Four Oregon companies named top small businesses by U.S. Chamber of Commerce
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Four Oregon-based companies were highlighted as exceptional small businesses ahead of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s America's Top Small Business Awards.
The annual awards’ program recognizes small businesses in the U.S. that “have emerged as the vanguards of innovation and community engagement.”
Seventy companies from coast to coast were chosen as this year’s top businesses. Here are the Oregon-based companies that could be selected as one of seven finalists for the awards show.
IRL Social Skills
Location: Portland, OR
IRL Social Skills helps people with autism and other neurodivergent people practice their social skills.
Through the business’s Social Skills Academy, parents, caregivers and other coaches lead students through a 16-week course where they learn about communication and building relationships. The classes are for children ages 11 to 16, young adults ages 16 to 20 and adults ages 21 to 35.
Jan’s
Location: 12320 SW 1st St, Beaverton, OR 97005
This independently-owned bookstore opened in Aloha in 1981, before relocating to Beaverton’s downtown area just five years ago.
Jan’s specializes in paperback fiction books, but also offers coloring books, calendars, puzzles and soaps — many of them made by entrepreneurs in the local community.
Portland Integrative Fitness
Location: 1235 SE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97214
This Southeast Portland fitness studio provides “the most comprehensive, holistic and personalized approach to the rehab-to-performance model of fitness training available.”
Portland Integrative Fitness offers training programs for those recovering from injuries, elderly people aiming to rebuild their strength, prenatal women wanting to prepare their bodies and more.
Rock Paper Coin
Location: Lake Oswego, OR
Rock Paper Coin is an online platform for professionals in the event industry who want to keep administrative tasks like transactions, contracts and proposals in one place.
Wedding planners, event caterers and floral designers have used the business’s software to conduct their work.
The Chamber of Commerce will announce the final award winners on Oct. 19.