Category: Podcast Episode

Jason Leslie is the communications manager with the Alberta Chambers of Commerce. He is our guest for this episode to discuss how the Alberta Chambers of Commerce is leveraging technology to strengthen their province and the Chambers who they serve.

Jason is spearheading some exciting technology initiatives, including Chamber Channel which is a value management infrastructure to manage subscriptions and collect payments among many other powerful functions.

The Alberta Chambers of Commerce is also rolling out ChamberMarket.ca, an online e-commerce marketplace designed for Chambers and local communities.

There are some unique integrations to Chamber Channel and ChamberMarket.ca that allow for more detailed business insights with sharable data and even an AI based employment referral system that weighs the strength of your referrals. (Alida & Talinity)

If you would like to connect with Jason about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: JLeslie@abchamber.ca

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Aaron Nelson, President & CEO of The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro is our guest this week to share his philosophy around data driven decision making.

You can feel Aaron’s passion for this topic as he talks about the impact that evaluating data has made to the decisions that have been made at his Chamber.

Aaron is a strong proponent of net promoter scores. In our discussion, he explains how they apply net promoter scores to pretty much everything their Chamber does. For events and programs, you can evaluate your revenue, attendance, and net promoter scores to determine what direction you should go in the future.

Aaron pointed out how data show both the holes and confidence at your organization. In summary, accurate data will help you to stay relevant and to make a greater impact in your community.

If you would like to connect with Aaron about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: anelson@carolinachamber.org
• carolinachamber.org

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Adam Legge is the President of the Business Council of Alberta, author of Making Remarkable: How to Deliver Purpose, Inspire People, and Build a Platform for Exceptional Results, and the former President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

In our conversation, Adam shares his experience as he was first brought on as President & CEO of the Calgary Chamber. He was hired and tasked with the challenge to transform their organization.

Adam looked for outlines, books, or any information that he could get his hands on to help guide him in the process of making their Chamber remarkable. He ended up writing the book on this topic!

He learned that the three pillars needed to build your organization around are purpose, people, and platform.

You will have to dive into his book Making Remarkable to learn what purpose and culture for your organization really mean. Their meanings are likely very different than you think they are.

If you would like to connect with Adam about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• adamlegge.com
• makingremarkable.com
• Email: adam@adamlegge.com
• Twitter

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Dionne Neubauer joins us this week from the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce to cover the topic of “applauding the return to the office”.

We chose this title for this episode since we wanted to highlight some of the things to consider when your members start to return back to the office after working from home for the past year but we also wanted to work the word applauding into the topic to touch on a lesson learned as the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber started to resume in-person/hybrid events.

As Dionne shares this learning experience, she also tells of the efforts her Chambers has and is still making to return to more in-person and even hybrid events. We have all become accustomed to a new Zoom world where we live on mute unless we are the presenter and we need to pay attention to social etiquettes as we move forward and return to in-person.

If you would like to connect with Dionne about anything she discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see her contact information below:

• LinkedIn
• findlayhancockchamber.com

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Boyd Stough from Espy Revenue joins us for this episode as he shares his passion to save small businesses by futureproofing them with the tools that Chambers of Commerce have at their disposal.

As you listen to Boyd talk about this subject, you can feel his energy radiate as he explains how Chambers of Commerce are a hedge against the economy. He believes that Chambers are in the right place to protect and prepare small businesses for the future.

One of the examples that Boyd points to is the ideas of standardizing the expectations, experiences, and outcomes for your members. He points out how every Chamber is different in their areas of focus and value propositions and how that can be confusing to the small business owner who is looking for the experience and outcome he/she had with another Chamber as they are now in a new community and they often find that the experience and outcomes are very different.

Boyd help organizations to create a value management infrastructure that will measure primary success metrics which will lead to a more expected or desired outcome for your members.

The parting thought that Boyd shares is that Chambers are the world’s most powerful business resource. He encourages you to look internally and ask yourself, why is this true?

If you would like to connect with Boyd about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: Boyd@EspyRevenue.com
• 210-722-1120

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Houssem Eddine Touil is my first international guest on Chamber Chat Podcast. Houssem is the President of the Tunsia Estonia Chamber of Commerce and he is also the Founder of Clecow which is a digital consulting agency with a goal of connecting local organizations worldwide.

It is under the scope of Clecow that Houssem set out to collect data and conduct interviews with influential Chamber leaders across the world to produce the 2021 Global Chamber Index.

