s entire Home dren and coached high school Lending Division. Norlander football.
DAT E B O O K
B US I N ES S DATA Residential Average Sales Price by Area
Unemployment Rate May 2012
June 2012 11.8
9.1
8.2 8.2
9.6
U.S.
8.4 8.5
6.7
5.8 6.0
Benton Co.
Oregon
10.7 10.8
Thousands
June 2011 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0
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MID-VALLEY InBusiness
July 2012
Linn Co.
Source: Oregon Employment Department Note: Data are seasonally adjusted.
325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125
299,687 271,716 Benton County Linn County
191,847
2008
June 2012
Albany N. Albany Brownsville Corvallis
419 113 19 516
Units sold past year
Average sales prices
June 2011
428 113 23 447
Average sales price
June 2012
155,980 229,576 187,542 286,119
June 2011
150,372 243,658 154,645 276,624
2009
2010
2011
2012
Source: Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service
Mid-Valley Residential Report Units sold past year
148,961
Independence Jefferson Lebanon Philomath Sweet Home
Units sold past year
Units sold past year
Average sales prices
Average sales price
June 2012
June 2011
June 2012
June 2011
63 45 276 77 127
50 57 289 71 133
142,909 190,891 137,153 242,648 125,366
218,870 188,668 142,050 242,627 113,241
Source: Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service
Corvallis MSA (Benton County) Nonfarm Payroll Employment Source: Oregon Employment Department Mining, logging and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Federal government State government Local government
June ’12 1,170 3,180 4,430 790 1,390 3,830 5,800 3,230 1,220 590 10,240 2,900
May ’12 1,130 3,220 4,410 790 1,390 3,780 5,810 3,210 1,240 590 10,310 2,880
June ’11 1,190 3,300 4,390 800 1,390 3,810 5,760 3,550 1,210 620 10,190 2,950
Total nonfarm payroll employment
38,770
38,760
39,160
Change from May ’12 June ’11 40 -20 -40 -120 20 40 0 -10 0 0 50 20 -10 40 20 -320 -20 10 0 -30 -70 50 20 -50 10
-390
Today through Friday: Acceptance of applications for plumber apprenticeships, 9 a.m. every day except Wednesday; 1 p.m. on Wednesday, 2861 Pierce Parkway, Springfield. The Oregon, Southwest Washington and Northwest California Plumbers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee is seeking applicants for its pool of people eligible for selection to its plumber apprenticeship program. Info: 541-5211400. Today through Friday: Acceptance of applications for steamfitter apprenticeships, 9 a.m. every day except Wednesday; 1 p.m. on Wednesday, 2861 Pierce Parkway, Springfield. The Oregon, Southwest Washington and Northwest California Steamfitters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee is seeking applicants for its pool of people eligible for selection to its steamfitter apprenticeship program. Info: 541-521-1400. Thursday: Notary Seminar. Time: 1 to 4 p.m., Lebanon Justice Center, 40 North Second St., Suite 100. Free to public. Info: Heather Wilson at heather.s. wilson@state.or.us. Aug. 8: Society of Human Resource Management chapter monthly membership breakfast: “Strategic Conversations Skills for HR Professionals.” Speaker: Cheryl R. Good, PHR and certified facilitator for Fierce Conversations. Time: 7:30 to 9 a.m., Allan Bros., 1852 Fescue St. S.E., Albany. Free to SHRM and MHRA members; nonmembers $15.
Info: diamondbluerose@ centurytel.net. Aug. 16: Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours. Time: 5 to 7 p.m., Santiam Place, 139 S. Main St., Lebanon. Cost: $8. Info: 541258-7164. Sept. 5: Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Women In Business Luncheon: “Getting the Most Out of Life: Tips and Tricks From 20 Years of Coaching.” Speaker: Joseph Bailey, LinnBenton Community College. Time: 11:45 a.m., Phoenix Inn Suites, 3410 Spicer Drive S.E., Albany. Cost: $15 members; $20 nonmembers. Info: 541-926-1517. Sept. 18: “High Impact Nonprofit Board Training.” Presenter: Vanessa Becker, V Consulting. Time: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., LinnBenton Community College Lebanon Center, 44 Industrial Way. Cost: $5 East Linn County chamber members; $15 nonmembers. Info: 541-258-7164. Sept. 24: Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce Forum Lunch. Speaker: Ted Wheeler, Oregon state treasurer. Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital Training Center, 525 N. Santiam Highway. Cost: $13. Info: 541-258-7164. Sept. 26: Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Business Extravaganza. Time: 1 to 6:30 p.m., Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road, S.E., Albany. Free to the public. Vendors should contact the chamber for rate information. Info: 541-812-6076.
