What a powerful combination OAME and EPCC! yOuAndME are EPiCc! https://oame.org/wp-content/uploads/Weekly-Update-Opp-12-01-2021.pdf

Your powerful East Portland Chamber of Commerce membership has a huge array of benefits to help you survive and thrive in these interesting times!  

Your EPCC membership allows you to participate in OAME - the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs.  This is a large and powerful group which attracts anyone from brand new one person businesses to the large construction groups like Hoffman and others, as well as the City of Portland, Multnomah County, PCC, multiple state agencies and many many more.

Get your name out there by getting on one of their many Zoom get togethers and introduce yourself during the 6 second intros then jump into private rooms for conversations with those you want to chat with.

I'm your OAME Liason and your EPCC Ambassador, feel free to contact me for more information on how to use EPCC and OAME to grow and succeed. Ron Schmidt 503-539-6817 Ron@ThePlanningGroup.ORG 

https://oame.org/wp-content/uploads/Monthly-Newsletter-August-2021-1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR11KmFYwIMzsaMQ5KEkcgLc_xX18RBiCP1Kv6tweOXw0WbQyH9UppUlzXs

You are not alone.  The CPA Advisor states that employee recruitment and retention is next to lack of capital as the largest challenge we face today. (1)

Whether you are hiring your first employee or have hundreds or thousands of employees you need to retain, we have resources that can help you do so at no cost to your company.

Let's chat.  15 minutes is all it takes and your employees will be delighted you did so. 

Ron Schmidt Ron@ThePlanningGroup.Org 503-539-6817

(1) https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/small-business/article/21224090/small-businesses-face-challenges-but-majority-expect-growth-in-2021

While Colonial Pipeline and JBS meat packing took the news for cyber crimes, small and medium businesses are attacked in far greater numbers:

• 58% of businesses incurred a data breach in the last twelve months - cost $200,000 on average, reveals insurance carrier Hiscox
• Forty-three percent of cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses, but only 14% are prepared to defend themselves, according to Accenture.
• More than half of all small businesses suffered a breach within the last year.*
• Cybercrime is on the rise - Up 400% since March 2020 - Email attacks up 600%
• 76% of cyberattacks were affected upon companies with less than 100 people
• 88% of small business owners feel vulnerable to cyberattacks.
• 60% of SMB Fail within 6 months of a Cyber Attack.**

Cyberattacks can devastate your business’s reputation and put your customers and employees at risk. By scanning your networks, we discover and fix vulnerabilities while staying on top of new risks. And we’ll provide you with a specialist to help resolve the vulnerabilities remotely.

• Automated monthly scans and vulnerability reports
• Professional help resolving cyber risks including 24/7 access.
• Coverage for losses incurred as a result of a cyberattack to facilitate a quick recovery.

You can focus on your business with peace of mind.  Learn more or enroll at BizPowerX2.com/ids4biz 

*https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/13/cyberattacks-cost-small-companies-200k-putting-many-out-of-business.html

**https://www.inc.com/joe-galvin/60-percent-of-small-businesses-fold-within-6-months-of-a-cyber-attack-heres-how-to-protect-yourself.html

Looking To Get Into Great Shape? Try Muay Thai For Fitness!

With the current situation of 2020 many people are turning to the martial arts as a form of exercise. Consistent training in martial arts has a tremendous effect on both your physical and mental states, setting it apart from more traditional types of training. Perhaps the most dynamic form of martial arts training is Muay Thai. It is a fast-paced art that, with proper instruction, can be one of the most effective ways to lose weight, gain flexibility, increase energy and improve day to day performance.

 

Practiced for hundreds of years the art of Muay Thai is one of the most effective forms of empty hand combat. One of the main reasons why it has gained popularity among mixed martial arts fighters. It utilizes punches, kicks, elbow and knee strikes, this varies the training making it an amazing full body work out. Gary Wickman from healthguidence.com describes Muay Thai as an exercise that “burns the fat quickly making a person lean and thin which is a great achievement in itself. It has been seen that those practicing Muay Thai have seen a better, glowing complexion as it releases all the toxins and waste from the body.” The high intensity and dynamic classes result in vastly improved fitness in relatively short periods of time.

