Below is an auto-generated transcription of my conversation with Betty Capestany. Because this is auto-generated there are likely some grammatical errors but it is still a useful tool to search text within this podcast episode.
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Introduction
Brandon Burton 0:00
This is the Chamber Chat Podcast, the show dedicated to chamber professionals to spark ideas and to get actionable tips and strategies to better serve your members and community.
Voiceover Talent 0:14
And now, your host. He recently started blogging about chamber stuff on regular basis. He’s my dad, Brandon Burton.
Brandon Burton 0:21
Hello, Chamber Champions. Thank you for joining us for Chamber Chat Podcast. I am your host, Brandon Burton, and it is my goal to introduce you to people and ideas to better help you serve your Chamber members and your community.
Our title sponsor is Holman Brothers Membership Sales Solutions. Let’s hear from Diane Rogers, President and CEO of the Rancho Cordova Area Chamber to learn how the Holman Brothers have provided value for her.
Diann Rogers 0:48
As a medium sized chamber, we recognize that it’s absolutely critical to have a well qualified and well trained membership development person. Holman Brothers trained that person, recruited that person then they even trained me on how to manage that person. We’re grateful for the support we got.
Brandon Burton 1:02
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Guest Introduction
Our guest for this episode is Betty Capestany. Betty serves as the Director of Economic Development for Pierce County. Her department focuses on retaining growing and bringing new jobs to Pierce County. Last year they delivered $46.5 million of cares funding to small businesses in Pierce County. Currently she’s overseeing $40 million dollars of American rescue plan economic stabilization and recovery funds to help Pierce County businesses receive resources during the pandemic. One of those programs includes a Pierce County accelerator. The accelerator is an entrepreneurial program that is focused on bipoc startups and micro businesses that his career has focused on building communities with the knowledge that successful supported businesses help the community thrive. But his work has been dedicated to having a deep understanding of how each community functions, its synergies, its quirks, its strengths and leveraging those to the advantage of the businesses she serves. That he thrives on pushing the envelope being the first to try out a new technology brings her joy and has her quick thinking ways it could be applied to the advancement of business. Prior to coming to Pierce County that is Betty served as CEO of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce for 17 years and prior to that, the city of Renton economic development director, Brendan Chamber of Commerce CEO and Assistant Director for the Kent Chamber of Commerce, Betty and her husband, George have a blended family of four boys to lovable labs and to BlackBerry eating coats. For fun. Betty runs marathons. She’s done all the world majors except Tokyo, she loves to travel, read entertain family and friends. Her civic involvement includes 30 plus years as Rotarian and Paul Harris fellow, she serves on the executive committee for Washington Economic Development Association. And as a past chair of ACC.
Betty, I’m excited to have you with me today on chamber tap podcast, I’d love for you to take a moment to say hello to all the Chamber Champions who are listening and share something else interesting about yourself so you can get to know you a little bit better.
Betty Capestany 3:54
Well, hello to all my favorite people across the country. The chamber industry is amazing and has amazing leaders. And it really is the heart and soul. And I’m just delighted to be able to share some conversations and I look forward to seeing everyone in person, hopefully sometime soon, like maybe an ACC II conference. So maybe something exciting about me. We all stumbled into the chamber world in unique ways. And my unique way was I was filling out a college application. And I didn’t know what to say, I was gonna do. I was trying to get a scholarship. And my grandmother said, Put down that you want to work for a chamber of commerce, because you love people and I don’t want you to be a social worker because it’s going to kill you and your grandpa’s a member of a chamber so just put it down. Well, I put it down, didn’t think anything about it. And fast forwarded after graduation. I was working at a CPA office and the chairman of the chamber happened to come by and said we’re looking for someone for the Chamber of Commerce and then that’s kind of the rest of the story. So it’s kind of a unique way to get there. But I truly love the industry.
About Pierce County Economic Development
Brandon Burton 5:07
Wow, that is a neat story. I’m sure there’s more details to it that you could expand on. But that’s that is awesome. So I shared some of your background in the chamber industry as I went through your bio, but you’re now working in economic development with Pierce County. But take a moment to maybe expand a little bit on your background. What I mean by that, is that the chambers he served with your current situation with economic development, what is the scope, and maybe like the size of the chambers he worked with, just to kind of give everybody perspective as we get into our discussion?
