he expense of sourcing raw materials into Alaska and then distributing finished products out has baffled and thwarted manufacturing ventures, big and small. Yet many Alaskans have succeeded well enough to thrive in the widget-making sector.

Local material sourcing (and sometimes a side hustle or two) helps support the entrepreneur as well as their surrounding community, which benefits from a lively local economy.

The State of Alaska has the Made in Alaska program to promote products made, manufactured, or handcrafted in the state. Products that meet the program’s “51 percent or more” criteria of being produced in Alaska are allowed to display the polar bear sticker logo, signifying the item’s authenticity as Made in Alaska.

hink back to the last time you went looking for some answers.

Maybe you needed a dog-friendly restaurant for your company party. Maybe you couldn’t quite remember how many teaspoons were in a tablespoon (it’s still three).

Whatever the question, one thing is clear: Google has the answer.

And for most queries submitted to the search engine, it has many. The page that appears after clicking return is what search engine optimization professionals refer to as the SERP, or search engine results page. How, where, and when your business shows up on the SERP can have a major impact on its ability to drive website traffic, gain new customers, and increase revenue.

o thrive in today’s market, companies must understand and respond to trends that can make commercial insurance more difficult and expensive to obtain—especially in Alaska.

Take property insurance, for example. For the past five years, commercial insurance buyers have generally seen significant premium increases in the property market, driven by natural catastrophes, social inflation, economic inflation, increased reinsurance costs, and higher costs of claims, according to Anna Kohler, an Anchorage-based account executive with Parker, Smith & Feek, one of the fifty largest insurance brokerage firms in the United States.

laska is truly a special place, and amongst the environs that intertwine to form the fabric of this great state, perhaps none are more special than the isolated encampments that comprise the fly-out fishing lodges of Katmai and Bristol Bay. As a teen in the early ‘80s—and later as a young adult—I was extremely fortunate to work for several seasons in Katmai, first as a lodgekeeper at Brooks Camp and ultimately as a fly-fishing guide at Kulik Lodge. Those were some of the most meaningful and memorable summers I could ever hope to experience, and the lessons learned working there have carried me quite well throughout my professional life.

Fondly recalling my guiding days, I keenly remember the sense of immediacy, focus, and ultimate responsibility I felt towards any client I accompanied on the region’s rivers and streams. However, if I were to be totally honest, I’d have to admit I was likely a little cocky (or at least overconfident) in my ability to handle any situation that might have arisen. Moreover, my recollections are firmly rooted within my own first-person perspective, with little recall or awareness as to how the owners and management staff of the lodges were prepared to deal with the rapid evolution of any emergency.

prah Winfrey’s ability to influence consumer purchasing choices, particularly since she launched a book club segment on her TV talk show in 1996, has been dubbed “the Oprah Effect.” A benediction from the media mogul can boost a previously little-known entity to new heights of popularity.

To bring the same Midas touch to the field of hotels and wellness resorts, her Oprah Daily magazine inaugurated the O-wards earlier this year. Honorees demonstrate the ability to transform, teach, and serve as catalysts for becoming what Winfrey calls “the person you were always meant to be.” According to the magazine, these properties touch on every aspect of self-care and range from accommodations that unite generations to treat-yourself spa weekends with girlfriends and spaces that welcome solo hikers.

cribbles marred the faces of officials most Alaskans wouldn’t recognize. On flyers that arrived in mailboxes this spring, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) board members were shown as a pirate, a clown, a pig, a chicken, and a devil. The only female board member was depicted as a fanged troll while, in a gesture toward gender sensitivity, the guise of a warty witch was applied to her male colleague.

What had they done to deserve such treatment? According to the flyers, the AIDEA board members are “losers” because, under their watch, “Alaska lost out on $10 billion.”

AIDEA has been in the crosshairs before. For decades, its most notorious failed investments have been talking points for small-government conservatives opposed to state intervention in the free market. The flyer, though, is not conservative handiwork; it is sponsored by the 907 Initiative, which spent the last couple of years making sure Anchorage voters were aware of Mayor Dave Bronson’s every shortcoming, until he lost re-election in May.

n online search for “Alaska marketing agencies” returns descriptions like “grow your local business,” “hundreds of satisfied clients in Alaska,” “the local go-to.” Local agencies tailor their services to the needs of local businesses, promising Alaska solutions for Alaska entrepreneurs.

The approach makes sense, according to the founders of Orange Slice, an Anchorage-based agency that builds marketing strategies for local clients like Mr. Prime Beef and Alaska Chip Company. “Alaska is unlike anywhere else and demands a unique approach to marketing strategies,” asserts the Orange Slice website.

But a handful of local marketing agencies have found success by doing less. While these agencies still offer an array of marketing services, they’ve each narrowed their client base to a single industry—and, by doing so, they have expanded beyond Alaska to find success throughout the Lower 48.

ook closely at a phone bill; there’s a tax added for the Universal Service Fund (USF). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) manages the USF to bolster projects aimed at expanding and improving broadband and cellular communication. Normally, providers must meet strict standards to receive funds from the USF. But things aren’t that simple in Alaska, which is why the FCC created a special order for Alaska providers, aptly called the Alaska Plan.

“Alaska just does not have the infrastructure that they have in the Lower 48… It’s a balance of how much money you have and how good a service can you provide, and just that mix in Alaska is different,” says Christine O’Connor, executive director of Alaska Telecom Association (ATA). “So they allowed the opportunity to adjust what those obligations are based on the realities on the ground.”

ommercial property insurance is vital to the operations of Alaska businesses. Without it, a business would have to pay out of pocket to repair or replace property if it’s damaged. Protecting these critical assets with adequate replacement cost insurance is always the goal.

Replacement cost value is defined as the value of the cost to replace the item with a similar like, kind, and quality. The concept of “insurance to value” is rooted in the principle of indemnity, which aims to restore the insured to the same financial position they were in before a loss occurred. By knowing the accurate estimation of what it would take to fully replace or restore an insured building, owners can realize sufficient protection and avoid penalties when a covered loss occurs.

Some types of plastic that were difficult to recycle in Anchorage have a new drop-off location. Alaska Plastic Recovery has a spot on East 56th Avenue, near the Central Transfer Station, to accept #4 and #5 plastics, such as shopping bags and food containers. The site also takes #1 and #2 plastics, as does the WestRock Anchorage Recycling Center, but without the restriction to blow-molded bottles. Alaska Plastic Recovery uses a mobile processing unit to convert plastic waste into Grizzly Wood, a lumber product used for picnic tables or trail infrastructure.

alaskaplasticrecovery.com

A historic restaurant in Ketchikan gets $50,000 to upgrade, renovate, and grow new business. New York Café is one of fifty recipients this year of the Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The New York Café is Alaska’s longest operating restaurant,” says owner Stephen Reeve. “It began over 120 years ago when a Japanese adventurer, Tony Ohashi, built the pioneer restaurant on the water side of Front Street in downtown Ketchikan. The grant will help us restore some key elements of the building façade and better document the café’s history in the form of historic signage. We want to honor the Japanese families that created the New York Café and much more of the surrounding historic Stedman-Thomas neighborhood.”

newyorkcafe.net