Issuu

2013

NOV/DEC

Chatter the Chamber

THE MEMBER NEWS & INFORMATION RESOURCE

PROVIDING LEADERSHIP AND OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESS

Dear Members, As we come to the end of 2013, I felt it was important to let you, our members, know some of our successes from 2013 and our goals for 2014. Thanks to you for the first time in several years our membership grew and we couldn’t be more proud of that fact. We hope it means we are showing you the value of the Chamber and giving you many ways to grow your business because of the programs and resources we are providing.

PROVIDING LEADERSHIP AND OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSINESS

CHAMBER STAFF Mark Yoder President Dave Fairman Director of Membership Maggie O’Niell Office Operations Director

In February we honored Alvy Kelly of Kelly’s Sports as our Outstanding Citizen and The Arc of Chester County as our Community Service Award winner. Alvy and the ARC have done so much to support their community and Chester County and we are so proud to honor them. In July we hosted the 9th Annual Iron Hill Twilight Race Series. It was another hot July day but the spectators came out to see some of the best criterium racing on the East Coast. This event continues to grow and we are looking forward to bigger and better things in 2014. In October we honored SideBar and Restaurant and Patti Griffin as our Business and Volunteer of the Year, respectively. It was one of our best attended lunches which highlighted what Justin Dougherty, Adam Wetzel and Patti do to support the Chamber and West Chester. In this issue you will see the announcement of QVC becoming the “Presenting” sponsor of the Mars Drinks Old-Fashioned Christmas parade. Mars Drinks and now QVC have provided the support and reach to really take our hometown parade to the next level. In 2014 you will see a new, redesigned and more resource driven website, a new easier to use ThinkShopBuy…LOCAL mobile app and website functionality and in general a Chamber that is here to serve you and provide you with the resources you need to succeed. Thank you for your support of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce and here’s to an exciting 2014. Mark Yoder

Bethany Henry Member Service Coordinator Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce 119 North High Street West Chester, PA 19380 tel 610.696.4046 fax 610.696.9110 www.greaterwestchester.com

President Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce

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The Chamber Chatter is a bi-monthly publication with a circulation of 1100. It is free to members of the Chamber. Editorial Content and advertising is limited to Chamber members. Editorial coverage does not imply or indicate Chamber endorsement of members business, product or services.

The Chamber Welcomes New Members Artistic Eyewear

CJâ€™s Tire

Dr. Sharon Kelly - Psychologist

Mr. Robert Layman 127 N. High Street West Chester, PA 19380 610-738-7150; Fax 610-738-7151 artisticeyewear@yahoo.com www.artisticeyewear.com OPTICIANS

Mr. Eliot Levin 1309 Wilmington Pike West Chester, PA 19382 610-455-0400; Fax 484-315-8367 elevin@cjtire.com www.cjtire.com AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES

Dr. Sharon Kelly 210 W. Gay Street West Chester, PA 19380 610-291-8551 drsharonkelly@villagepsychology.com www.villagepsychology.com PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

Balance Hair Spa Studio

The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center

Nikken Independent Distributor

Mr. Biff Piner 150 E. Gay Street West Chester, PA 19380 610-314-4300 balancehairspastudio@comcast.net www.balancehairspa.com BEAUTY SERVICES

Bradford Media Group Mr. Chris Dima 23 N. Walnut Street West Chester, PA 19380 267-258-1520 chris@bradfordmediagroup.com www.bradfordmediagroup.com MARKETING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

Chester Co. Detachment Marine Corps Leaque

Mr. Michael Chain One Liberty Boulevard Malvern, PA 19355 610-296-9800; Fax 610-889-9869 mgc@desmondgv.com www.desmondgv.com LODGING

Giannascoli & Kent, P.C. Mr. Jeffrey Smith 93 W. Devon Drive, Suite 102 Exton, PA 19341 610-363-9333; Fax 610-363-9332 jsmith@giannascolilaw.com www.gklawpc.com ATTORNEY

