Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Why I Love Portland, V.1

I don't typically blog on my blog spot account. I tend to reserve this blog for mentioning my public relation's clients happenings, press hits and Examiner articles. But, I'd love to start blogging more about every day occurrences in my life and in the life of MKP Creative.

This afternoon, during my lunch hour, I braved the Portland spring of "Rain-sleet-Sun! Rain-wind-downpour-Sun!" and did a quick 30 minute run jog along the water front. After almost tripping over a dog whose owner had one of those leashes that lets the dog run 10 feet away from them, I continued on through the down pour that then gave way to sunshine, doing wonders for my naturally frizzy hair. Feeling a bit damp but otherwise satisfied that looks would not matter when I got back to the office, since I have no afternoon meetings and work all alone in my little office, I continued on at a steady pace.

I heard slapping on the pavement behind me and was suddenly passed in a whoosh by a lean guy running barefoot. I love Portland because people are not afraid to run barefoot, downtown, because they are a believer in the barefoot running movement. I also love that I also saw another guy running barefoot about 10 minutes later, splashing along in the mud beside the side walk- and they were not running together. Just two separate, barefoot running guys.

Dodging a seagull sitting up on the light post, a couple of pigeons, the harmless homeless brigade under the bridge and serious bikers along the waterfront adds excitement and some adrenaline to my runs. Now back at my desk, with a brilliant sun shine filled afternoon, I'm gazing out at the Broadway Bridge happy I got out and moved my body, and happy to be a Portlander.

MKP Creative, Inc., The Dragontree Spa & WEO enjoy press coverage in The Oregonian, Feb. 2011

When the end came, Shawna McKeown wasn't surprised.

"I'd been there 10 years and saw the signs," she said. "I was the one who shut down the classified department, got rid of the web editor and demoted the receptionist."

In June, it was McKeown's turn: She was laid off as general manager of Willamette Week, a Portland alternative newspaper.

As the divorced mother of two boys -- Thilo, 7, and Cian, 5 -- she needed to find something else.

After months of planning, she opened a business, Oui Presse coffee shop on Portland's Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard. Now she maintains a complicated schedule of caring for her sons and running a shop that faces competition from not only national chains such as Starbucks but other independent shops with loyal followings.

On good days, when the till shows the shop broke even or better, McKeown is elated. On bad days, she steels her resolve and fights back the fear that she made a mistake.

Her story is a familiar one, playing out in various forms across a metro area with a jobless rate that has hovered above 10 percent for more than a year. Local groups that work with budding entrepreneurs note a significant uptick in the number of people seeking to open a business. While some have always dreamed of being self-employed, many, such as McKeown, are starting businesses out of necessity.

McKeown, 43, seeded her shop with a small severance package from the paper, money from her retirement savings and three credit cards. In October, she signed a lease on a storefront at 1740 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., a space where a cafe and later a clothing store had failed.

Two days before Christmas, she opened her doors.

"It's terrifying," she said. "Failure isn't an option."


McKeown started a blog to chart her progress and build a following. She tried to borrow money from several banks, including the one that holds her mortgage. But with no paycheck, they all said no.

Next she turned to MercyCorps Northwest, which has a loan program for startups.

"What's changed in the past couple years is that we're seeing people who've been working for a company for years and then they lost a job," said Scott Onder, the Portland organization's fund development and strategy coordinator. "It's a tough job market, and the only alternative is to become self-employed."

MercyCorps gets 20 applications a month and approves four, he said. Since the program began nine years ago, the organization has issued just over 200 loans totaling $2.3 million. Now demand is so high, the agency is working with banks to get more money to loan.

"We've funded some businesses that you wouldn't think would make it," he said. "Craftsmen that sell jewelry. We've helped florists and photographers. What we look at is potential cash flow to make sure there's enough profit to make loan payments on a monthly basis."

McKeown was approved for a $20,000 loan, with a 12 percent interest rate. She opted instead to sign up for two more credit cards, which offered zero interest for the first year.

"I have to do what it takes to get going," she said.

Maggie Palmer, owner of Portland's MKP Creative Services, knows what she means.

In 2008, Palmer had what she thought was a secure job as a marketing manager at a Portland company. She and her husband had just bought a house when they took their newborn to visit relatives in Ohio for Thanksgiving.

"Just before dinner, I signed onto the computer to check my e-mail," Palmer said. "My boss had sent a note to everyone that they were selling our desks on eBay. That's how I got the news I was being laid off."

She applied for jobs throughout the city but found nothing.

