All About the Mission - August 15

I was recently reading a blog for chamber professionals and there was a comment about chambers relying too much on the idea of the value proposition of a chamber membership being tied to “activities”.  The blogger commented that businesses should be members because “it’s the right thing to do” and not because of how many events they can attend.  The reality of this conversation is that it is both, but that it is changing, and rapidly.

What is changing for members, especially new entrepreneurs, is that they are not content with just joining the Chamber for the purest or macro of reasons.  They run their business with intentional attitudes about truly making an impact on their community.  And, with that comes personal engagement, social responsibility, and making a difference they can measure.  They want their business to be known as a contributor to the economy as much as it is a part of it.

As a Chamber, we must ensure that volunteer opportunities, programs like Leadership Augusta and ways to support community development are plentiful and meaningful for our members, especially within the small business sector.  One of the programs we run on a monthly basis called our Third Thursday Business Builder, will feature a program in August that helps businesses improve their website’s ADA compliance.  I already know that this will be a sell-out.

As the needs of business evolve over time, the Chamber is evolving as it should.  Programming and speakers are taking on some new flavors and we are testing the water with the newest ideas on member engagement.  All about our mission means paying close attention to the member’s mission, whatever that might be and however that might be changing.