June 2020 Newsletter

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life
as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
~Booker T. Washington~

Next PBDG Meeting

Wednesday June 17, 2020
4:00PM – 5:30PM

We invite you to join us for our monthly membership meeting!

If you are not on our mailing list and you’d like to attend, please email Irene at irene@pbdgweb.com to get the Zoom Meeting information.

If you are still having issues using Zoom, please let us know so we can assist you.

From the Desk of the Executive Director

Kenechi Onyeagusi, PBDG Executive Director

In the last few months, business owners have learnt new and creative ways of navigating a health pandemic and now we do so, while dealing with unrest in our country. These are certainly troubling times but we continue to move forward, learning from the mistakes of the past and determined to help shape a better future. PBDG has issued an official letter on the state of events and if you missed it, please click here.

You many have noticed that we have not sent newsletters out in the last 3 months. This is because we have been working on some of our internal processes to ensure that we build the capacity to serve our community in a sustainable and responsive way. I am pleased to announce that we will resume sending out our newsletters and be able to share more success stories and news in our subcontractor community and construction industry as a whole.

I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to Connecting your Customers for their countless volunteer hours to help us build this beautiful new site. While substantially complete, we are still tweaking and building out some very important features, please stay tuned! We want this site to be as collaborative as possible and would love to feature many of the beautiful buildings that you, our members and partners have built. If you have professional pictures of recently completed projects or buildings that you would like us to feature on the site, please email them to us. We want to celebrate your success!

Until things calm down and we are approved to safely re-open, all of our training classes will remain virtual. We are starting to roll out a few training classes this month and will release July’s class calendar later in the month so please keep an eye out for that. Our June membership meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2020. This month we will have special guest appearances so I hope you can make it.

Welcome to June! I wish you good health, safety and emotional wellness.

Member of The Month

Partner of The Month

New Member Spotlight

Industry News

Event & Meeting Details

Invitations to Bid

Member of the Month

Reynelda Hayes, Owner
Phone: (503) 774-5212

Website: www.AllAboutFlagging.com
Email: Reynelda@AllAboutFlagging.com

All About Flagging is a leader in the provision of flagging services on road construction sites. Our employees have undergone the ODOT training course, and their abilities have been tested and proven through written and oral examinations. We provide our flaggers with all necessary equipment to do their job properly and also provide nighttime flagging equipment if necessary. Thus, if you are looking for a reliable partner to provide you with reliable flagging services at your construction site, don’t look any further; All About Flagging is the answer.

I began my career in the construction industry when I started flagging in 1999 for several different companies until I became inspired to start my own business in 2012. A few of our recent notable projects are the Sourgrass project, HWY 38 culvert replacement, and we are currently working on the Coyote Lane project in Washington with Legacy Contracting. We have also done flagging for the Graham Road Bridge in Troutdale with Carter and Company and are currently working with them on the Sandy River Bridge as well.

I see the construction industry in Portland expanding greatly over the next 5-10 years. I recently obtained my CCB license as a specialty contractor and plan on offering thermal plastic services in addition to flagging.

A defining moment for me was when I realized that overall relationships and partnerships with contractors, such as Turney Excavating, North Sky Communications and others, would have such a profound affect in getting business opportunities; we acquire a significant amount of business through word-of-mouth recommendations from relationships and partnerships with contractors.

I appreciate the work that PBDG does because whenever I need help, they do not only give advice but they follow-up the advice with comprehensive support. I feel like I can turn to them with any questions or business needs and they always do their best to help me find the answers I need. PBDG’s training classes are also extremely helpful and have allowed me to expand business capacity; I look forward to attending future training classes. Whenever I need them, PBDG is always there for me; I don’t feel like I am just a member, I feel like family because they treat me like family.

I really enjoy cooking in my spare time. Cooking has always been a passion of mine; I have been experimenting in the kitchen for over 20 years, I actually have been cooking before I started flagging.

