As the owner of a small business, University accounting graduate Kevin Cohen has mixed feelings about the advantages of starting out in the Eugene market.
“I think it’s a very difficult market to start a business in,” Cohen said. “But for lifestyle reasons, it’s a great place to be.”
After opening Bene Gourmet Pizza with his wife Erika in 2000, Cohen said his business has grown to accommodate 33 current employees at three different locations: 4 Oakway Center, 225 W. Broadway and 2566 Willamette St.
Although he admits the dwindling economy made times tough the first few years, Cohen said the premier pizza market has treated him well.
With his heart set on goals of developing a strong regional brand in the Northwest and improving livable wages and health care benefits for employees, Cohen said Bene Gourmet Pizza will continue to flourish locally.
“We’ve taken very little of our profits out of the business because it goes toward expansion and development,” he said. “Essentially, I want the business to grow with my team.”
Cohen’s company is one of many small businesses in Eugene that is aiming to succeed despite the national economic slowdown.
According to the United States Small Business Administration, small businesses are responsible for 80 percent of net new jobs and represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods. Characterized by an employee base of 500 or less, small businesses also employ more than 56 percent of Oregon’s private workforce, which accounts for 754,209 of the 1,332,403 workers in the state.
Although businesses like Bene Gourmet Pizza had rough starts in the Eugene economy, local employees say the region’s quality of life keeps them going while owners say business is doing better.
“We’re growing, so business just keeps picking up,” said Joshua Proudfoot, principal owner of Good Company, a local research and consulting firm.
Located at 435 Lincoln St., the three-year-old business helps government agencies, corporations and institutions of higher education identify and utilize systems and products that are sustainable and better for the environment. In 2001, the Oregon University System recognized the “green” efforts of the company with a Business Alliances group grant to help foster sustainable development for Oregon’s colleges and universities.
According to its Web site, www.goodcompany.com, the company currently employs five representatives, and Proudfoot said he hopes to add to that number soon.
“We’ve made a conscious decision to grow more as a company before we try to get rich,” he said. “Our goal for the next few years is to have most of our Northwest and some national and international clients closer to sustainability, and I think we will achieve that.”
In an effort to help businesses like Good Company expand into global markets, the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce offers various programs and resources to local firms listed on its Web site at www.eugenechamber.com.
Chris Nystrom, head of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce international program, said the Chamber places emphasis on small business assistance because 1,000 of its 1,200 current members are businesses with 50 employees or less.
“Small businesses go out of business every day,” she said. “We provide many services to help those businesses be successful instead.”
As part of her position, Nystrom organizes international roundtable discussions for small businesses considering expansion into the global market.
“They’re very willing to help us do what we need to succeed as an international business,” said Val Hoyle, international sales manager for Burley, a wholesale manufacturer of bicycles, bicycle trailers and rain gear.
The worker-owned co-op has been doing international business for more than 13 years and distributes to more than 3,000 retailers in the U.S., four of which are located in Eugene, according to the company Web site, www.burley.com. After starting out with fewer than six employees, Hoyle said the 25-year-old “big-small business” now has 85 worker-owners with no current plans for expansion.
“We’ve been doing well, but the economy has affected sales in the whole industry,” she said. “However, our prices are decreasing overseas because the value of the dollar has gone down, which is good for us.”
Hoyle said Eugene is “excellent” for growing a business because of the highly educated workforce, loyal, supportive consumers and attractive neighborhoods.
“For a cycling company, you really couldn’t find a better place,” Hoyle said. “We wouldn’t choose to be anywhere else.”