Maximizing Business Opportunities with the Chamber of Commerce

[jcwarr]

after my last post - this one is a little happier

through a show i became friends with someone in my town who runs the membership dept of our chamber of commerce. they do not have a pc person yet and would love one! here's my dilemma - i am doing pc on a very part time basis right now. if i have one show every other month to stay active i am happy! i am a sahm with limited help for babysitting - and we would like to get pregnant again in the coming year which means as of around 16 weeks i will be starting to enter bed rest - another long story - but i know i will be on it again!! at that point i will not be able to do shows - so i don't want to grow my business too much as i will not be able to keep up with it! i see pc in long range terms - something fun to do now - and something to 'return' to when my children enter school.

so do i pay the fee to join the chamber - do the expo where 1000-1500 people walk through over the course of 3 1/2 hours - and try to expand my customer base from the mommy and me group which is not always coming through?

i'm just torn between stressing myself out when i don't really need to - and wanting to ensure i have a great customer base for when i need to keep active! thanks for any help or guidance!

 

[pchefjenn]

I was thinking about joining the Chamber too. But I am almost embarrassed because it's so professional - not that we aren't. I am definately going to look into it after I post this.

 

[robinlkoch]

No need to feel embarrassed! We are who we see ourselves as. And I for one am a professional business person. My dearest friend is the director of the Chamber in my town and is always very suportive and helpful when it comes to do with anything with my business. She has been a god-send and has told me that a lot of why she is willing to help me out so much is because I treat my business like a business, not a hobby. I go to the chamber events and hold my head high when asked what I do. It took me a while to get this confident, but we do have the best job in the world right? You need to believe that!

 

[pchefjenn]

No need to feel embarrassed! We are who we see ourselves as. And I for one am a professional business person. My dearest friend is the director of the Chamber in my town and is always very suportive and helpful when it comes to do with anything with my business. She has been a god-send and has told me that a lot of why she is willing to help me out so much is because I treat my business like a business, not a hobby. I go to the chamber events and hold my head high when asked what I do. It took me a while to get this confident, but we do have the best job in the world right? You need to believe that!

Thanks so much for the confidence boost! Also Congrats! on promoting to Director.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

What are the benefits of joining the Chamber? One thing I was told is that our local chamber lists all members & their company name on their website but that as PC consultants we aren't allowed to have that info on the web! I would love more info on this!

 

[Kathytnt]

My host for my next show has had two consultant quit on her so she has the impression that there are flaky people out there. We all need to treat it as a business even if it is just a hobby. I feel bad if my hair and clothing are not to a certain level when I have my magnets on my car because I am representing my business.