A few words from Jim – May 2021

Conservation & Business Growth

The two ideas seem as divided as our political parties, but in fact I’m seeing and doing both. All of my businesses are growing at incredible rates and at the same time we made it a priority to reduce our carbon footprint and help keep Oregon wild and wonderful. 

I think it’s possible to do both. We need to stop thinking that one excludes the other, on every issue we face from workforce housing to the environment and homelessness and human rights. 

We don’t need to pick a side. We don’t need to join a party. We need to be good humans and stewards of our planet and at the same time we need to grow our businesses and keep the economy growing. 

Inside this issue you will find 2 stories of 2 companies that are doing both. One uses the land to bury people without chemicals and one provides natural gas to the Pacific Northwest and has made it a priority to reduce gas emission by 100%. 

Last month I focused on the rebuilding efforts after the fire and workforce housing and it exploded online. The issue and articles became the most shared, most talked about and most read in the history of the journal and you know what, I wish I could turn it off. 

We became hostile, petty and misinformation spreaders. People would comment their beliefs and not the truth. I finally stopped reading the comments and gave up. It was sad to watch how you readers spoke to each other. I don’t care who you are, what political party you are in or what you believe, we all need to treat each other with respect. 

Even my “open minded” friends grumble out-loud in person to me based on the company I am writing about and not what I am writing about at times. 

The Journal is not a political piece. It’s about trying to do good business in Southern Oregon. It’s about caring who you bank with and who you shop with. It’s about inspiration and perspiration. 

Speaking of Avista, they launched SizeUpSouthernOregon (page 42) and I think it’s a cool tool for economic development. It shows us small business owners how we compare to our peers and who we can do business with in our own communities. 

It’s May. Go outside. Enjoy Oregon. And please stop posting your COVID enraged comments online for one day. You will feel better. I promise. 

I’m thinking about making next months issue all about Crypto Currencies.  I can’t wait to read what you have to say about that. 😉 

Jim
Jim@SouthernOregonBusiness.com