Betty Capestany 5:45
Sure, I’ve worked with chambers of all different sizes, and I’ve always figured it doesn’t really matter how large or small you are. But if you figure out from your current state, how do you make it better. So obviously, the written chamber was a lot smaller. It was a one and a half person job to start with, and a lot of parent involvement helping do things. And then it grew to the Bellevue chamber that had nine staff members. So I think, budgets you, but just show the reflection of how well you’ve done a job in the community, because you can grow those income streams and people accordingly, at Pierce County, actually, I’m an economic development director, and I have the pleasure to work for a county executive that is a third generation business person. And top of being a county executive. And also for our county council. Our department is a smallest department in the county, we don’t even have a tab in the budget book. So before care’s and the rescue plan, before the pandemic, I might have had three, four or $500,000 of discretionary money every year to invest in different programs and resources. And most of our work was done leveraging through Chambers of Commerce for advocacy, economic development boards for recruitment, retention of businesses, larger companies. And so I really didn’t have a lot of dollars, but it was always about connecting people to solve solutions. And then the pandemic changed all that. And I have a really big budget. And I kind of chuckled during cares, because at the Chamber, I would stay up late at night trying to figure out how I was going to make my budget and, and how, you know, how do I hold my paycheck and all those things that you worry about as a business person, and then all of a sudden to have all this money to give away? Oh, my gosh, I thought I just got into heaven. Even though it was a very stressful process, but it was it’s just the other end of the spectrum, I guess you’d say?
Brandon Burton 7:57
Yeah, no, that really does help set the table and give that perspective. background that you have, you know, coming into our discussion, I really love what you had said about the reflection of budget at a chamber, you’ve been a reflection of the the value that you’re providing to the community, I think that is a great perspective to to look at that. And not that if you have a smaller budget, it’s not dollar for dollar, you know, reflection, but it’s the size of your community and everything like that, that factors into it. But I thought that was a good way of looking at it. And if you can grow your budget, grow those revenue streams, then you can see the impact you’re making in your community. So our topic for discussion today is going to be around industry innovation, which I know it’s kind of a broad topic, but that’s something that as chambers are always trying to remain relevant and move forward. It’s it’s something that I think it’ll pick up the ears of a lot of listeners. But we’ll get into this discussion as soon as we get back from this quick break.
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All right, Becky, we’re back. So as we talk about industry innovation, you’ve had some experience in the chamber world, as we’ve talked about leading up to this. What are some of those innovations that are top of mind for you? I know, you’re specifically from your economic development role. There’s some some unique nuances. I guess we can call those. But just from your career in the chamber to Now what kind of innovations have you seen, and then we can talk about kind of right now going forward?
Topic-Chamber Innovations
Betty Capestany 11:48
Well, it’s a topic I love so so thank you very much for that. And I truly feel like the Chamber’s of the future, needs to make sure they’re innovative. And so just a couple of bookends as we work into the conversation, part of that innovation is to surround yourself with amazing people in your kitchen cabinets, and your kitchen cabinets sometimes maybe should be people from across the country. I mean, my kitchen cabinet has chamber people across the country. And when I was told, at three o’clock in the afternoon that I had until the next morning to come up with how would I spend that that time $30 million of cares funds, and I had to come up with a plan. I sent it out to 10 of my best chamber pals across the country. And they so when I send it out eight o’clock at night, my time, many of them, that’s 11 o’clock their time, they all responded, I put the proposal together, we actually delivered all those and even more programs, but was based on that network. So I always think you don’t have to have all of the answers. But if you use good people around you, and that could be your board leaders and focusing on what what are they doing to be successful, because whatever got you to your current state won’t get you to the future state. And I also strongly believe in you have to focus on solutions, not the problem, because everybody wants to talk about the problem. And our communities, I would say probably all of us have really big community problems. So chambers moving from a transactional Chamber of which many times that’s how we started. And we’ve kind of that space has been taken by others. It may be Google, it may be Amazon, it may be other people that are serving a lot of that transactional pieces. And if we move to more being transformational, how can we innovate and bring unique people together to solve those really big problems? And your really big problem could be infrastructure, it could be workforce upscaling rescaling. It could be how do you serve underserved populations? Could be broadband, homelessness, housing, I mean, the list goes on and on. But how do you do it differently? And that’s a piece that I always challenged people to dare to be different. And not everyone. I mean, if you if you stumble, you just get back up and you do it again, also use a lot of trends. So we had a ACC A while back, Robert towbar, and he talks about future trends and he talks about key industries. I always use that to figure out is that a is there a cluster that’s growing that we don’t know about that we can we have the talent that we can bring to our community or the 3d printing tiny homes can we do that for homelessness is so trying to figure out how you take applications that others have and put that into your community to to really make it beneficial.
