Join The Club Chambers of commerce can help you get your foot in <I>lots</I> of doors.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Although photographer Melissa Leeper enjoys travelingto photo locations and meeting people, she describes attending herfirst local chamber of commerce event as more than a littleintimidating. "They had me stand up, and they introduced me. Iwas so nervous," recalls Leeper, 35, who founded Leeper Photo,her own homebased studio, nearly two years ago and is a member ofthe Greater Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce, a suburban Detroitgroup.
"Joining the chamber and the Business Women's Networkreally helped me make the transition from a corporate environmentto [entrepreneurship]," agrees training and communicationconsultant Christine Gloss,a past BWN president. "It gave me a lot of practice in talkingabout my business and what I do."
Still, chamber membership provided a much-needed jumpstart forLeeper's networking efforts. By attending smaller gatheringslike morning coffees and her chamber's Business Women'sNetwork (BWN) meetings, she gradually became more confident."I eventually developed a three-sentence spiel about what I doand was able to practice that at chamber events," she says."That helped me better deal with clients on the phone aswell."
What's more, chambers of commerce often offer constituentgroups geared toward retailers, women entrepreneurs or businessesin specific districts, notes Sheila Brice, executive directorof the Royal Oak group. And there are usually added perks likegroup discount plans on health insurance, office supplies andmerchant bankcard programs.
Perhaps more important, chamber membership can help you spreadthe word about your business. Donating goods or services to thechamber is one method-Leeper, for instance, donated aphotography package to a chamber fund-raising party. "Theymentioned my business throughout the event, so my name got out thatway," she says.
Brice recommends seeking out other members who have similarinterests with an eye toward jointly sponsoring events andpromotions. "Members can rely on the chamber for promotionalprograms, but they also need to be proactive and find the fellowmembers they want to target," says Brice, whose chamberdistributes 31,000 member directories each year. "Chambermembership is an incredible marketing bargain for yourbusiness."
"It's what you put into it," concludes Leeper."If you don't get involved, you don't meetanybody."
Dominique King mixes and mingles at chamber events as abusiness reporter and columnist for a small chain of suburbanDetroit weekly newspapers.
