Monday, September 28, 2009

We may all be enjoying the wonderful fall weather down here in town, basking in the sunshine, but at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park they are working and thinking about snow. Ever since the chairs stopped turning at the end of last season, Mt Spokane employees have been hard at work getting the lifts ready for another great year. It’s a little-known fact that summer maintenance of the lifts up on the ski mountain takes many thousands of man-hours and over a million dollars each season to ensure optimum safety and prime operation during the coming season. This season Mt. Spokane will be offering more night skiing than ever before. The ski and snowboard park already has the most night skiing in the region – 40 nights of skiing and riding last season. For 2009/2010 they are adding even more nights! 8 nights in March, to be exact, now allowing you to ski or ride every single Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night from December 18th, 2009 to March 13th, 2010 (excluding Christmas Eve & Christmas day). That’s 48 total nights they’ll have the lights on and lifts turning. For more information on Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park go to www.mtspokane.com or call 509-238-2220.

AHANA and Community-Based Economic Development are offering two workshops Wednesday, September 30. The first is 2:00 to 5:00pm - "How To Finance Your Business Venture" offering things you need to know and resources available to finance your business. Guest Speakers are from SNAP Micro-Lender, SBA and NW Business Finance LLC. Then from 5:00 to 8:00 pm - "Do You Have What It Takes To Be a Successful Entrepreneur?" The question is not whether having a business is right for you. The right question you should be asking is whether you have what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. The workshop will cover the traits of successful entrepreneurs, the upsides and the downsides of having a business. Assessment tools will be given out to get you started on your personal and entrepreneurial self assessment. The cost is $35.00 per workshop. They will be presented at the CME Conference Hall, 25 West Main Avenue, Suite 310, third floor. For more information and to RSVP: Call Ben Cabildo at 509-209-2634 or email at bcabildo@ahana.org.

On Wednesday, September 30, the University District will officially kick-off University District Month, which is celebrated throughout the month of October. In its third annual month-long celebration, the area’s strategic partners will commemorate a year’s worth of accomplishments, all aimed at creating a vibrant live/learn/work/play confluence of innovation, discovery, entrepreneurship, scholarship, and neighborhood development. The University District has continually engaged the community in its strive for economic development and revitalization within the district. The Kick-Off Reception will be held September 30 at the original SIRTI Building on the Riverpoint Campus, 665 N. Riverpoint Boulevard, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. and will highlight many of the University District’s accomplishments over the past year. More information regarding University District Month, including a complete list of all University District milestones and an October Events Calendar, can be found at the University District website, www.SpokaneUniversityDistrict.com.

NAWBO, the National Association of Women Business Owners will hold their annual Leadership seminar and annual meeting October 8 at the Lincoln Center. The theme for this year’s event is "Live Your Dream" and includes a seminar by Dr. Laura Asbell starting at 3 pm, followed by a networking event and dinner with Beverly Kuykendall as keynote speaker and special guest Kay LeClaire, the Spokane woman who summited Mt. Everest earlier this year. You can register online at www.nawbonw.org or call 509-468-0510. But don’t delay, today is the registration deadline.

Luxury Bath is the new name for Washington Bath, located at 15320 East Marietta. Owner Alan Hansen changed the name because of the company’s introduction of the line of Luxury Bath brand of tubs, showers, roll-in and walk-in tubs. Luxury Bath will have an open house at the new showroom, Thursday, October 8 from 8am to 6pm.

After months of design and installation work, the Board of the Spokane Public Facilities District has completed a truly state-of-the-art sound system at the Spokane Arena. Guests at the Spokane Chiefs home opener versus the Tri-City Americans got the first chance to witness the power of the incredible sound quality on Saturday, September 26 at 7:00pm. The new system is comprised of three clusters hung from the rigging grid of the Arena. Two clusters on the east and west ends weigh a combined 2,500 pounds while the center cluster comes in at just over an impressive five tons, all motorized and serviceable from the grid down to the Arena floor. This new sound system will give Spokane Arena guests a 100% better listening experience at events. Announcements and play calls from the press box will be crisper and the music accompanying what’s going on down on the floor is going to enhance everything because of the quality of the system. Kevin Twohig, Executive Director of the District and General Manager of the Spokane Arena, said "This project was finished earlier than scheduled and within the $720,000 budget approved by the District Board. The Arena sounds so much better than any other sports venue in the Pacific Northwest. A great acoustical experience allows for a great event experience and that event experience is now really amazing."

