2026 Chamber of the Year Finalist-Howell Area Chamber with Janelle Smith

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability and to correct obvious transcription errors while preserving the meaning of the original conversation.

Brandon Burton 00:00.962
Hello, Chamber Champions. Welcome to Chamber Chat Podcast. I’m your host, Brandon Burton, and here on the podcast I introduce you to people and ideas to better help you serve your Chamber members and your community. You’re joining us for a special episode in our 2026 ACCE Chamber of the Year finalist series. And today we’re joined by Janelle Smith, president of the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce in Livingston, Michigan.

Janelle leads initiatives focused on economic development, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and community growth. With more than a decade of chamber and economic development experience, she’s known for building innovative partnerships and programs that strengthen both businesses and communities. She was named one of ACCE’s 40 under 40 honorees in 2024. She’s an IOM graduate.

and she completed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Leads Fellowship. Janelle brings strong passion for collaboration, leadership, business growth to today’s conversation. But Janelle, I’m excited to have you with us today here on Chamber Chat Podcast.

First of all, huge congratulations to you and your team for being selected as a Chamber of the Year finalist. That’s quite the accomplishment. But I’d love to give you an opportunity to say hello to the audience and to share something interesting about yourself so we can all get to know you a little better.

Janelle Smith 01:24.118
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for the introduction, for having me on your your show. It is quite an honor, and we are just really, really excited about the opportunity. so to share a little bit of something, a little something about myself, something interesting. I actually have a background in fashion design. So I think that that is something that not too many people know about me, but that’s what I went to school for. So my

In fine arts, and I think that I used to say, and I was actually thinking about this yesterday, but I used to say that being in the chamber industry allowed me to be creative and still kind of exercise that creative part of my brain, but I really think what it boils down to is building things. So I think in this role we get to build some really amazing things within our communities. So beyond the creativity component, I’m still actually constructing things, and whether they’re tangible.

Brandon Burton 01:53.858
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 02:20.694
or not there to have impact and outcomes. So I think I think that it translates really well and it’s it’s been fun.

Brandon Burton 02:27.659
Yeah. You don’t see that on many chamber resumes. You don’t have fashion design as a background. But I think that the parallels you’ve drawn to it, you know, the joy that comes from creating, I think there’s great power in that. So that that is neat. It’s a interesting background. well, if you would tell us a little bit about the Howell Area Chamber, just to give us an idea of the size, staff, scope of work, budget to kind of set the stage for our discussion today.

Janelle Smith 02:33.216
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 02:45.74
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 02:56.546
So the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce is located in Livingston County, Michigan. we are the largest chamber in the county, and we have a really strong focus on economic and community development, workforce development, and really entrepreneurship. So we’ll talk a little bit more about entrepreneurship when we talk about.

Submitted for ACCE Chamber of the Year. But we also we have about six full-time staff members that work with us, a few seasonal and part-time staff members as well. We’ve grown significantly in the past six years. We’ve almost tripled our budget, which now is about 1.4 million annually, and that does include our foundation. So we have a foundation that we leverage as well in a lot of the different

and programs that we provide to the Howell area and Livingston County community.

Brandon Burton 03:52.322
Very good. That that definitely helps to to set the stage. And I love that you guys have the foundation are utilizing that. Is that primarily around workforce development or economic development? Leadership.

Janelle Smith 04:04.076
A lot of leadership through our foundation and a lot of community events are driven through our foundation, some economic development as well. but right now mostly on a leadership education side.

Brandon Burton 04:17.557
Okay, very good. So on these Chamber of the Year finalist episodes, I like to spend the majority of our time talking about the program that was submitted on your Chamber of the Year application. So we’ll take a quick break and when we get back we’ll dive into that program.

Janelle Smith 04:34.529
Awesome.

Brandon Burton 04:36.203
Alright, Janelle, we’re back. So as I mentioned before the break, we’ll we want to dive in and learn about the program that you submitted on your Chamber of the Year application. It’s always neat to learn about these programs because they’re obviously making impact in your community to be able to stand out and kind of rise rise to the top to be a Chamber of the Year finalist. So if you would just introduce to us what the what the program is that you all submitted on your Chamber of the Year application.

Janelle Smith 05:04.16
Absolutely, yeah. We submitted the Livingston Business Hub. So the Livingston Business Hub is really a business resource and a central access point for entrepreneurs and businesses within our community to support them in their endeavors, help them grow, and ensure that they have the access, the tools, and the support needed to do so, and that includes a a community.