"I had no choice but to start my own business," she said. "I started calling businesses around town and asked if they'd laid off their marketing person. I proposed they hire me month to month. I incorporated in June. I'm making triple what I made when I worked for someone else.

"But it's scary when a client quits," she said. "I have to get another client. That's business."

We've been working our buns off over here at Oui Presse HQ, so there hasn't been much time to update the blog with progress photos. Here's what the store looks like now, on the eve of its debut. -- Oui Presse blog, Dec. 22

Women Entrepreneurs of Oregon, a Lake Oswego-based group, has watched membership grow from 25 in 2005 to more than 80, President Briana Borten said.

"You have to be passionate about running a business," she said. "You may love making jewelry, but the business is about making contacts, keeping books and employing people. Most businesses fail within the first three years. People don't plan for all the bad times. They plan for the way they hope it goes."

Borten, 30, started her business, The Dragontree Holistic Day Spa, when she was 22 after her boss at another spa told her that if she had so many great ideas, she should launch her own place.

Borten got a business partner, whose family loaned them money. Her boyfriend let her use his credit card.

"That's real love," said Borten, who now has two Portland spas and 60 employees. "We got married."

mapofouipresse.jpgView full size
McKeown had no deep pockets to turn to as costs mounted: $11,000 for an espresso machine and $1,500 for a coffee grinder. She also had to buy a refrigerator, convection oven and sink. Recently, she added a freezer.

She hired a contractor for plumbing and electrical work but had friends help her rip out carpet and walls, and haul old tiles to the dump. Even so, she spent $55,000 to get started.

"When you add it up, it's the cost of a couple cars," she said. "But a car won't make me money. I have to make the investment in this business."

 We hung our Stumptown sign from the ceiling using 30 lb monofilament today. Now we have the prettiest espresso machine AND the prettiest sign in town. -- Oui Presse blog, Dec. 31, under the heading "Too Legit to Quit"

McKeown's life can be a blur of business and child care. On weekdays, she dresses and feeds her sons, then sends them off to school, one on a school bus, the other with a neighborhood mom. She drives to a bakery in Northwest Portland to pick up pastries, then heads to her shop, usually arriving by 8:30 a.m.

About 3 p.m., she walks son Cian and other kids home from kindergarten and waits for the bus to deliver Thilo. Then her ex-husband picks up the boys, and she heads back to the shop until it closes at 6 p.m. Then it's back to parenting duties. Every other weekend, the boys stay with her ex-husband. On her weekends, she frequently brings them to work.

She has three part-time employees at her industrial-looking space, including Dan Winters, 27. She arrived one recent morning to find him in the shop alone. Business had been slow since the 7 a.m. opening, he said.

The two commiserated, with McKeown saying she drew a little comfort from noticing on her drive in that other coffee shops were empty, too.

Winters was a colleague at Willamette Week before being demoted and eventually leaving amid cutbacks. He has since returned to the paper to work on a project, and works at Oui Presse 20 hours a week.

"The extra money is nice," he said. "But I like being able to help her out. Shawna has become one of my best friends."

Within the hour, customers were flowing in as McKeown worked around the store -- installing a bathroom mirror, wrapping an overhead pipe with insulation and looking over her magazine rack. She stocks a variety of titles, plus gift items, to set her shop apart and add revenue. She eventually hopes to offer 150 periodicals, including hard-to-find titles from Europe.

When the shop emptied again, McKeown relaxed for a moment behind the counter.

"If I can manage my cash and stay ahead of the game for a year, I'll be OK," she said. In the meantime, she's learning that running her own shop is an around-the-clock endeavor.

"I think about this place all the time," McKeown said. "When I fall asleep, when I'm driving. I worry that lower Hawthorne doesn't have a lot of foot traffic. But then I realize it has easy parking. The scary part is when people don't come in. But I tell myself they will."

She needs $400 a day to break even, and so far, her best day brought in $476. Going over her books, she realized she took in just $168 on a recent Monday.

"I panicked," she said. "But I have to manage the fear. I have to cope. Each day a few more people come in, and I'm getting some regulars. I can't get discouraged. I have to remind myself that I'm laying the foundation for my future."

See the full story here

--Tom Hallman Jr.

Dragontree Day Spa Celebrates First Year at PDX: Northwest Meetings and Events Press Hits, Feb. 2011

Northwest Meetings and Events
The Dragontree plans to celebrate this milestone by offering free food, beverages, and mini treatments to PDX staff on February 23rd from 12:30- 3:30pm at the spa, and free massages and product samples for everyone pre-security during the same time.