 

 

A high level of fitness is a goal many people have, whether they hope to avoid complications as they age or just to look and feel better on a daily basis. Muay Thai is one of the most effective and fun ways to improve you fitness. Each class will feature new techniques, all of which work together to achieve a fantastic full body workout.

 

Portland Muay Thai for Fitness Technique: The Standard Four

 

The benefits of Muay Thai are not only limited to improved fitness, as Muay Thai will also strengthen your mind and help relieve stress. An older art that has been gaining popularity in recent years, Muay Thai is the way to get in great shape and have fun doing it.

Come In and Try out a FREE Private Lesson and Learn How this Practice can be a Fun Safe way to get in the Best Shape of Your Life.

https://nwfighting.com/

"This gentle form of exercise can help maintain strength, flexibility, and balance, and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life." Harvard Medical School

No pain, big gains

Although tai chi is slow and gentle and doesn't leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning. Here's some of the evidence:

Muscle strength. Tai chi can improve both lower-body strength and upper-body strength. When practiced regularly, tai chi can be comparable to resistance training and brisk walking.

Although you aren't working with weights or resistance bands, the unsupported arm exercise involved in tai chi strengthens your upper body. Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen.

Flexibility. Tai chi can boost upper- and lower-body flexibility as well as strength.

Balance. Tai chi improves balance and, according to some studies, reduces falls. Proprioception — the ability to sense the position of one's body in space — declines with age. Tai chi helps train this sense, which is a function of sensory neurons in the inner ear and stretch receptors in the muscles and ligaments. Tai chi also improves muscle strength and flexibility, which makes it easier to recover from a stumble. Fear of falling can make you more likely to fall; some studies have found that tai chi training helps reduce that fear.

Aerobic conditioning. Depending on the speed and size of the movements, tai chi can provide some aerobic benefits. If your clinician advises a more intense cardio workout with a higher heart rate than tai chi can offer, you may need something more aerobic as well.

Try 2 weeks of free Tai Chi/Qigong at: https://www.taichiandqigongonline.com/beginning

“…I’m enjoying myself immensely… lost a little bit of weight… stress is beading up and falling off of me like it ain’t no thing.” Jeff Collins

Looking for work? We are hiring! 

Job fair at CherryWood Village Wednesday, 3/25, from 10-12 and 2-4 in the Village Square parking lot. 1417 SE 107th Ave Portland, OR 97216. 

Hiring for temporary and on-call positions including office staff, waitstaff, kitchen staff, care givers, and med techs. 

Looking for career opportunities, contact 503-408-0404 or tgabriel@cherrywoodvillage.net

Action (TNT) – Action Today Not Tomorrow.

a- What can you do today for your fitness? Walk, run, lift weights, practice martial arts, stretch etc…
b- What can you do today for continuing education? Read a book, listen to audio book, classes, documentaries etc…
c- What can you do today to improve your relationships? Go to lunch with a friend, call your parents, plan a date with your significant other etc…
d- Think of how your schedule affects you. Do you control the flow of your time or do you let it control you?
e- Think of something that is important to you. You can always make time for it. If you don’t, then it really isn’t a priority.
f- In Martial Arts, practice makes perfect. Repetition is the key to mastery. Think of one technique you want to improve on. Take 5-10 minutes every day outside of class for the next week, and study it like you were going to have to teach it to another student as if you were an expert on it.

For more on these ideas check out this article. 

Joy Through the Holidays

Adventist Health Community Event for those who have lost a loved one

Struggling with grief? Find new hope, healing and celebration this holiday season. Join our Spiritual Care and Hospice teams for a community of support to honor loved ones and special caregivers. Featuring guest speakers, live music, light refreshments and helpful resources. Add a special name to our Tree of Hope following the event.

Please RSVP by calling 503-251-6105 or visiting the classes and events page at adventisthealth.org/portland

Monday, Nov. 25

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

Adventist Health Portland, lower level

Education Centers A & B

10123 SE Market Street, Portland

Chamber member, Michelle Gillmore with the SMART Reading program, would like to invite any members of the Chamber to hear from their ED and the school principal, and experience SMART's literacy program firsthand!