A recent post from the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center recommends joining your local chamber of commerce in order to find support during the current challenging economic times. They go on to point out that working along side the MI-SBTDC, the local chambers are a great resource to small business owners, providing advocacy, networking and marketing opportunities.

By becoming a member you will be able to participate in activities such as expos, golf outings, educational sessions and special events while networking with other professionals and business owners. Through this established network, business owners have the opportunity to make connections with others who could be their future clients and customers or who cold generate referrals for their business.

Chamber membership affords you many marketing avenues - website links, membership directories, sponsorships, social media outlets and affordable advertising opportunities are available to you as a chamber member.

Membership makes a statement about you and your business. It says that you have chosen to be an active participant in your business community. Your membership investment is actually an investment in the economic development of the community. For information about membership in the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce, contact Phil Hughes at 265-2320.


Ann Hughes
President & CEO
annhughes@adrianareachamber.com
www.adrianareachamber.com

What is the Chamber?

Someone asked me last week to tell them about chambers of commerce. I began by telling them what a chamber is not: it is not a unit of government and it is not a privately-owned business. A chamber not a for-profit business, although it's not-for-profit status does not prohibit a chamber earning more income. Not-for-profit is simply a tax status not a preferred way of doing business.

Some chambers are highly political - endorsing candidates and making recommendations to voters. Others, like the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce are not political, giving equal presence to all candidates. These chambers provide information, ballot samples and access to the candidates to their members.

Chamber revenues are made up of a combination of sources including membership income, program revenue, fundraising activities and contributions. Twenty years ago, membership income might have been made up to 75% of the annual budget. Today, revenue from annual member investments range from 35 - 50%. Therefore the need for creating additional revenue streams to support the organization.

Chambers differ in their mission depending on the nature and needs of their community and constitutents. While many are focused on government advocacy and legislative affairs, others have business and community development, tourism, marketing and education as their priorities. Each chamber is as unique as the community they serve. For more information specific to the Adrian Area Chamber, log ono to www.adrianareachamber.com.

Ann Hughes, President & CEO
Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce
www.adrianareachamber.com
annhughes@adrianareachamber.com

Get your employees on board with the Chamber

If you are a member of the Chamber, then so are each of your employees. Encouraging them to get involved on some level will give you greater value for your membership investment. They can receive e-mail, attend programs, serve on a committee - just about anything. As they become more involved, they will be creating additional visibility for your services and products and building potentially valuable business relationships.

Remember, it is actually your business that is the member, thereby affording all benefits of membership tothose in your office or workplace. These include Member Discounts, referrals and more. Log on to www.adrianareachamber.com and click on the Join Now button to view the growing list of services that have been designed to help your business grow!

Ann Hughes
President & CEO
annhughes@adrianareachamber.com
www.adrianareachamber.com

The Chamber, working with the LISD & others is developing a Business & Technology EXPO set for 10/16/10 at the Tech Center. Committeee meets next week for 1st time. Looking for interested volunteers. Call me at 265-2320.

Initial thoughts center on the event serving as a showcase for local businesses of all kinds with a special are set aside for technology related organizations. The plan also calls for hands-on instructive session on hardware, software, social medial and other business applications.

The show is belong held on a Saturday in order to make it possible for participation by area college students as well as the general public and business persons. Vendor fees will be held to a minimum and we are looking not to charge for admission for the event.

Anyone interested in serving on the Planning Committee may call the Chamber. Registration materials will be available in mid-May.

For more Chamber and member news log on to www.adrianareachamber.com

Ann Hughes
President & CEO
Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce

Littmann to headline Economic Luncheon

Want to learn about what's happening with the economy and what has to happen to fix it? Then join us tomorrow (Tuesday, March 30th) for the Chamber's 1st Economic Luncheon event. To be held at the Centre at 1800 West US 223, the Luncheon runs from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. The featured speaker is David Littmann, Senior Economist for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. This is a great opportunity to hear and learn from one of the region's foremost economists. Call the Chamber at 265-2320 for reservations.

Social Media - A Commitment

This isn't New Year's Day but I am going to once again make a resolution to commit to a schedule of regular social networking! I can't be the only one who realizes the importance of social media in marketing a business, an event or issue and who simply gets bogged down with other things and all of a sudden realizes that they haven't blogged in 6 weeks or that it has been days (or weeks) since a post was put on Face Book, Twitter or Linked In. Tell me, I'm not the only one!

Anyway, if you are like me and occasionally miss the opportunity to tweet, post or blog, join me in setting aside a bit of time each day to take advantage of the opportunities these media afford us. I'm going to try for first thing in the morning before my schedule starts to crumble! Let me know how it goes for you!

Resolve to utilize your membership in 2010!

Limitations of time, staff and energy can make it difficult to get involved with Chamber activities. but we encourage you to make use of Chamber services, access benefits and attend networking events whenever possible in the coming year. The Chamber works for you regardless of your level of involvement - website presence, referrals, brochure distribution, directory listings, etc. - but you get more from your membership investment when you are present at events and programs and take the opportunity to do some face-to-face networking. The Chamber is all about marketing - yourself, your products, your services - and we are available daily to sit down for a one-on-one conversation about helping your business succeed. Call me anytime at 265-2320. We are here to serve you and your business. Remember that your membership covers all of your employees and they may attend and/or participate in any Chamber program, committee or event!

Ann Hughes
President and CEO
517.265.2320
517.270.1818
www.adrianareachamber.com