By Tim Giuliani
The most successful businesses identify the best possible opportunities that provide the greatest return and take advantage of them. The return on investment factor is one that, if invested correctly, can determine the growth of your business and your local business community.
The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce’s primary focus is to provide the opportunities and resources to foster the growth of our local businesses and to expand Gainesville’s economy. By investing in a membership with the Gainesville Chamber, you are not only investing in the growth and success of your business, but you are investing in the growth of Gainesville. The Chamber hosts more than 100 events every year to provide everything from hosting educational seminars and bringing attention to local business to providing networking opportunities and celebrating the accomplishments of Gainesville’s business community. Just this month, we will be hosting our annual Business Showcase, which features a “who’s who” of local businesses showcasing their products and services to the general public to promote consumers to buy local and support area businesses.
The Gainesville Chamber is ranked in the top 1 percent of chambers of commerce nationwide because we set the bar on how to support and grow local business. To provide an entrepreneur-friendly atmosphere, the Chamber has created its Entrepreneur Resource Center, dedicated to helping startup companies and entrepreneurs develop their products and businesses and keep them local as they grow. The Chamber also advocates for our business community by being the voice at the city, county, regional and state levels, aggressively representing your business’ interests.
The Chamber has also combined with the Council for Economic Outreach to provide a joint effort in the growth, retention and recruitment of businesses to Gainesville, which has included SumTotal Systems, Silver Airways, Mindtree, Sears Holdings and many others in recent years. A business is only as good as the talented people it employs, and for that reason the Chamber has partnered with FloridaWorks to provide direct access to a talented workforce. Through Innovation Gainesville, the Chamber has helped create an environment that fosters success through innovation and technology, through city- and county-wide collaboration.
For some small businesses though, their obligations limit the amount of time they can actively participate in the Chamber to grow their business, but the effectiveness of being a member with the chamber of commerce does not end there. A recent study by The Shapiro Group showed that business that were members of their local chamber saw a 73 percent increase in consumers being aware of a business, a 68 percent increase of consumers thinking positively of their reputation and an 80 percent increase in future patronage.
Being a model chamber of commerce in the nation, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to lead our business community forward and to provide the resources and opportunities to help our members thrive. Joining the Chamber is a smart business decision and an investment that will provide an amazing return.
Learn more at www.gainesvillechamber.com