It’s more than just ribbon cuttings and mixers. Although those are important pieces of the Chamber experience and valuable benefits to your business, the Chamber is so much more than that.
The Chamber is the largest association of businesses in the community. Local businesses choose to join the Chamber because they know it’s good for their business, they receive both tangible and intangible benefits, and it’s good for the community and the economy.
With more than 1,700 business members, which accounts for 2,700 business representatives, the New Braunfels Chamber is your access point. When your business is a Chamber member, you have a connection to other businesses, their employees, and their leadership. You also have access to local, state, and federal elected officials and their staff.
The Chamber creates an environment to help businesses succeed. Everything the Chamber does, every project, program, and event is an exercise in helping our businesses and our economy thrive.
Our Board of Directors, volunteers, and staff are behind the scenes working hard to set the stage for you to grow your business. Once the stage is set though, the rest is up to you. We are going the create the environment for you, but you as the business leader must be the one to step up and take advantage of all the open doors and opportunities provided.
Compare it to a gym membership. Just because you join a gym, doesn’t mean you’re instantly going to accomplish your fitness goals. You still have to show up and put in hard work to see any improvements.
The question on your mind now may be, “How do I utilize these opportunities to benefit my business?” First, just like the gym, show up. It’s that easy! Just start showing up. Join a committee, or better yet, join two or three, and start attending meetings. Come to mixers and talk to new people. Apply for Leadership New Braunfels, go to ribbon cuttings, attend a seminar, come to the Business Trade Show, add a coupon on the Chamber website, and put an event on the Community Calendar.
Your job as a business leader and a Chamber member is to make people aware of you and your business. It’s about being seen and talking to people so that when someone needs the products or services you provide, you are on the forefront of their mind. Establish connections, create relationships and make sure people know who you are.
As a Chamber member recently said, some people join the Chamber and expect and epiphany to hit them like a bolt of lightning. Joining the Chamber will not give you the secret to life or answer all the mysteries of the universe. We’d love for clients to instantly start beating down your door but that’s probably not going to be the case. Again, the Chamber will provide you with access and opportunities in an environment created to help your business thrive. Opportunities are knocking, and we hope you don’t leave them unanswered.