A Few Words from Jim

I’m writing this on the last day of 2020. It’s a fun end to a weird year. From the Global Pandemic, to our community businesses shutting down, to Fires that destroyed so many homes and businesses, to everything else we endured here in Southern Oregon, it’s easy to say good riddance to 2020 and hope for a better 2021, but 2020 wasn’t all bad. In many respects, it was a great year. 

I made a couple more changes to the “print” layout edition. I hope you like them.

1. There is one. Last month I asked if you would miss the layout if I stopped producing it or are you ok with a normal news website and I heard from several of you asking me to keep the “print” layout edition because you like the curation of it and look and feel of it. So I’ll keep doing one for now. 

2. I’m going to work hard to find stories written by companies in the areas we serve. I have one from Medford, Bend, Eugene and Salem in this issue. There is plenty of statewide economic stuff as well, but I like these stories about local businesses and hope to encourage more companies to write them. 

3. More sponsors. Last year I got rid of paid subscribers for now and made it all free but I need subscribers to pay for this. People’s Bank stepped up and joined AmeriTitle as monthly sponsors and I am grateful for their support. I now have signed up each of my companies as sponsors as well. Project A, Ashland Home Net, Rogue Broadband and Umpqua Broadband are now monthly sponsors for 2021. I’m doing this to show everyone how much I believe in the power of the journal. It has articles that help small businesses owners understand how to do business successfully in Southern Oregon. 

4. More Readers. I’m blown away by the number of readers we have and I’m looking forward to growing this again in 2021. The sponsorship’s listed above pay for marketing and advertising of the journal on social media to get the word out. 

Happy New Year and may 2021 be a year filled with profit, happy customers, great innovative products and services and a few moments of peace as we move forward to heal and do business in the new-new normal ahead.

Jim
Jim@SouthernOregonBusiness.com