Brandon Burton 14:56
Yes, I love that so much good stuff to unpack there. So at that the idea of focusing on solutions and not the problems. And I had heard of a company, I’m sure several companies have a similar policy where you can’t just go to the boss and say, we got a problem. You got to come and say, here’s a solution to this problem. Or here’s a possible way we can address this problem, instead of just dropping the problem on your boss’s desk, like you got to be part of the solution. And I think chambers can approach that same kind of perspective of, okay, yeah, there is a problem. But let’s not focus on the problem, let’s look at some possible solutions, because there’s always a way, right, right. And I also like the idea of looking at going from the transactional to transformational type of work, you would come to me as a reference from Casey Steinbacher. And we know we’ve got she’s got her great book from relevant to essential. And she talks about chambers becoming more of an influencer in their communities. And I think that comes along with creating that transformation, doing things in a better way, having the community look to you, as that influencer of change as that influencer of positive movement of the community going forward. So I think that it’s kind of a broad scope for a chamber to look at, but to get away from the transactional stuff, and become more of that, you know, solution, problem solver. And influencer in the community. So great, great perspective. So let’s, let’s look at things now. I know you’re, you’re tasked with the American rescue plan funds to dispersing and congratulations, I understand you guys just won an award. Maybe pat yourself on the back and tell a little bit about what that is, but then how that how you’re planning on dispersing some of those funds, and how that can relate back to to Chambers as well.
Betty Capestany 17:00
Sure, actually, a lot of it relates back to chambers. But let me just do a tiny step back on the Cares Act. So we for that $46.5 million, it went across eight different programs, and all of those programs, and we did cradle to grave of pretty much from our department here. And we had to break all sorts of systems inside the county to make them happened because there was a real tight timeframe to do that. But part of those we did in partnership with the chamber, so So I think that’s the piece of from chambers, making sure you’re looking at other entities that may have resources and how you may be the best person to actually do that. So the government per se doesn’t have to go breaks some of those elements. So on the rescue plan, our focus has been on how can we lead the world differently? And how can we make it because the cares was more trying to patch things together and keep us all going and Washington State was pretty much locked down. So we had a lot of bumps on that piece. So how to change it differently. During cares. We also our department looked at 5000 balance sheets and profit and loss statements for businesses in the process. And we saw many times people couldn’t fill them out. So we had to help them do that. But we also saw there were a lot of people that were left out, or there was a big difference between the haves and have nots. And while our cares resources over 40% went to diverse populations, and 70% went to women owned businesses, we knew we could do better. So with a rescue plan, the focus was on how can we make big changes. And the changes really we wanted to be was in that bipoc Arena. So which is black, brown, indigenous people of color veteran and women owned businesses and focusing on the really small businesses, or entrepreneurship since startups were kind of left out of any kind of funding in that process also. So we actually worked with I guess you could say through the cares process, we develop great relationships with like our Korean Women’s Association, our Asia Pacific Cultural Center, the black collective, the Urban League, the NAACP, me centro, so just a wide network, because we learned if you go to those networks, then they can go to their networks were trusted sources. The thing we also learned was most of those networks never focused on business. Because all the resources they got were actually around, usually a social service kind of program or resources, because in our state government never gave money to businesses. So that was an anomaly. This whole academic resources have been an anomaly to what we’ve normally done. So with that, we’re able to actually do a navigator program through our community. So we’re hiring Business Outreach Specialist. Each of these entities will be hiring them. And they have a dashed line to us. And we’re going to teach them how to network with their business community. And then when we find out what resources we need, we’ll plug them into things. So like professional services, there’s a lot of different innovation grants that we have things that we can help them grow their business. The project, we actually won Innovation Award for the state was our Pierce County business accelerator. And this is one that we’ve leveraged with our chamber of commerce as our administrator of the program. And this program, there’s probably lots of business accelerators around this program is focused, most specifically on bipoc veteran and women on businesses, they have to be really small. So under 325,000, gross revenue in 2019, or a startup business, and just having them go through the training is huge. But the training is on people that look like them, training them. So they’re see those groups and heavy peer groups. So the chamber does that. And in addition to that, we’ve actually hired in Kiva, I’m not sure if people have heard of the Kiva platform. It’s kind of one step above a GoFundMe. But it’s a platform that people all over the world can give resources to just have businesses for startups, and they help fund up to $15,000 for a business. But we basically have that platform available for the whole community. And we also have specialists that help people get ready for that platform. And these are all housed to the chamber. And then in addition to that, once someone raises $10,000 of capital that’s gone through the accelerator program, the county will match that capital. So that way, we’re truly helping them take their company to the next level, we also have paid for
about $5,000 of professional services. So if someone needs bookkeeping help, that could be 50 or 60 hours of bookkeeping help if they need legal help, but maybe 20 hours of legal help. So trying to make sure how do we remove those obstacles, and then the most important one, that the Chamber does a fabulous job at his mentorship. So matching them with a mentor for over a year. And then the last kind of cool piece is we do a rent reimbursement, up to $500 a month for a year. So trying to really take all those things that businesses have challenges and struggles with, and most particularly our bipoc businesses have challenges and struggles with and really help them figure out how to help grow wealth, so they can then pass that on to the next generation. Wow. Sorry, I get so excited.