This all started and I’m gonna kinda go back to the very beginning because I think that that’s really critical to how we got to where we are today. And the Livingston Business Hub was really born out of COVID. So back in

Towards the end of 2020, decided to strategically plan. I think that a a lot of us during COVID and throughout COVID were spending a lot of time just trying to keep the plane in the air, so to speak. And we knew that we had to be really forward thinking about what was going to be happening to our community and our businesses when this you know thing passed and when we were on the other side of it. And I think the word of the year for many years was pivot, pivot. And

Brandon Burton 06:16.075
Yeah. Yeah.

Janelle Smith 06:17.844
you know, I think we all kind of got sick of hearing that, but at some point I know I was like, do I even say it? so we we knew that we had to really look at how this was going to shape our community and what the chamber’s role in that was gonna be. So we worked with our board

Brandon Burton 06:20.001
You’re bringing back bad memories, no. Right.

Janelle Smith 06:39.298
We engaged over 60 stakeholders and community members, chamber members, non-members across several different industry sectors. I want to say we had that roughly six industry sectors that participated in these focus group discussions. And in that, it was clear that we needed and that there was a strong gap in business support services. And this really came from that reinvention of.

You know, we started to understand that individuals within our community were really refocusing their efforts. You know, a lot of people were laid off, lost their jobs, they started restructuring their lives and reprioritizing what was important to them. So based on the feedback that we got through those stakeholder focus groups sessions, in partnership with really reviewing kind of what we know and what we’ve been through before, so analyzing what happened.

recession era and two thousand eight two thousand nine and what we saw and what we predicted is that there would be a strong entrepreneurial renaissance. So in that and but also understanding that small businesses truly are the backbone of our

Economy, our regional economy, our state economy, and truly our our national economy. They they are what our economies are built on. And so, how could we support that gap and those needs to ensure that we have a strong and vibrant ecosystem here for entrepreneurs and business owners? So that’s when the vision for the Livingston Business Hub was born. And so it was a lot of discussions, a lot of analyzing the data, and then outlining like

We want to see with this. it started, you know, people are like, well, what is this? Is this a an incubator? Is it

Brandon Burton 08:30.455
Right. Is it a physical space? Is it digital space? What yeah, what is it?

Janelle Smith 08:33.3
Yeah. So like what is this? So that’s when we really started putting the pieces together and

It started with concepts, we had drawings, and this was a really big stretch for us because I think as chambers and especially coming out of COVID, we understand that our resources, we need to maximize all of our resources, especially at that time, you know. and so it was it it was a financial commitment and a financial investment that our board was very dedicated and committed to because we we understood that the potential impact that this could have.

locally. So we invested in renderings. So it did become a physical space. And so it’s your technical support, but also all of those wraparound services as well. So the Livingston Business Hub actually resides within the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce. Through the renderings we reconstituted what our building looked like and how we would continue to serve businesses within our region in a in a way that supported their needs. So we created a co-working space.

We created, we actually have our own podcasting studio today that’s now accessible to members and anybody that’s a part of our hub programming. And so they can come in and we can give them all the tools that they need to be successful. So we invested in his renderings and we started creating that vision of like, okay, what does this look like from a programmatics perspective? And really identifying like what the biggest needs were gonna be.

we aligned a lot of resources and started telling the story and sharing this with our regional partners. So we had regional partners that were involved in this and critical to the success. So one of those being Ann Arbor Spark. We had a board member who was part of our economic development entity at that time, which is Ann Arbor Spark, and

Janelle Smith 10:30.36
Very much into she was very intimate with the project and she really helped us kind of move the needle and and also connect us with some different resources as well. So as we were looking at this and then and then we had some other board members that were like, Hey, you know, I really think that you should talk to so and so. So we really leveraged the community to move this forward. We listened.

we heard and then we put the ideas into action when that those gaps were identified. So we lined this all up and then we’re getting ready to start construction and we’re like wow this is a huge capital investment. This is gonna be a big and heavy lift. So how can we how can we do this? How can we move this forward? Well again

decided that this was critical to supporting our community here and fostering that entrepreneurial ecosystem in realizing that you know that that the success of those entrepreneurs really is gonna be the success of our and the prosperity of our entire region. And so they said let’s move forward. We dipped into reserves to actually start construction.

