November 27th is Small Business Saturday!


According to Business Oregon, small businesses with less than 100 employee’s account for 51% of private sector employees that’s 1,426,839 employed citizens in Oregon alone. As a small business owner I understand it is imperative that we are prosperous for the health of our community.

Many small business owners find their biggest challenge is to promote their business through normal advertising avenues. As I was talking with my bank representative earlier this year she asked be about this challenge.  I explained I do not yet have the budget to advertise through normal avenues.  She smiled and asked me if I would be interested in talking to their small business specialist. Then, I met Jim Grieve. Jim introduced me to an uncommon option.

As I listened to him talk about the different programs they offered at the bank, I noticed something about this bright-eyed passionate young man. Jim actually cared about my business. He told me about a program they offered to small businesses in the neighborhood called "Merchant of the Month".

The U.S. Bank SBA Division is an industry leader in providing Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans to fuel small business and is the number one small business lender in Portland Oregon. For Jim this means he has become a champion of the small business owners in the neighborhood.

Each month the Eastport Plaza branch of U.S. Bank offers a display table for small businesses in the community. The idea is to help merchants increase their revenues through this free promotion.  The program is a national program but not many branches take advantage of helping their neighborhood small businesses. 

I asked Jim out for coffee later that month.  Jim at Eastport Plaza explains how the program works, why he does it, and the client response as effective and rewarding.  What I discovered is that U.S. Bank spearheads programs for small businesses and recognizes the biggest challenge for small businesses is getting their name into the community. U.S. Bank has carved out their own niche by making sure small businesses have access to funds for “start-up” capital.

Jim explains The Merchant Table is not only for U.S. Bank customers. The only criteria is that you are a small business and have something to offer the banks' customers. He reports that the banks patrons come over to the table, he realizes the impact he has on the small business owner.  I signed up to have my business on display for the month of November. The wait time for the table is typically two months, and after this article is published it might be longer.

Business owners, what are your plans for the big day? I invite you to go to the Eastport Plaza branch of U.S. Bank, ask for Jim Grieve. Sign up for your own merchant table. Let’s keep Portland’s small businesses healthy and prosperous as a part of our own economic recovery.