Leveraging Your Chamber Membership
The Chamber of Commerce offers endless networking opportunities. If you are new in business or haven't been active with your local chamber, joining can lead to many new opportunities and growth. However, there is a common misconception that when you join your local chamber of commerce you immediately see results. Realistically, it’s more like a gym membership for your business. (Also, you can have more than one! Joining more than one Chamber increases your opportunities.)
Your success is based on how much time and effort you invest.
Getting Started
Visit our office or call to make an appointment. We are a small but mighty team at the Chamber, so you will meet Liz Ogle, President of the Chamber, and Chelsea Scoma, Membership & Event Manager. We'll share our Membership fees, benefits, upcoming events, and the various committees you can join to get even more involved.
You Joined the Chamber, What's Next?
Start networking. We host a variety of events to give you an opportunity to network with other business owners and influencers in the community. On average, you can expect to attend 2 or more events per month. We host Morning Connections, Luncheons, Social Hours, etc. to try to accommodate everyone's busy schedules. To maximize your attendance at these events, make reasonable goals, like introducing yourself to at least 3 people while you're there (don't forget your business cards!).
Creating Networking Opportunities
Join a committee. This will give you a chance to meet more influential people like the President of the chamber, City leadership, Grandview School's superintendent, business owners, and more. It’s a way to be part of the chamber’s growth and planning, which ultimately increases your networking opportunities.
We offer three different committees you can join: the ambassador committee, the events committee, and the government affairs committee. The ambassador committee helps mentor new members, drive new membership signups and retain current members. The event committee contributes to event planning, ribbon cutting, selling tickets, and overall hospitality-type services. The government affairs committee helps develop local, regional, state, and federal legislative agendas reflecting issues of importance to Chamber members.
Expanding Networking Opportunities
Join multiple chambers. If you have the bandwidth, you should consider joining more than one local chamber. Remember this isn’t just an opportunity to grow your client list, but it’s also a way to connect with the business community. Joining your local chambers is an excellent way to extend the visibility of your company to the community and build a reputation for your brand.
Key Takeaways
There are opportunities for tremendous growth working with local chambers, but memberships are not exclusive. There will likely be several companies just like yours. The best way to gain attention for your business is to be reliable and consistent. Opportunities will come naturally when you are active with the chamber and socially engage with other members.
Ready to take the plunge? Give us a call (816-761-6505) or visit our membership page to find more information about the Grandview Chamber of Commerce and fill out a membership application online!