Brandon Burton 23:02
No, so Okay, so the business outreach specialist, so I want to circle back to that it sounds like each of these kind of partner organizations. Is that person that’s being hired? Is that being? Or are they being paid through these funds? Is that how that’s working?
Betty Capestany 23:20
So we’re gonna reimburse them. So the Korean Women’s Association will hire the first. And they’re, they’re a big association for our state. They started small, they’re big. And they’re focused in Pierce County, but they will have a person on their staff that we help train that connects in with Us Weekly for all the data. And the goal is we’re going to go out to 3500 to 5000 additional businesses in our underrepresented communities. So we just make sure we touch base, let them know, figure out and connect them to resources. So it’s a reimbursement. So it’s a two year program, and we help with the job interview. Just getting them on board, because that’s that’s teaching them that skill set.
Brandon Burton 24:06
Yeah. So for somebody listening, chamber champion, listening, if they’re sitting there in their hometown, there’s their local chamber and think, gee, I wish our county or economic development had a program like this how, like you’re sitting at economic development, helping to figure out where these funds go, if you’re on the other end of it. How would you encourage that? I mean, some of the funds may be already spent right in some of these communities. How would you encourage them to kind of navigate these waters to try to adopt some of these programs that you’re talking about?
Betty Capestany 24:43
But they can always call me. But the thing is, and I’ve worked with many different communities, trying to help them do the same thing. The rescue plans, probably they’re there. They’re easier to access because there’s a little longer time for deployment. So So I think coming up with the story addigy Have what they’re trying to solve and that rescue plan. So whether it’s broadband, whether it’s something like this, which I think ties perfectly to value add so so this contract for just the navigate on the accelerator program is a $5 million contract from the county. And then we have one of our cities that added more money to it, because they saw it was very successful. For us to implement the chamber, it gets about 2.2 million to put that program together. The other monies go to the capital and the rent reimbursement and the professional services. So So I think there’s a way to leverage what chambers do really well. And I’d be glad to talk to any of them. And they may come up with different ways to make it even better. And I think it’s also making sure chambers connect into the fabric. So whether it’s tribal partners, whether whether it’s their diverse populations, just bringing different people to the table as part of the solution, and trying to figure out how you tailor it because it’s not one stop, fits all. It’s we have to meet people where they’re at. So are Korean, Vietnamese and Cambodian, a cohort, they wanted to be at eight o’clock in the morning. And they wanted to be connected to a government. They want everybody to know they were existing. And we actually did that it was translated every class into Korean and Vietnamese, now are a black population, they did not want to meet in government. They want a night time. And they didn’t want anyone that looked like me, which I’m a white lady to be in the room, because they just wanted to work amongst themselves. So but now we’re starting to have the next cohort be more blended. And so I think it’s just trying to understand what’s important to them. And now they realize, oh, I can’t, you know, have you showcased me? Or before they weren’t comfortable with that. So it’s just understanding chambers to understand those populations and bring them in because they want to help partner on these programs.
Brandon Burton 27:18
Yeah, for sure. So the thought that comes to me is we I mean, this is a lot of money that we’re talking about, you know, that the federal government’s put out a ton of money into the the economy. And I think on the surface, it’s easy for the average person to look at and be like, this is going to, you know, throw inflation through the roof, which we are seeing some inflation from it. But I think, on a local level to be able to help, you know, combat some of that inflation is where are those underserved people in the community, these bipoc business owners, because if we’re able to help them to get started, get their business, you know, to be more profitable to be more successful, employing more people that money’s being put to work. And I’m not an economist, but I think that would help keep inflation lower. It’s not a pie where the money’s just gone, you know, it’s going to generate more value and continue to move your community forward. The problem is when the money just gets spent and disappears and goes away, and you don’t have anything to show for it. That’s where we see the real damage of inflation. But if we can put that money to work, like you’re talking about, I think it can help combat inflation to some degree. And I think
Betty Capestany 28:33
along that line, maybe to pieces because I do agree with everything that you just said. I think sometimes that the groups that we’re trying to serve and reach, they don’t use a traditional chamber network. So trying to also connect them to the network. But we recently had the when they the undercover billionaire, Monique islet bat dropped into our community, and she didn’t go to the chamber, she went to a church. And because her mother had passed her, she went to a downtown urban church, and she’s a black lady. So she went, That’s where she went. And she went to the Urban League, she went, she went to different paths to and she’s established her business within that period of time without using those resources. So I think trying to bring those non traditional resources into the chamber fabric, because it’s just changing how you operate as being more transformational for your community.
