Chamber Membership Benefits BOOST YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH JOINING THE CHAMBER There are an estimated 4,000 chambers of commerce in the United States, and 3 million businesses are currently part of a chamber of commerce. If a consumer knows a business is part of its local chamber, there is a 63% increase in the likelihood that the consumer will shop with that business. Joining a chamber of commerce is a great way to be part of the community. This is important since 8% of small businesses fail because they don’t have a network. Your local chamber of commerce gives you a community to be a part of so you don’t have to feel alone. Furthermore, it can help you secure grants and funding you may have otherwise not have been able to access. When you’re struggling to keep your doors open, a chamber could be a good support system. The business world is unpredictable, and, frankly, can be overwhelming for new entrepreneurs. This is especially the case after the COVID-19 pandemic,
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which resulted in closures all over the country. In fact, following the pandemic, 200,000 U.S. small businesses closed in the first year. Wherever are you in the life-cycle of your business (i.e., just starting out, looking to take that next growth leap, or considering the sale of your busi-
PAYSON SANTAQUIN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | www.paysonsantaquinarea.com
ness), chambers have programs and solutions for all stages of business. Chambers have a legislative agenda that reflects the needs of businesses in their area. This advocacy is happening on your behalf at no cost to you. If you want your specific concerns and voice to be heard by local and state lawmakers, being a chamber member is a good way to do this. Member businesses are also kept aware of legislative issues facing their businesses. There’s a lot that happens on the local, state and federal levels — too much for the average business owner to track on their own. The chamber will help keep you informed about issues that could affect you like taxation, legalization and permitting issues. It’s important to remember that many of the benefits of chamber membership are available to your employees as well. This perk alone can make chamber membership worth it. For instance, if you want to get more involved in social media, and your person who will be handling it doesn’t know how to do it, you have two options for training: place the onus on your employee to learn or pay for the training yourself. A more cost-effective solution is to check when you join your local chamber of commerce to find out if they have a seminar on the subject.