Hog Island Hoagies

Commandant Fred Leclair P.O. Box 828 Downingtown, PA 19335-0828 610-518-3444 FN60@aol.com NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

Ms. Judy Glynn 230 W. Market Street West Chester, PA 19382 484-947-5135 judithmglynn@gmail.com www.HogIslandHoagiesWC.com RESTAURANT/CAFE

Chester County Family Academy / a PA Charter School

Keller Williams Real Estate

Mrs. Susan Flynn Cambridge Square 323 E. Gay Street, Suite #7 West Chester, PA 19380 610-696-5910; Fax 610-696-6324 ccfacademy@comcast.net www.ccfaschool.org SCHOOLS/COLLEGES/ UNIVERSITIES

Ms. Randy Rolfe 988 Jefferies Bridge Road West Chester, PA 19382 484-459-2352 randyrolfe@comcast.net www.nikken.com/randyrolfe HEALTH SERVICES & PRODUCTS

Mr. Mike DiBartolomeo 100 Campbell Boulevard, Suite 106 Exton, PA 19341 484-883-0052 Mike@ColbyMartinTeam.com REAL ESTATE

Chamber Chatter NEWS

2013 Back to School Supply Drive Sponsors 20 or More School Boxes Rotary Club of West Chester Side Bar and Restaurant TQ Consultants Thoughts Embellished

A very small sampling of the 25 boxes of school supplies donated. Picture includes staff from the WCASD, the GWC Chamber and Penn Office Product.

The Chamber sincerely thanks everyone who supported our 9th annual “Back to School Supply Drive.” We exceeded our goal of 200 boxes thanks to our many generous Chamber members. A “BIG” thank you to the staff at Penn Office Products (Mac Neilon & Anton Burrell) who coordinated and delivered all of the school supplies to the school district. A special thank to The Rotary Club of West Chester for donating $1,000 that enabled us to purchase backpacks for the third year in a row.

Thanks to all those who participated

10 – 19 School Boxes Arthur Hall Insurance Comcast Spotlight Brandywine Valley Heating & AC Coscia Communications Dave’s Automotive Repair Fox Chase Bank Jacquette Consulting, Inc. Krapf Bus Companies, George Krapf Krapf Bus Companies, Dallas Krapf Krapf Bus Companies, Dale Krapf Lamb McErlane PC, James McErlane MSB Incorporated Penn Liberty Bank

Sage Vision Technology, Inc. Swope Lees Commercial Real Estate, LLC Three Little Pigs, Sheila Frech / Kim Stack Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, P.C. West Chester Dental Arts 5 – 9 School Boxes Atlantic Communications, Doug DiGiovanni Custom Printing & Promotions Karen & Keath Fetter Rothwell Document Solutions West Chester Off-Campus Housing 1 – 4 School Boxes C-21 Alliance Commercial, Thomas Walsh Bruce A. Kraig Associates Penn Liberty Bank, Tim Jefferis Creative Properties PA, Steve Scebelo

2013 GWCC BOARD MEMBERS OFFICERS Tim Jefferis, Chairman Penn Liberty Bank Chris Tolsdorf, Chairman-Elect Tolsdorf Oil Lube Express Donna L. Urian, , Vice Chairman Fischer Cunnane & Associates, Ltd. Rob Partridge, Treasurer West Chester Area School District Marc Ernest, Secretary Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Scott Mayes, Immediate Past Chairman Comcast Spotlight

Chamber Chatter NEWS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mary Bigham WC Dish, LLC Bryan Brockson EDiS Construction & Development

Guy T. Dunn 1-800-905 Geek / Geeks On Call Debi Wright Friedmann Blue Dog Printing & Design Thomas Gavin The Chester County Hospital

Thomas Ciccarone Parkway Dry Cleaners, Inc.