Partner of the Month

Robert Turvey, VP of Marketing
Phone: (503) 737-7491

Website: www.ConnectingYourCustomers.com
Email: Info@ConnectingYourCustomers.com

PBDG would like to thank Connecting Your Customers for being an amazing partner and donating our new website!

At Connecting Your Customers we connect you to your ideal customers. We build websites from the ground up and offer monthly services for SEO, paid search as well as a variety of marketing services. This is done with a consultative approach up front to properly identify competitors and potential buyers. We use data to inform personalized strategy for each client.

I oversee marketing and sales at CYC. I am an Oregon native and take pride in the beautiful forests that I enjoyed playing in as a child. I started my first job at age 12 and have worked in construction as a metalsmith, moving on to become a chef before finding my niche in marketing and sales. My partner and I founded Connecting your Customers in 2015 with a value driven, relationship approach to service. Our philosophy is to be solution providers, and we strive to be honest with people and not to sell them on something that they don’t want/need.

The construction industry is one that I am familiar with and we have worked with different construction clients across the country to provide quality marketing service. Its interesting to see a consolidation of contractors like we saw in 2008-2009, particularly those who the nature of their area of work does not lend itself to referral generated business. However, it is also exciting to see many contractors take the leap to start and grow their own businesses.

At CYC, we prioritize giving back to the community and have partnered with other nonprofits in the past to help with their marketing strategies. There are a few agencies and nonprofits that we have enjoyed partnering with. I have been super grateful for the folks at the Ombudsman’s office, specifically Trevor Leahy. I also would also like to shout out Jesse Hyatt at The Black American Chamber of Commerce. Jesse has consistently looked out for the LGBTQ community in local and state conversations. We partnered with PBDG in March to enhance the work the organization does supporting minority, women owned and emerging small business. At CYC, we want to do our part to promote and support marginalized businesses because everyone deserves equal opportunities to work and be successful.

I was asked to share fun facts about myself. I am a jeweler and a gem buyer and have done so for 15 years. I originally went to college for Engineering and Geology but realized that I really love people and seeing them succeed, hence my pivot to marketing!

We are excited about our relationship with PBDG and look forward to getting to know the community. Please feel free to reach out to me at Robert@connectingyourcustomers.com if you have any questions or would like to connect with me. I look forward to the next in person membership meeting to be able to meet everyone in person.

New Member Spotlight

Marcus Bell & James Cloyd, Owners
Phone: (503) 409-6048

Website: www.SkyWindowClean.com
Email: James@SkyWindowClean.com

James and Marcus have been friends for almost 10 years. They were grabbing a beer one night when they began discussing their current work situations and how they could improve them. They were both looking to explore new career opportunities when they decided to start their own window cleaning business together. Marcus had been cleaning windows for over 10 years at that point, so he worked with James and brought his industry knowledge to their new business, Sky Window Clean, that started in 2015. In the first few years of business, both James and Marcus had to work other jobs and also weekends to save up and build the capacity to sustain their new business. They have successfully been operating for the last 5 years and are working hard to actively grow their business. They offer window cleaning, pressure washing and final cleaning services to Willamette Valley area.

Sky Window Clean has provided cleaning services to multiple different healthcare facilities, Western Oregon University, Oregon Humane Society, individual retailers, and have also worked with several General Contractors like Swinerton and Schomer and Sons. They are currently wrapping up a project with Swinerton on a tenant improvement project in downtown.

A turning-point for Sky Window Clean was when they were able to acquire significant contracts with Western Oregon University and the Human Society. These contracts allowed them to grow their business enough to quit their side-jobs and also gave them the confidence and experience to become an established firm in the construction and property management industry.

Sky Window Clean is currently ESB and MBE certified.

Industry News

PPP Guidance Updates for Recipients

On May 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow more flexibility for the PPP Program. These changes include:

Extension of the coverage period of the loan from 8 to 24 weeks.
Changes 75 percent payroll requirement to 60 percent.
Changes safe harbor period for rehires from June 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
Extending PPP loan maturity from 2 to 5 years.
Permitting recipients of the PPP loan to defer payroll taxes until the end of the 2020.