Sacrifices Continued from A5
Linn County Nonfarm Payroll Employment Source: Oregon Employment Department
June ’12
May ’12
June ’11
2,050 6,530 8,480 360 1,260 3,030 4,870 3,060 1,310 330 1,200 5,730
1,980 6,550 8,540 360 1,270 3,020 4,900 2,980 1,300 330 1,170 5,780
2,210 6,720 8,400 380 1,210 2,970 4,830 3,150 1,310 330 1,250 6,120
70 -20 -60 0 -10 10 -30 80 10 0 30 -50
-160 -190 80 -20 50 60 40 -90 0 0 -50 -390
38,210
38,180
38,880
30
-670
Mining, logging and construction Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Educational and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Federal government State government Local government Total nonfarm payroll employment
Change from May ’12 June ’11
U O I N D E X O F EC O N O M I C I N D I CATO RS The numbers: The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators gained 1 percent in May, jumping to 92.1 (1997=100). The good news: Almost all the indicators in the index posted improvements in May, said the report’s author, Timothy Duy of the University of Oregon Department of Economics. Initial unemployment claims continued to decline and employment service payrolls (mostly temporary hiring) increased, signaling improved labor market conditions. Residential building permits rose to their highest level since November 2008. Consumer sentiment improved, and core manufacturing orders rose. The weight distance tax, a measure of trucking activity, grew as well.
Index, 1997 = 100 93 92 91 90 89 88 87 Dec-11
Jan.-12
Feb.-12
The bad news: The only indicator in the index that lost ground was the interest rate spread, reflecting investors’ concerns about the pace of economic growth and the European debt crisis.
March-12
April-12
May-12
The upshot: Duy said the numbers suggest continued growth in Oregon in 2012, which should also be supported by continuing U.S. growth, although he noted that “the national recovery remains
muted.” Another view: Duy’s other index, the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity, rose in May to 0.2. (A measure of zero corresponds to the average growth rate for the period, in this case from 1990-2011. A number above zero indicates that the economy is growing at an above-average rate.) Duy noted that both the manufacturing and services sectors made positive contributions to the measure, but the construction and household sectors remained a drag. Overall, Duy said, it’s likely that Oregon is growing at or somewhat above its average growth rate of the last two decades. To learn more: Check out the full report at the website http://pages.uoregon.edu /oefweb/
Cyndi Alire, owner of Sweet Red Bistro in Albany, which opened in fall 2011, said she hopes to take lengthy vacations someday, but with a newer business has to content herself with an occasional weekend. She does, however, encourage
her employees to take time off and is willing to work out creative schedules, letting staff trade shifts with each other when they can. “It’s important to us, both that our employees have a life and that our business runs well.”
TOURISM JOBS By JENNIFER ROUSE Taking your work cellphone with you while on vacation may seem like an oxymoron — it can’t be a vacation if you’re working, right? But for many small business owners, technology provides them the connectivity and peace of mind that makes it possible for them to vacation at all. According to a July survey of small business owners, the Manta Wellness Index, 71 percent of small business owners say they use mobile devices to access work documents while on vacation — and 60 percent of them say that helps them enjoy their vacations more. “We’re hardly ever out of cell phone range,” said Errol Noel, co-owner of the Toy Factory stores in Albany and Corvallis. Although he said he and his wife will go for days at a time without setting foot in the store, he uses technology to stay connected. “I usually talk to the stores at least once a day,” he said. “If we’re away, often I take a laptop and have an Internet connection, and I can do a lot of work remotely.” Tim Fitzpatrick, owner of Fitzpatrick Painting, said he likes to disconnect while on vacation, but he tries to be available should a true need arise in his absence. “I’ve got my handy iPhone,” he said. “If it’s something the owner needs to know about, they know they can call me for anything.” Others, however, say taking a complete break from the business is necessary. One of those is Brian Egan, owner of Corvallis Custom Kitchens and Baths, who said he takes about three to four weeks off each year. “On vacation, we don’t take business calls, and the employees don’t bother us,” he said. “We maybe check email a couple of times, but a lot of times we’re in places where we’re out of range for anything like that.” Knowing that they can completely disconnect helps them renew their focus for when they do return, he said. “That’s our stress release,” he said.