Liz Golding Susquehanna Bank

John J. Cunningham Lamb McErlane PC

Nicole Grebloskie Arthur Hall Insurance

Ronald K. DellaVecchia DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home, Inc.

Mell Josephs Student Services, Inc. Jeannie McGinn Fulton Bank

Patrick M. McKenna Gawthrop Greenwood, PC Andrew McMenamin DNB First Brian Miller Mars Drinks North America, LLC Marisa Powell Pietro’s Prime Nonna’s Restaurants Donna Saul Business Coaching & Consulting Marjorie Wentz Elmark Signs & Graphics

A Mindset of Success… Some days I feel older than dirt—and it has its advantages. When you’ve been around as long as I have, and built as many companies, you notice commonalities that successful business owners and successful companies share. From my perspective, here are some of them:

1. A mindset of success. There are a lot of good people out there who ‘try’, but trying doesn’t get it done. Try to hold a pencil— you either do or you don’t. Those who succeed develop a mindset of success. They are not victims of what comes their way in the everyday course and chaos of building and running a business. They learn how to navigate the chaos, how to lead other people, and they possess a willingness-- and the knowledge—to do it themselves or to get down into the trenches and work side by side with those who are responsible for getting things done, when the going gets rough. Show them a wall, and their only thought is how to go through, around or over it. Never does it occur to them to allow that wall to stop them. 2. An ability to set and to attain goals. People who achieve have a preternatural ability to set goals and to stay focused on attaining them. And only in your dreams is that straight line. Mostly it’s filled with twists and turns worthy of a stint on reality television, but those who can take the hit, learn, recover, and then reset their course to the goal will be more successful than those people and companies that can’t. It’s that simple. 3. Understand the business they’re really in. Be honest. If it’s only about the money, admit that—at least to yourself, because that clarity is what will drive every decision you make—from who to hire and what to charge, to what vendors to use, how much you pay employees and more. Too many business owners fall into a trap of doing only what makes them feel good, as opposed to what is necessary to do in order for their business to survive. At worst, they misdirect their real intentions toward something more socially acceptable or politically correct. Successful people and organizations aren’t confused. There is absolutely nothing wrong in doing what makes you feel good, provided those values are aligned with your business goals AND your anticipated profit bottom line. So whether your motives are fortune, fame or making a difference, understand, nurture and refine your vision continually over time, yes, BUT, be honest, be clear and then set policies and behavior accordingly.

By: Donna Saul

4. Know the numbers. I cannot underestimate the importance of this. Successful business owners know the critical indicators that contribute to a company’s bottom line, and they monitor those numbers relentlessly. Whether it’s the value of a customer, lead-to-sale ratios, conversion or response rates, the cost of gaining a customer, the number of steps between a lead and a sale, the cost of new market entry, of hiring and firing, and more, they know the numbers cold. Time after time and year after year, I sit down with the business owners of companies large and small and ask the questions, and rarely do I encounter a person or a team who can provide the answers cold. Of course, the good news is that this is one of the fundamental reasons I make a positive difference in their growth and profits—and also, that they’ll never NOT know those numbers again. My point is this: If you take nothing else away from reading this article, please take this: Know your numbers. 5. Have a strategy (and stick to it). This does not mean they possess a singular focus regardless of circumstances, but they put those circumstances in context to the big picture. They know when to bail and when to row, and they don’t ever let the boat take on too much water. They not only know what to do and when to do it, but what not to do and what should be avoided entirely, all of which are equally important when measuring effort and performance in relation to bottom line profit. 6. Know what they don’t know. Successful people don’t know everything, but they accept those limitations and surround themselves with the right people who can fill those gaps. They understand the value of never being the smartest person on their team, and then allow those smarter people the latitude to do what they do best. This list is just the tip of the iceberg, but whether you choose to implement one of these items or all of them, each and every one absolutely will make a difference to your company’s growth, revenue and profits.

