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I spent part of Saturday helping out at the Woodstock Parade & Festival on Saturday. Here's a slideshow of the pictures I took that day.

The March Fourth marching band and Deviant Dance were definite highlights. Amanda Fritze was there to act as Grand Marshall(ette), Sean Daugherty of Papaccino's served as MC, and several live music bands were on hand to keep toes tapping and spirits festive.

I really enjoyed the float for Woodstock icon Otto's Sausage Kitchen, complete with a cow and a farm-themed float.

Next year I'm pushing for a lookalike contest for "Woodstock" performers like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, etc. Find out more about the Woodstock Community Business Association, which organized the event, at www.woodstockbiz.com. Lori Boisen of Advertise in the Bag deserves the lion's share of the credit for organizing this incredible festival. Well done, Lori!

Read our latest issue of The Medium, the e-newsletter that will help make your business more successful by waking you up to the easy things you can do to improve the visibility of your business.  Find out how to write a bio, why you should be blogging...even how to get your computer cables under control...

I thought I was going to be speaking at a business luncheon on Monday, so I jotted down some notes in preparation only to find out that the luncheon isn’t until next Monday. Oh, well. Story of my life these days. In any case, I thought the first part of my presentation was worth sharing here.

In discussing what I do (part of which is website development) I want to make the point that even if a business has a website I can still help them improve their website to help it work harder for their business. Many businesses throw up a site and then let it sit and get stagnant, neglecting to consider the impression it leaves on the people who visit it for the first time. I like to encourage my clients to ask their most “brutally honest friend” tell them the truth about their website. This, of course, works best if said friend effectively represents the client’s target market.

I also plan to provide a checklist for business owners to consider when honestly evaluating their sites. It will go something like this:

-       Does the look of my site truly represent the quality of my offerings? Does it make people want to hire me/visit my store?

-       Does it include recent press mentions?

-       Is the contact info easy to find?

-       Does it include an About Us and/or About Me page?

-       Is there photography? If so, does it do my business justice and truly and effectively represent what I do?

-       Is it collecting email addresses for future e-mail communication (i.e., e-newsletter, e-blast, etc.)

-       Does it include a blog? If so, is it up-to-date?

If businesses answer NO to two or more questions, I will recommend that they hire me or someone like me to update their website.

This checklist represents a bare minimum of what I think a useful website should contain. I’m constantly amazed by how many websites don’t include many of these elements and shudder to think of the business people are losing without these key components. The best question to ask the “brutally hones friend,” I think, upon reviewing a website is “Would you hire me/visit my store if you didn’t know me?”

We took a few minutes this month to chat with East Portland Chamber of Commerce Member of the Month Elizebett Eslinger of SE Works. As the Community Learning Center Coordinator, Elizebett oversees SE Works’ English as a Second Language (ESL) program.  With a lifetime of interacting with English language learners, she intimately understands the challenges of language acquisition and cultural understanding. Additionally, Liz has two bachelor’s degrees in English and political science,  a certification in teaching English as a second language (ESL), and is currently taking courses toward her master’s in public administration.

She currently serves on the chamber board, chairs the event committee, diligently provides the agenda for the weekly Wednesday AMs, and frequently serves as MC for the AMs. Her warm personality, openness and poise have quickly won her the affection of the chamber members and helped her successfully attract significant participation among chamber members in SE Works’ Annual Soup Cook-off and Auction.

1. Your educational background includes a certificate in teaching English as a second language (ESL), which is one of the services that SE Works provides to the people it serves. What drew you to this discipline?

As you may or may not know, I'm the Portland Women's Business Editor for the Examiner.com. I just posted my latest article on How to Write a Bio. Check it out!

Also, if you're a women business owner, let me know if you'd like me to profile me in my Examiner column. Drop me a line at kristin@mixedmediapdx.com or call 503-754-2636.

If you're a male business owner, don't hesitate to check out my column. There are lots of useful tips for you, too!