So we started construction and we continue to look to opportunities to leverage partnerships and we actually go ahead and

Brandon Burton 11:58.36
interrupted the question. I’m I’m curious. When you said you tapped into reserves, so like what time frame is this? Is this like twenty twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three? Okay. I was gonna say tapping into reserves in twenty twenty would be super scary and it still could be scary even in twenty twenty three. So

Janelle Smith 12:06.84
Twenty twenty three it was I think twenty twenty three. Yep. Yep, so

Janelle Smith 12:16.834
Well it was really scary because when you know, we were coming out of COVID, I like our our budget had decreased by almost fifty percent. And so to build that back and to build I mean, at this time, our staff was a staff of two.

Brandon Burton 12:25.718
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 12:32.308
So this was a a big, a big undertaking. So we you know we just did it and kept the the whole vision of this and the purpose and the potential impact at the center of it. So we moved forward and entered into construction and

Brandon Burton 12:32.567
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 12:37.718
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 12:56.694
That was fun. I’ve never done that before. So I think like as a chamber professional, it’s kinda you you never know like all of the different hats that you’re gonna wear and I’m like, okay.

Brandon Burton 12:59.007
Yeah.

That’s one word to use, yeah.

Janelle Smith 13:09.56
So and and through this, you know, we we had tenants, so we started shifting our model a little bit too. So we’re looking at ways that we can continue to diversify and support a thriving organization. And we were able to do this by officing

Brandon Burton 13:12.257
That’s right.

Janelle Smith 13:29.088
sorry, offering office rental space. So we were were working around tenants and their schedules and a lot of construction dust. And in late twenty three we were able to secure a grant in partnership with five other ecosystem partners. And so this is what really got us over that last hurdle and it was truly transformational to what we were able to achieve. So we

Brandon Burton 13:39.266
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 13:58.475
basically launched pretty immediately our hub websites and our opening up of our co-working space we were able to outfit the space with furniture furnishings and the the podcasting equipment and gear interactive boards so people could come into the space and leverage it to their needs and that was again another gap that we were

realized in in these conversations is that people really enjoyed working in a hybrid environment and people also didn’t. And you know, but th there were a lot of

employers that still weren’t allowing their staff to come to an office space or said no you we’re gonna keep you remote so we wanted to make sure that we offered the capacity to support them in what they were doing as well so by offering our our

This rental space by offering conference space by offering just small meeting space and a place to to just get away from that work at home environment for those that need more of that professional atmosphere and in that cultivating a strong sense of community. So that’s been kind of like the core piece of this as well is like how can we cultivate a sense of community amongst entrepreneurs? And that’s when this started to

Really shift and gain some legs. So we have worked with a few different service providers to focus on specific program areas that support entrepreneurs in early stage development of their business and to help them really gain clarity on what it is that they’re doing, what it is that they’re selling. Because I think one thing that we have learned or know about entrepreneurs.

Janelle Smith 15:55.637
Is that they are here to do the thing. They are in the business to change and shape the world in a different way.

And that’s what they’re good at. They’re you know, they and so it’s kind of all of those other things of like how do they communicate that? How do they make sure that they’re monetizing their offers, knowing and understanding their value, getting crystal clear on who their target market is, and really being able to able to zone in on those things. So putting those programs in place and developing that we were able to work with our partners to market.

This program to entrepreneurs across the the region. And we were we enrolled over 90 entrepreneurs within the program and they went through five different program tracks. So we focused in on AI, knowing that that was gonna be a huge component of impact and the way that businesses operate. And then we created a lot of group

Learning opportunities as well. So working with our program providers to provide cohort sessions so they can really learn from each other and can continue to grow that entrepreneurial community because we also know that entrepreneurship can be very isolating. And so you know, giving our the entrepreneurs

Brandon Burton 17:15.821
Mm-hmm.

Janelle Smith 17:20.7
and our clients that are going through these programs, a space and place to connect with others, it helps them kind of navigate and learn from each other. I mean, you know and

I know that some of the best learning, you know, when we’re going to either IOM or some of these state conferences, it comes from each other. And so I think the same is true in business and entrepreneurship. And I think that entrepreneurs and these early stage businesses are willing to work with each other and the understanding that their success is ultimately our success. And it’s kind of that mentality of a rising tide lifts all boats. So we’ve been able to do that really, really well.

Brandon Burton 17:39.202
Right.

Brandon Burton 17:52.705
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 18:00.235
well. And in addition to those tracks, we also have one-on-one coaching and then online business courses. We of also offer a lot of different HR human resource trainings and quarterly forums. So those are a lot of the different program tracks that we’ve been able to offer through the hub and it’s truly been transformational for some of our businesses that have been through that.