Brandon Burton 29:35
Yeah, that that’s interesting. She was able to do that and goes a different a different avenue. And
Betty Capestany 29:43
she didn’t even think about chamber commerce. She just never and she’s, you know, relatively young. Very, I mean, a real live very connected lady and a very sharp business lady, but she’s done all that through her real life, that she wouldn’t Ever, she didn’t even, you know, move that into this opportunity.
Brandon Burton 30:04
So it shows the power in those other networks as well. And if you can connect them and leverage, you know, the the connections, it’s just going to make for a better community all together. So I wanted to ask that you’ve covered a ton of great information in our discussion here, I wanted to see if you might have one tip or action item for listeners to, to help take their chamber up to the next level to help elevate their community, what would what would you suggest for them?
Action Item/Tip for Chamber Champions
Betty Capestany 30:32
I would suggest them, I think what we started with the focus on a solution that they want to work on, so but work on that solution and to think differently, to expand their kitchen cabinet, if that’s what you want to call it, to people that might not be connected the chamber to figure out how to make things happen in their community.
Brandon Burton 31:00
So I love that response. Just hearing you say kitchen cabinet, again, I have to ask you to expand on that. How did that term come up? What do you what do you mean by that, just as listeners can can relate.
Betty Capestany 31:12
So what I mean by that, I know Casey calls it her tribe, I’ve always called it my kitchen cabinet. So I have people throughout my whole career that I used to benchmark things by so I have people across the chamber industry, I have a few past chairs from from different. You know, my, throughout my career, I have just successful business people that may or may not have been connected to the chamber that I just used to benchmark things by because I know I can’t solve everything by myself, I’m not smart enough. But if I use looking through their lenses, I could come up with solutions that that may work at this this period of time. And so that’s what I think has helped us as a county be innovative. I think it’s helped me throughout my whole career, just having those cabinet of people. And they’re all ages, all ranges, everything diverse everything. And I love it. And I just I love people. And that’s that’s what helps me be more visionary.
Brandon Burton 32:19
I think the term kitchen cabinet is awesome, too. So I just wanted to hear more about that.
Betty Capestany 32:24
I still have a dining room table sounds smart. It’s probably this food to table stuff. I should I should say my kitchen table there,
Brandon Burton 32:30
though. No, I like the kitchen I think of because it’s got that dual meaning right, your people you talk to while you’re in your kitchen, you got cabinets in your kitchen, but like a presidential cabinet, you got your people that support you and give you that feedback and insight. So I love it. So as we look to the future of chambers of commerce, how do you see the future of chambers and their purpose going forward?
Future of Chambers
Betty Capestany 32:53
I think this is a fabulous time to be in the chamber industry. And I think they’re the future is very bright. Because of these these huge issues going on to communities and the chambers are the ones that can really make a difference and bring people together. And it just making making chambers essential. Yeah, very relevant.
Brandon Burton 33:18
I love the answer. I love it. Well, you had mentioned as you’re giving responses, and telling how you guys are helping to disburse funds and helping to solidify some of these networks and resources for chambers, that people could reach out and connect with you what would be the best way for someone to reach out and connect with you and figure out what’s the best way to apply some of these strategies in their community.
Connect with Betty Capestany
Betty Capestany 33:42
Probably the best way would be via email. And I don’t know if you want to just put that up on the screen at the end. Since my name is a hard one to fill.
Brandon Burton 33:52
Put it in the show notes for this episode. Yeah. So
Betty Capestany 33:55
that’s probably the best way to reach out via email (betty.capestany@piercecountywa.gov). And glad to connect in I will be an ACCE this summer. So that’s also another way to connect in. And I just appreciate everything that chamber industry does. I love the industry. They’re amazing people and they’re doing amazing things.
Brandon Burton 34:15
You and I both totally agree on that. But they thank you so much for joining us today on Chamber Chat, challenge Chamber Chat Podcast, gonna be able to say the name mount show, right. This is great. I’ve enjoyed the discussion and it’s got me pumped up to see the opportunities that are further leveraging resources and communities and beyond the money though to those connections with other organizations. And I think you’ve provided a ton of value for Chamber Champions today. Thank you for that.
Thank you.
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