The PCC CLIMB Center is a proud sponsor of Portland Radio Project's Biz503 show - the new Portland-centric startup and small business talk show on PRP.fm. 

Starting out and developing a small business is no easy task, especially when it comes to developing your presence online. More than likely you’ve already designed a website and started to generate some traffic, perhaps even some sales.

But as your journey continues, you’ll want to be updating and upgrading your digital storefront on a regular basis. And that’s why we’re here, to provide some tips and tricks that business owners like you can apply to your website that will not only make your brand look and feel more attractive, but will also increase online sales. Ready to get started?

The PCC CLIMB Center is a proud sponsor of Portland Radio Project's Biz503 show - the new Portland-centric startup and small business talk show on PRP.fm.

Are you just starting to develop your small business idea or plan? Maybe you’re already up and running, but looking for ways to improve and expand? Marketing and branding are key elements to developing your business, and choosing the right name is usually the first part of that process.

We’ve written this post to show you how to choose a business name that connects and resonates with your target market. Below we’ll go through some tips for choosing a name for your new business, along with a few examples to help you brainstorm. Arming you with these 10 resources and tips for choosing the best name for your business will get you started along the path to successful brand recognition in your community.

It might be counterintuitive, but price is often not a significant factor to your very best customers. Creating value around your brand and providing great customer service actually tend to be more influential on whether or not people remain customers or decide to go elsewhere.

Creating a positive customer experience can yield more positive results for your business than simply adjusting prices, because the customers you value most will be the ones to stick around for the long term. One study found that 87% of customers felt that brands need to put more effort into their customer experience, showing that it’s an area that businesses can improve upon before they start slashing prices.

Yarnia is Portland’s only DIY yarn store. It’s tucked away underneath some plaza stairs on SE Division and 41st in Portland. When you walk inside you’re surrounded by brilliant colors of coned yarn stacked to the ceiling. There is a cozy nook with comfy chairs just yearning to be sat in to knit something. And there is a modern, antique looking machine that fills the room with a humming sound as it makes custom yarn.

Maintaining a level of quality is imperative of business, no matter your product, service, focus, or industry. On the surface, how quality affects your bottom line seems obvious. It's also what could make or break your reputation with consumers as well as your reputation with other businesses, and could, in fact, make or break your business' ability to thrive in the market at all.

Walking into Bombshells Salon, you are immediately swept away by the class and elegance of the little converted house turned boutique salon in downtown Beaverton. April Orme and DaLynne McIntyre are good friends and hair stylists who had dreamed of opening up their own salon for years. In fact, they had their business name registered for two years before they decided to jump in. Finally, on March 1, 2010 they opened up their checking account, found a place on Craigslist, and six weeks later opened for business. They called in every favor from family, friends, and clients, and worked around the clock to make it happen – all without any outside money.

While running a business, you've likely come to understand the importance of having a functioning, informative, and easily found website. Of course, just having a website isn't enough — you need to be using it to reach your sales goals and to bring in more customers.

As with most things in business, integration is key. Despite the fact that 95% of retailers agree that digital and physical consumer experiences must be interconnected for one seamless experience across multiple channels, many stores still act like online and in-store activities are separate. Consumers already expect this intuitive level of convergence. Some aspects of this convergence may sit outside your reach for now (i.e., a new POS system that offers real time understanding of in-store and online purchases and stock inventory), but in this article, we're going to focus on in-store and online.