Click here to read more about the PPP loan program updates.

Phase 1 Reopening Plan for Multnomah County

Multnomah County officials are aiming to submit a Phase 1 reopening plan to the governor’s office on June 5 and to begin reopening the county starting June 12. If reopening request is approved, it would permit certain businesses like bars and restaurants, gyms, malls, outdoor recreation, salons, barbershops and other personal services to reopen. Hoever, gathering sizes would still be limited to 25 people.

Multnomah County is currently the highest populated county in Oregon. The county has met all of the governor’s criteria to reopen, except for one: an adequate number of contact tracers. Currently, the county has about half of the required contact tracers to meet the governor’s threshold.

Click here to read more about Multnomah County’s Phase 1 reopening plans.

Portland’s Small Business Program for Utility Relief (SPUR)

The Portland Water Bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services have allocated one million dollars to provide financial support to Portland’s small businesses. The bureaus will provide one-time credits on qualifying businesses’ sewer/stormwater/water bills.

‣Credits will range from $1,000 – $10,000 per business.

‣Between 200-300 businesses will receive credits depending on need and application volume.

‣Applications will open Wednesday, July 8 and stay open for two weeks, closing on Wednesday, July 22.

The program will be implemented with an equity focus to help small businesses in greatest need of assistance. The program is not first-come, first-served, and businesses can sign up to receive an email notification when the application opens on June 24.

Click for more information and to sign up to get an email notice when the application opens

Business Expo West – West Portland’s Annual B2B Business Event: June 25

Virtual Expo features 50 Zoom Breakout Rooms with Exhibitors & Sponsors!

Reverse Vendor 1-1 Meeting for Contracts & Resources (Limited Space)

‣Give-Aways on the hour (1, 2, 3 & 4pm)

‣One-on-One Opportunities with Key Players & Buyers for contracts. MUST REGISTER for 1 hour meeting slots.

‣Progressive Beaverton Area After Party

Click here for the event agenda

Click here to register

Government Contract Assistance Program (GCAP) Webinar – Federal Contracting: What you need to know to take the NEXT STEPS…

This free webinar training will include a mandatory FIRST STEP General Session—covering introduction to the day’s training and information on utilizing and optimizing GCAP’s services. Then you can register for the track that applies to your business.

Are you new to Federal Contracting? OR, do you have some experience and you’re ready for the next steps?

Federal Contracting 101—Learning to Walk: Getting ready to be a Federal Contractor, understanding how the federal government buys, registrations and certifications and marketing to the federal government.

Federal Contracting 201—Learning to Run: Responding to solicitations, understanding types of solicitations and federal supply schedules, and marketing to agencies.

Click here to view more information and register for this free training

ODOT – Online Construction Contract Civil Rights and Labor Compliance Training

Who should participate?: Prime and sub-contractors, consultants and ODOT personnel that interact with or are interested in learning more about the programs listed below are welcome to join any of these events.

Brush up on your contract compliance skills: All sessions will provide insight into both ODOT/FHWA Civil Rights Programs, ODOT/BOLI Labor Compliance Programs, TERO, OJT/Apprenticeships, DocExpress and more.

Whether you’re interested in more information about daily record keeping, monthly reporting, or anything from notice to proceed to final note – we will talk about what needs to be done, and more importantly, why these steps are necessary.

Click here to register via iLearn

ODOT Rolls Out Education Support Classes for New DBE and ESB Firms

ODOT is working in partnership with the Chemeketa SBDC to offer free class vouchers for beginner classes to new business owners or individuals thinking about stating a business.

These classes are complimentary to the ones offered at PBDG and provides good review of basic business fundamentals. Classes are virtual and business can be located anywhere in the state of Oregon.

Click to view and register for upcoming SBDC classes.