The Global Chamber Index is a digital publication to explore the findings from the surveys that were conducted to learn how the COVID-19 pandemic has effected Chambers worldwide and to help chart the direction moving forward.

In our discussion Houssem shared several key findings from their surveys such as the percentage of growth for certain Chambers through the pandemic. One surprising piece of data was that 45% of Chamber members (from the Chambers who participated) are women-led.

Some of the findings are on par for what someone in the Chamber world would expect, while others are eye-opening. I would encourage you to look through these findings in the 2021 Global Chamber Index and be on the lookout for an invitation to participate in the 2022 edition.

If you would like to connect with Houssem about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• chamberindex.com
• Email: Houssem@clecow.com
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

Joe Duemig, co-founder of App My Community joins us for this episode to share some thoughts on how a community facing mobile app could benefit your Chamber.

Joe is a software developer with a focus on the user experience. For the past four years he has been creating mobile apps for RV resorts and Chambers of Commerce.

His idea behind Chambers having a mobile app to serve their community is beneficial in several ways. The app provides value to those in your community. It provides a platform to leverage in partnerships with local fairs, farmers markets, or other similar events in your community. It allows for push notifications for your Chamber members to directly communicate with their customers. A mobile app helps to keep your Chamber relevant in a world with fast changing technology.

As Joe talks about the process of setting up a new Chamber with a mobile app, he explains how it can go live in a matter of 30 days!.

When it comes to the finances, in many cases, one business or entity can “sponsor” the cost for the app while still allowing for many opportunities to monetize the app through other advertising opportunities or special business features to provide your Chamber with non-dues revenue.

App My Community is a new sponsor for Chamber Chat Podcast and as a sponsor, Joe is offering a 10% discount for listeners of the podcast. Be sure to visit appmycommunity.com/chamberchat to learn more, to build a simulation of your new Chamber app, and to access this generous offer.

If you would like to connect with Joe about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: joe@armstrongsoft.com
• AppMyCommunity.com/chamberchat

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

April Bragg, President & CEO of the Robins Regional Chamber is our guest this week to share their success in building an online community.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Robins Regional Chamber was looking for a way to share information effectively throughout their community. Despite some of the fears and overwhelm that one might feel when thinking of starting an online community, they did it anyway. They launched a Facebook community and called it Robins To Go.

When they initially launched Robins To Go, April thought it would be a success if they had 1,500-2,500 people join. As it turned out, they had 10,000 people join in the first month and they are now up to 20,000 members.

By having an engaged community Facebook group, the Chamber has been made aware of additional opportunities to serve their community. They are even spinning off a couple of new Facebook groups based on the feedback they received through Robins To Go.

The bottom line is, April and her team saw a need in their community and filled it. You can do the same in your community if you are willing to fined the needs and then create a solution.

If you would like to connect with April about anything she discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see her contact information below:

• Email: abragg@robinsregion.com
• Facebook

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.

David Bradley, President & CEO of the Athens Area Chamber is our guest this week to discuss their Education & Workforce Development activity in their community.

The topic of Education & Workforce Development is a hot topic at many Chambers. As I conduct our Chamber of the Year Finalist series each year, the majority of the Chambers I interview highlight their efforts on this front.

David shares what makes their Chamber’s approach unique and what is working so far for them. The Athens Area Chamber has a strong focus on making education a cornerstone in their economic development strategy.

This summer, the Athens Area Chamber has organized 15 externships for teachers to learn about the workforce needs in their community by getting immersed in the work of some of the areas large employers.

The Athens Area Chamber is also working on a very robust jobs database with a desired outcome of being the best, most comprehensive resource for people in their area to find employment.

If you would like to connect with David about anything he discussed in this episode or to continue this discussion offline, you can see his contact information below:

• Email: david.bradley@athensga.com
• Office: 709-549-6800
• Cell: 704-253-3128

FREE resources to help you better serve your Chamber members and your community.

As you focus on your Chamber’s mission and purpose, you will find that your publications say a lot about your organization. Community Matters, Inc. is an award-winning Chamber publisher that would like to help your Chamber with your next Chamber Directory, Guide, or Map. Community Matters has a turn-key program that is very simple. In the end, your Chamber has a great looking printed & digital publication that will represent your Chamber very well while providing a smooth source of non-dues revenue. Click here to learn more.