It’s always nice to read something complimentary about yourself- and then shamelessly share that reading with everyone around you. I know you all realize that I am far too popular to pass along every nice word that is written about me, but this one stands out; mostly because it’s not about me, it’s about the Chamber.

Jack Duncan, owner of Radiance Road Marketing, joined the Chamber last week. In his blog, he shares his reasons for joining, but I wanted to recount them here as well. Jack, please forgive me for the plagiarism.

1. Chamber membership brings creditability. Studies show that consumers place more trust in chamber partners and are more likely to buy if they know a company is in the local chamber of commerce. (Amy’s note: We built our newest membership materials around that- remember the 63% campaign?)

2. The Chamber offers networking opportunities to gain clients. Radiance Road Marketing serves Lakeland businesses. There are regular and special events designed specifically for b2b contacts.  As a local company providing internet marketing for local companies, it only makes sense to look for clients in the Chamber because that’s where most of the successful business will be involved..

3. The Chamber offers unique advertising and promotion opportunities. I get my business listed on their online and print directories I can place ads in them, as well. I can also sponsor and leverage their local events.

4. The Chamber is an advocate for local businesses. Politically, the more small businesses that band together, the more power we have. It’s important to protect the interests of entrepreneurs like myself!

5. The Chamber provides opportunities for professional development. We learn from the experience of our fellow small and medium businesspersons as we interact and at specially-designed events. It’s important for me to learn to grow my business.

6. I have always advised my clients to join and participate in the local chamber of commerce. That’s hard to do if I am not a member myself. I advise them to do it because it works. My clients’ success is my success.

7. It strengthens our community. Since chambers build businesses and business hire workers and everybody pays taxes (ok – everybody with an income is supposed to pay taxes) – we all win. Lakeland businesses success is in my personal and professional best interest.

Now, if you’ll read his blog post, you’ll recognize that like all good decision makers, Jack found his inspiration for Chamber membership in classic TV. If Mr. Drysdale can make it work, we all can!

I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to give kudos to a Chamber member- Jack gets it. You all get it. The Chamber is your resource, but resources are only beneficial when they’re used! I encourage you to take some time today to find your reasons. Identify the resources that you use (or can use) to grow your business, yourself, your community. Jot them below- with 1,900 members, I bet there’s an idea out there you haven’t considered yet!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 3:35 pm and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.