Brandon Burton 18:26.645
That’s awesome. So y you have the physical space, you have the the hub, the co working space, but then you have the programming aspect of it as well. with the the programming part of it, is this is it open to any business, any you know, aspiring entrepreneur throughout the county, or is there an application? What did how do they get involved?

Janelle Smith 18:47.436
Both. So yeah, yes and all of the above. So this is open to anybody. and I think that so with certain programs there is an application process. So we have to make sure that we’re aligning the participant with the correct programs and making sure that they’re a good fit for the programs because there is a commitment level. I mean some of these cohorts run six months and we want to ensure that those that are going through the program are committed. There’s also

Brandon Burton 18:50.539
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 19:17.37
So with the grant that we received, what was really exciting about this is that accessibility. So there is a fee for these programs, quite a significant fee. Yeah. And but with the the grant that we received, we actually built program into it. So that was built into our budget.

Brandon Burton 19:27.937
Yeah. There should be. Yeah.

Janelle Smith 19:40.023
So if a business met one of four criteria through the application process, they were able to receive the training or go through one of our courses at no cost to them. So that that’s where it became really transformational. And I think some of the things that stood out to me was hearing from actually met with one of the businesses today, was that she was actually in the process of contemplating closing her business.

She was a she is a marketer and she really was like, Do I go back to bartending? You know, I don’t know if I can work for somebody, but I’ve always loved bartending, like just really ready to throw in the towel. And she went through one of our growing and brilliant business cohorts, and at the end of the cohort, she had more than double.

and was getting ready to hire her first employee. So that was really and just excited about doing her work again. So I think that that that was really amazing. And then we had another participant that went through the grow difference maker boot camp and for for him,

He was a painter and he he was quoted on a quoted a job or and somebody kinda came back and said, Well, you know, I can I can do sixteen hundred and he he brought this to his difference maker boot camp and they talked to him they the group kind of Yes and so and so and he went back and ended up landing the job at sixty nine hundred. So

Brandon Burton 21:12.865
I negotiate. Yeah.

Brandon Burton 21:21.533
Wow. Wow. That is awesome. I love those stories. So you

Janelle Smith 21:25.558
Yeah. man, I do too. Like those are the things that I can thrive on.

Brandon Burton 21:31.829
Right. So you said there’s been over ninety that have enrolled in the the programming. you had also mentioned about you know getting getting the word out there for these aspiring entrepreneurs, these new businesses. is the programming set for certain times of the year? Are you continually taking applicants? Like how does that work? Okay.

Janelle Smith 21:52.341
It’s ongoing. Yes, it it is all ongoing. it’s rolling. So roughly every two months or so, but we have so many different cohorts going at a time that it’s just really, you know, once we get a group of like five to ten individuals together and we roll with it. So and and that’s really based on

Brandon Burton 22:05.1
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 22:14.743
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 22:17.092
the service provider’s recommendation. They can typically tell based on those applications that we receive how committed individuals are going to be to the programs. Because it that that’s a huge value add is being able to connect with those other entrepreneurs and businesses.

Brandon Burton 22:31.479
Yeah. So my next question is, who do you have facilitating these cohorts and who how does a curriculum get put together for it?

Janelle Smith 22:40.93
Right, so we work with a select group of service providers that are partners to the Livingston Business Hub. So we have agreements in place with them. and these are programs that have been vetted and then

Truly for us felt transformational. So they hit on all of the components that we identified as critical to the success of filling those gaps for entrepreneurs throughout that process. So these were programs that were already in existence, so to speak, but we aligned them with

So that way the hub is providing more of the central access point. When we were going through this process, it was really like asking the question of how can we be that one-stop shop for business? I think, you know, opening a business can be really overwhelming. And like I said, you get into business because you want to do the thing. You don’t want to necessarily run the business or

Brandon Burton 23:40.311
Think about accounting or the marketing aspects or all that. You wanna go do the thing. I get it.

Janelle Smith 23:45.313
You wanna do the thing. And like I and then a lot of entrepreneurs they really don’t think about like managing people either. So I think like that’s something that’s built into a lot of this curriculum is how to c maintain that human element. And so I think that that’s been a huge win for a lot of these programs as well.

Brandon Burton 24:05.643
Yeah, that’s awesome. and these these are the stories that really make an impact, right? When you’re able to see these businesses are on the verge of closing and now they’re thriving, they’re growing, they’re hiring. You you see yeah, businesses where their income is directly affected by the the curriculum, what they they learn, these experiences they go through. It’s it’s amazing. It definitely makes an impact.

