Hi everyone! I just want to let you all know that I'm happy to offer my advice, answers or insight on the subject of Chambers of Commerce. My most recent position was as Executive Director for a chamber with over 700 members in a very metropolitan area. Ask anything you'd like to know about Chamber networking...this place is so valuable, I almost feel guilty sucking up all of this knowledge without sharing some of my own!

Thanks!
There are 5 COC's in my area, how do I decide which one is best for me to join?

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Need Help? Ask Viki!

You want to be sure that you join the one that will help you the most. Be sure you join the one where you will attend networking events. The chamber of commerce does you no good if you just sit home and do nothing. You have to get out and network in person.

Cindy Freland
Maryland Secretarial Services, Inc.
www.webmss.com

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Cindy Freland
Maryland Secretarial Services, Inc.

Hi Viki!

What I would advise is that you attend a breakfast or luncheon for each chamber, first. This will enable you to see how well organized their staff is with events. If they have a really interesting speaker, or they do something "different", it will show you that the staff is in tune with what their members need to grow their businesses. For my chamber, I instituted a few things that were above and beyond the normal table talk stuff, like "hot topics", a panel of speakers in lieu of the regular one-speaker norm, etc.

Attending an event will also give you an introduction to the other members, so that you can see what kind of business owners are most prevalent.

Set up an appointment with the CEO or Executive Director. If they run a great chamber, they will care enough to take the time to meet you for thirty minutes. Ask them what they are prepared to do to show you their chamber is the best. Ask how they would suggest you work your membership to your advantage, and what kind of advertising or involvement would be best for you. Whenever a potential member came to me with a direct approach, it showed me that they were serious about being active, and active members are always of great value, and enjoy the successes their membership brings.

As the ED, I was on the other side of the fence, so I have a different perspective - I noticed that I found myself connecting the more active members because I was more familiar with them and their businesses. Try to get a feel for whether or not you "connect" with the staff and the most active members. If you do, you will always be at the front of their minds when someone mentions a need that a VA may be able to fill.

Finally, take the time to thoroughly explore the advertising opportunities each chamber offers. If there are offerings that stand out, this will tell you that the staff is on top of the times and what members need. The traditional methods are great, such as flyers, newsletter ads, etc., but if they offer something more exciting and unique, then you've hit paydirt.

Samantha, you give some great advice. I've been considering joining my local chamber and now I have a direction to go should I decide to look into joining.

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Joni Snowden
A Novel Space
www.anovelspace.com

Great, Joni! I'm so glad to be able to offer some help as a newbie!

Thanks so much!

I created an Excel spreadsheet to use to compare what the COC's offer: member benefits, networking and other events, what discounts members get, and of course, the yearly cost. Now, armed with this info, I am going to schedule a sitter and go to one event at each COC and follow your advice from there.

Thanks again!

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Need Help? Ask Viki!

I live in a very small town, so my local Chamber is very small and I'm not sure if this is the one I'd want to join. Is it ok to join a Chamber in a different town then you live? A town that you want to network within.

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Deb Frawley
Gem's Virtual Office

Yes, I think you can join just about any chamber of commerce. I see people join ours from cities all around and even different states.

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Cindy Freland
Maryland Secretarial Services, Inc.

I pay my chamber of commerce membership fees quarterly. See if you can do that if the annual fee is too much for you to handle all at once. Check out the advertising and the mixers for the chamber of commerce you plan to join. Mine has monthly mixers and I can advertise in the newsletter very inexpensively. I can also display my business cards and flyers in the chamber office.

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Cindy Freland
Maryland Secretarial Services, Inc.