The state of Washington scored well last week as a desirable place to do business in three outsider rankings. The Tax Foundation ranked Washington 9th on its Business Tax Climate Index, which measures characteristics of state tax structures. Forbes Magazine placed the state second to Virginia in its annual rankings of best places to do business and the Corporation for Enterprise and Development gave Washington State an A on its Assets and Opportunity Scorecard.

The Hop Shop beer and wine bar is set to open November 1 at 3803 South Grand. Andy Gardner, a 20 year food and restaurant veteran, is converting a 960 square foot space that housed an antique and coin shop at that location into a neighborhood bar, patterned after the Lantern in the south Perry business district. Gardner plans to offer live music at the Hop Shop, which will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 4 pm to closing.

An ad for your business, here on the How’s Business newsletter will reach over 6,000 influential, successful, upscale, affluent, interesting, good-looking readers just like you every week. It’s an affordable and effective way to promote your company to the Spokane business community. Call 509-838-4080 or email info@spokanehowsbusiness.com for rates and more information.

A new retail project at Mission and Ruby in the former Chapter 11 steakhouse location is set to begin soon. Realtor and commercial broker Tom Quigley and two partners have begun a new venture called RPIC,LLC, and are developing a four bay retail center that is scheduled to be open in the first quarter of 2010.

Marketing Associates of Spokane will hold a half-day seminar titled "Who’s Afraid of Marketing?" on Wednesday, October 14th at the Red Lion River Inn. Nationally accredited speaker, Bernie Siben of the Siben Consult, LLC will discuss what it takes for all professionals in the A/E/C community to become better marketers – and how successful marketing can help you climb the management ladder. Networking and continental breakfast will take place from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. The seminar will begin promptly at 7:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 a.m. RSVP per the MAS website www.maspokane.org by October 7th. The cost for the seminar is $100 for members and $125 for non-members. For more information contact Taryn Erickson, at Trindera Engineering, 208-676-8001 or terickson@trindera.com.

A Grand Opening celebration for the second phase of the Riverwalk Point development project will be held today from 2 to 4pm. Riverwalk Point is SNAP’s sustainable, affordable housing for families. The Riverwalk Point II phase includes 51 apartments and the straw bale community building of this 100-unit complex, which is located at 4915 E. Upriver Drive along the Spokane River. The development features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses designed to provide housing for up to 141 individuals, including approximately 90 children. The adjoining community building houses services for the residents of the Riverwalk Point community. It includes an on-site management office, offices for social service providers, a computer center and a multi-purpose community room and kitchen. Units in the Riverwalk complex are designed for optimum energy performance to exceed the Enterprise Community Partners’ Green Communities Criteria. The project has received Washington State’s first certification for Energy Star multi-family housing. It exceeds the Green Communities standards by 28% and reduces annual CO2 emissions by 49 tons per year. Joining in the celebration will be the Beacon Group, development consultants; Zeck Butler, architect; MC Lundgren, contractor; and National Equity Fund, equity investor.

You never know when you might need a bagpiper. Some stirring pipe music can add a special, memorable touch to business meetings, retreats (or advances, as we call them), parties and other gatherings. Pipe Major William Clark (no relation) is your man. He’s played for just about every event you can imagine, weddings, (even a Hassidic Jewish wedding), wakes, funerals, bar mitzvahs, conventions and more. He’s a member of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada Association and is a regular contributor to Spokane’s Limerick Sister City society events. He played the pipes for their pub crawl last week and received rave reviews from all concerned. You can reach him at 509-467-4028 or by email at woclark@comcast.net.

Quisenberry Marketing & Design is dedicating the month of October to the subject of Social Media. This month long schedule of 20+ posts on issues relating to Social Media will provide you with a working knowledge of Web 2.0 tools, the dynamics of social communities and networks, and the fundamentals for engineering your own social media strategy. If you or anyone else in your organization is interested in learning more and participating in this "media of the future", please sign up to receive the Quisenblog at http://www.quisenblog.com/. If you have any specific questions or subjects you would like to see covered, or have any suggestions for the posts for this special series, please email Mickey at mickey@quisenberry.net.

Kim Zentz, Executive Director of Sirti, has been appointed by Governor Gregoire to the Clean Energy Leadership Council to help lead Washington’s alternative energy movement.

You can enjoy a business thought every day by going to Facebook and signing up to be a fan of The Clark Company. The daily posts also include motivational videos, business development ideas as well as timely marketing and promotion information you can use to grow your business. Go to Facebook.com and search for The Clark Company.

The business thought of the week is from motivational speaker Marvin Phillips: "The difference between try and triumph is just a little "umph."

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