Janelle Smith 24:31.18
Right. So and I I think that’s that’s really key is like I I think too when you’re looking at community and and potentially facing you know, the challenges facing their businesses potentially shuddering and being able to turn that around and playing a s a small role in that. I think that that’s been really rewarding, coming out of this and and seeing it

To evolve, and I think that’s another key piece of this is that it is constantly evolving. So we’re still we’re constantly evaluating the programs, we’re constantly evaluating what is valuable to the individuals going through the programs. We’re excited to be introducing a new mastermind. So we’ll be introducing a new mastermind course in addition to really leveraging the podcast space that we have. So this will be the next step to one of our difference maker boot camps, is individuals will actually be learning.

Brandon Burton 25:18.358
Yeah.

Janelle Smith 25:24.922
like why you would want to start a podcast, how you can deepen and shit speaking to you, yeah. so and then also, you know, get the hands on tools and training in our space. And that’s all wrapped into their their six month cohort or within the program. So we’re actually gonna be launching that one here at the end of July.

Brandon Burton 25:30.251
I love it.

Brandon Burton 25:53.048
That’s fantastic. Yeah, it’s not for everybody for sure, but there is definitely value in having a podcast and being able to build that authority and recognition and it gives credibility in in the marketplace. So lots of value there and I’m glad that’s that’s built in to what you guys are offering.

as we start to wrap up, I wanted to ask on behalf of those listening who are interested in taking their organization up to the next level, what kind of tip or action item might you share with them as they strive towards that goal?

Janelle Smith 26:24.898
Honestly, I think really just engaging with your community and listening. I think listening was key to what we did and that’s not a hard thing to do.

getting the right people around the table and having a very honest conversation about what their challenges are, where are the opportunities and leveraging appreciative inquiry for it too. So that that’s been really fun is like how can we be the best version of ourselves? And that’s something we consistently ask. That’s part of our core values is how you know to make the best better. So I I think that that is a key factor in really having transformational impact within your community.

Brandon Burton 27:09.813
Yeah, absolutely. well I like asking everyone I have on the show about the future of Chambers. So how do you see the future of Chambers and their purpose going forward?

Janelle Smith 27:22.326
Yeah, I think that’s a great question.

Brandon Burton 27:24.877
You guys had great vision with this project, so let’s see let’s see what your vision looks like for for chambers.

Janelle Smith 27:31.809
I think chambers have to keep innovating. I think that they have to keep evolving and I think that listening is key in that and that really just stepping up and stepping in and knowing when to do that because chambers are natural conveners and I think that we know how to put the pieces in place, but I so I th I think that’s a piece of it. But really leaning into building a framework.

And building a system and putting something in place that solves a long term problem, or creates a solution that’s that’s beyond programming. So I think, you know, as we look at chambers, it it’s it is evolving in in a place that

We’re more than just ribbon cuttings and community events. And there’s a huge value proposition and value add when we’re solving critical business issues like workforce development, talent attraction, housing. and then

the tools and resources that businesses need to succeed and thrive and that is economic development. And so I think really looking at those pieces and figuring out what the chambers, what your chambers role is in that within your community. And I think that that starts with listening and engaging and then really being proactive in those solutions.

Brandon Burton 28:58.369
Yeah. That listening definitely helps to create that vision so you know what direction to to g move in your community and every community will look a little different. So well Janelle, before we let you go, I wanted to give you an opportunity to share any contact information for listeners who may want to reach out and learn more about the Livingston Business Hub or anything else you guys are doing there at the Howl Area Chamber, where would you point them and what would be the best way to for them to connect with you?

Janelle Smith 29:24.04
they can absolutely visit our website at howell.org. you can also reach out to me directly, jsmith@howl.org, and I’d be happy to set up a time to meet, talk more, or you also follow us on social. We got all sorts of things going on. Livingston Business Hub apps also has its own website, so I can it drop that over to you too. I think it’s just livingstonbusinesshub.com.

Brandon Burton 29:39.477
Right.

Brandon Burton 29:49.206
Okay, very good. We’ll get that in our show notes and make it easy for people to find and reference and connect. But Janelle, this has been fun having you on the podcast. It’s exciting, you know, for the accomplishment of making it to this big stage. And wish you and your team best of luck as Chamber of the Year.

Janelle Smith 30:07.545
Awesome, thank you so much.

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