The spa, located on Concourse C between gates C-10 and C-12, has an established history of providing exceptional therapeutic services, commitment to being a sanctuary from the stresses of life, and dedication to reflecting Portland's values of ecological consciousness and sustainability practices.

“The Dragontree Spa has been a fabulous addition to the passenger service offerings at PDX,” says Chris Madsen, general manager of business and properties with the Port of Portland. “Travelers truly appreciate the tranquil atmosphere and extensive listing of services offered, and it’s a great way for them to unwind and relax before a flight.”

There are private treatment rooms for massages, facials and waxing as well as an ambient communal space with elevated couches for therapeutic foot baths, head, neck and shoulder massages, chair massages and a variety of foot treatments.

“We are dedicated to providing quality items that will support people in their journey toward balance,” says spa owner Briana Borten. “We are very pleased with the growth in profit we have seen since opening a year ago. We have exceeded our projections by an average of 25% every month in the first year. We hope that as people get accustomed to making it a part of their travel routine, we will see that growth continue,” adds Borten.

Read the full article here

The Dragontree celebrates one year on Concourse C: Press hit in PDXaminer


Lots of tension eased. Many muscles relaxed. For the past year, since The Dragontree spa’s facility opened on Concourse C, travelers and employees have taken advantage of the skilled staff and soothing ambiance. As the spa’s ad says, “You have 30 minutes; we have peace. Let’s trade.”
To mark the anniversary, The Dragontree is offering free mini-treatments and free product samples to PDX employees from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 23, both at the Concourse C location and at the Clock Tower in the Oregon Market.

Read the full story in the PDXexaminer here

THE DRAGONTREE, A HOLISTIC DAY SPA, CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY AT ITS PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LOCATION


(Portland, OR) February 1, 2011. The Dragontree Day Spa celebrates its first anniversary at The Portland International Airport this month. The Dragontree was chosen to be the first, and only, full service day spa at PDX and opened in February of 2010. The spa, located on Concourse C between gates C-10 and C-12, has an established history of providing exceptional therapeutic services, commitment to being a sanctuary from the stresses of life, and dedication to reflecting Portland's values of ecological consciousness and sustainability practices.

The airport location’s design is a beautiful, soothing, and private refuge featuring an extensive menu to accommodate all travelers’ needs and schedules. There are private treatment rooms for massages, facials, and waxing as well as an ambient communal space with elevated couches for therapeutic foot baths, head, neck and shoulder massages, chair massages and a variety of foot treatments. The Dragontree also offers natural nail care for both men and women, including manicures and pedicures using MINX nails, an all natural alternative to toxic and smelly nail polish.

“The Dragontree Spa has been a fabulous addition to the passenger service offerings at PDX,” says Chris Madsen, general manager of business and properties with the Port of Portland. “Travelers truly appreciate the tranquil atmosphere and extensive listing of services offered, and it’s a great way for them to unwind and relax before a flight.”

The airport location also offers a selection of immune supporting vitamins and herbs; natural sleeping aids, organic body and skin care products, and tasteful gifts for the savvy traveler. “All of our retail products have been hand selected by Dr. Peter Borten and myself. We are dedicated to providing quality items that will support people in their journey toward balance,” says spa owner Briana Borten. “We are very pleased with the growth in profit we have seen since opening a year ago. We have exceeded our projections by an average of 25% every month in the first year. We hope that as people get accustomed to making it a part of their travel routine, we will see that growth continue,” adds Borten.

Appointments are primarily on a walk-in basis but reservations are also happily accepted, and you can also book appointments online for the airport location to coincide with your travel schedule.

The Dragontree plans to celebrate this milestone by offering free food, beverages, and mini treatments to PDX staff on February 23rd from 12:30- 3:30pm at the spa, and free massages and product samples for everyone pre-security during the same time, at the Clock Tower in the Oregon Market. For more information and a full menu of services and pricing, please visit the spa’s airport location website at www.thedragontreepdx.com or call 503.331.1131.
 
About:
The Dragontree, located at 2768 NW Thurman and in the Portland International Airport on Concourse C, offers a variety of services to still the mind and mend the body. The perfect place to receive massages, facials, Acupuncture, waxing, Ayurvedic counseling, and herbal consultations, you can also gather with friends and family and receive foot treatments, head, neck, & shoulder massages, and hand treatments. For more information please visit www.thedragontree.com.
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Contact:
Maggie Palmer
503-419-7677