I was recently asked by two completely different Carlsbad Chamber members — one new and one who had been a member for many years — the same question in two different ways. By the first I was asked, “What do chambers do?” By the second member I was asked, “Toni, why have you done for this so long and how do you continue to stay excited about it?”
The background is that I have been an employee for close to 10 years, I have been a part of this Chamber for close to 20 years, and yes, I really do love my work!
There is a saying among chamber professionals that goes like this, “If you have seen one chamber, you've seen one chamber.” In essence what they mean is that each chamber is made up of its members and therefore is very different from the next chamber.
What chambers do have in common is that they serve their members. We first have a responsibility to seek out the businesses in our community and let them know that we are here for them. Then it is our responsibility to provide them the 3 P's.
First, promote. We must let everyone in the community know what businesses are here and what they have to offer. Second, we must prepare them to stay in businesses by providing tools such as education, resources, and support. Third, we must protect them by consistently monitoring anything and anyone that will prevent them from being able to do business in their community.
Your Carlsbad Chamber does all of these really well. We provide more than 300 opportunities each year for businesses to promote themselves. Whether it be in a committee meeting, a breakfast or one-on-one, members can meet with each other on a regular basis. We have all the traditional methods of advertising as well, including print and online — all done in house. We prepare our members through our Small Business Success Center, our Pathways to Success groups and the many, many educational workshops and seminars we regularly offer. Our Government Affairs committee does an outstanding job protecting our members through their watchdog strategies to ensure that legislation that is bad for business does not prevail.
Why have I done this job for so long, and how is that I still love it? I meet nearly 30 new businesses each month. Lots of exciting products and services abound in our community. Running those businesses are some of the most passionate people I have ever met. I work with an extraordinary team, each of whom brings a unique spark to our daily operations, making each day an adventure. I get to spend my day sharing people's dreams while creating a few of my own. Could it possibly get any better than that?
The background is that I have been an employee for close to 10 years, I have been a part of this Chamber for close to 20 years, and yes, I really do love my work!
There is a saying among chamber professionals that goes like this, “If you have seen one chamber, you've seen one chamber.” In essence what they mean is that each chamber is made up of its members and therefore is very different from the next chamber.
What chambers do have in common is that they serve their members. We first have a responsibility to seek out the businesses in our community and let them know that we are here for them. Then it is our responsibility to provide them the 3 P's.
First, promote. We must let everyone in the community know what businesses are here and what they have to offer. Second, we must prepare them to stay in businesses by providing tools such as education, resources, and support. Third, we must protect them by consistently monitoring anything and anyone that will prevent them from being able to do business in their community.
Your Carlsbad Chamber does all of these really well. We provide more than 300 opportunities each year for businesses to promote themselves. Whether it be in a committee meeting, a breakfast or one-on-one, members can meet with each other on a regular basis. We have all the traditional methods of advertising as well, including print and online — all done in house. We prepare our members through our Small Business Success Center, our Pathways to Success groups and the many, many educational workshops and seminars we regularly offer. Our Government Affairs committee does an outstanding job protecting our members through their watchdog strategies to ensure that legislation that is bad for business does not prevail.
Why have I done this job for so long, and how is that I still love it? I meet nearly 30 new businesses each month. Lots of exciting products and services abound in our community. Running those businesses are some of the most passionate people I have ever met. I work with an extraordinary team, each of whom brings a unique spark to our daily operations, making each day an adventure. I get to spend my day sharing people's dreams while creating a few of my own. Could it possibly get any better than that?