ScaleUp Grad: Running My Business is Easier than it’s Ever Been Caption: Belleza Ropa owner Jeannine Kempees (above) assists a customer with their purchase. For long-time business owner Jeannine Kempees, ScaleUp was an amazing fit. “I was experiencing growth in sales and it was taking a lot of management time to [...]
Growing Cider Company Stay Local When Business Community Gets Craft-y Award-winning new business Tart Cider, LLC found themselves bursting at the seams by the end of 2017. A 1920s, one-car garage on Olympia’s westside housed their cider press, six juice tanks, five fermentation tanks, production supplies, and kegs for their final [...]
Phillips Burgess and founding partner recognized among the best by U.S. News & World Report The Olympia-Tacoma law firm of Phillips Burgess has been ranked among the nation’s Best Law Firms and its managing partner, Heather Burgess, has been named to the roster of Best Lawyers by the oldest peer-review publication in the legal [...]
Congratulations to Kaufman Constructions & Development, Inc. for receiving the EDC’s Spark Lifetime Achievement Award. Kaufman has been integral to economic development in Thurston County for more than 50 years, bringing new businesses to our market and helping others grow. The company was founded in Thurston County in 1965, originally as Kaufman Brothers Construction, Inc., [...]
Highlighting the future of innovation in the Pacific Mountain five-county region Attend this exciting one-day event focused on setting the 2018 economic stage for our five-county region. The Economic Forecast & Innovation Expo, in its ninth year, draws upwards of 350 decision makers and community leaders from all sectors of business and industry in our region. [...]
For decades, the Olympia Brewery’s 8 a.m. steam-whistle signaled the beginning of work for many, and the start of first period for those at Olympia High School (OHS), just a mile down the road. One of those students was 1981 graduate Michael Parsons, who today is involved in a partnership to bring brewing back [...]
Food is the common denominator for many of life’s best activities. Celebrations, marking of holidays, community events, and gathering of friends and family. And food is uniting us in the South Sound. It is the currency being used for expanding our local economy, improving community health, and caring for our environment. There is a local [...]
A Thurston County company, founded on the bedrock belief that private enterprise alleviates poverty, is being held up internationally as a model for social enterprises. Alaffia co-founders Olowo-n’djo Tchala and Prairie Rose Hyde delivered a number of high-profile addresses to U.S. and African officials at a 38-nation trade summit in Togo, West Africa the [...]
Ever thought of adding a local component to your investment portfolio? Do you like the idea of investing in a local business that needs capital you can get to know personally? If yes, then it’s time for you to find out more about the Thurston Investment Network (ThINk). ThINk is a membership-based network (no fees or cost) [...]
You don’t grow from one store to forty-four in less than 20 years without knowing how to find and select good locations. The Pacific Northwest’s largest independent pet retailer, Mud Bay, knows a lot about real estate and the significant role it plays in success. Marisa Wulff, co-CEO of locally headquartered Mud Bay, will [...]