Donna Saul is a business strategist and consultant specializing in helping businesses increase revenue and profit. She also is a regular host of GWCC’s Chamber Chatter Radio airing Mondays at 1 pm ET at www.wche1520.com. T HE BOT T OM LINE O N B U I L DI N G A B E T T E R BO TTO M LIN E

donna@donnasaul.com | 610.889.0626 | www.donnasaul.com

Chamber Chatter NEWS

Thank you to our

Renewing Members in August & September 2013 MEMBERS 20-29 YEARS The Inquirer / Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. Our members are the foundation of our organization. To honor them we would like to congratulate and thank those who renewed their membership in August and September 2013. Thank you for your ongoing support of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce. Dave Fairman Director of Membership

metropolitan east goshen

1 - 2 YEARS The WC Press

Blue Dog Printing & Design

The Painted Plate

Chester County Community Foundation

Catalyst Outdoor Advertising

Kashbox Coaching

Penn Liberty Bank

Mars Drinks North America, LLC

Chamberlain Chiropractic & Wellness

West Chester Capital Advisors Inc.

Unlimited Technology, Inc.

The nGage Company, Inc

West Chester Area Senior Center

3 - 9 YEARS Brandywine Water Systems, Inc.

EP Visual Design

H.J. Purnell, Jr., CPA

Deery-Thomas Agency

Clothes Mentor

The Pita Pit

Lorgus Flower Shop

Binder & Canno

Kreutz Creek Winery

Radley Run Country Club

Barnlady.net

Barnaby’s West Chester

Otto’s BMW

JMF Tech Support, LLC

Judy’s Healthy Kitchen

Harvey Insurance Group

Morton Family Law

William M. Dunleavy and Company Inc. Kaplans Fine Jewelry Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, P.C.

10 - 19 YEARS Paul W. Britt D.D.S. West Chester Public Library Encore Medical International Inc. ShopRite Debbie Sellers West Chester Railroad MM Computer Services DNB First SAGE Vision Technology, Inc. H. L. Chalfant Antiques Jane Antley, CPA Internet Research and Development

Chamber Chatter NEWS

Optimal Massage

Pancoast & Clifford, Inc. A. Steven Krug Dave’s Automotive Repair Enterprises, LLC Donna Saul LLC, Business Coaching & Consulting Castle Construction & Consulting, Inc. Treetops at Chester Hollow Paoli Hospital Foundation MERJE The Dunmoore Group, LLC Stillman Volvo

WC Dish LLC

KPInterface, Inc. Delaware Valley Business Referral Group

ME MBE R SPOTLIGHT Non-profit organizations are facing greater challenges than current economy. With over 40,000 registered 501 (c) (3) Public Charities and only 5,235 grant making foundations in Pennsylvania, the competition is fierce for the funding they require to meet the needs of those they serve. Carol Tynan, founder of Tynan Consultants, has been working to help organizations accomplish their fund raising goals since 2008.

Carol Tynan TYNAN CONSULTANTS Development Support for Non-Profits 610.864.2039 cdtynan1012@aol.com

GOLF MEMBERSHIP WINNERS The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with Applecross Country Club to offer renewing members an opportunity to win a Casual Golf Membership at Talamore and Applecross Country Clubs. All current members are eligible to win during the month they renew their membership. The drawings will continue each month through December 2013.

Congratulations to these businesses who were picked in a lottery drawing of Chamber businesses that renewed their memberships in August and September 2013:

Realizing that grants alone will not achieve most development goals, Tynan Consultants provides a variety of services in addition to grant writing. Development Assessments, donor development, assistance with fund raising events, annual giving and capital campaigns are also provided based on each organization’s individual needs. Carol provides Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program development, application and requests for funding for those organizations that qualify for the program. With over thirty years of non-profit experience, Carol, and her assistant Rae O’Malley, work with organizations in Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. Carol joined the Chamber in 2008 and became an active participant with the New Member Development Committee until 2011. She joined the Ambassadors Committee in 2011 and continues with her role as a Chamber Ambassador, meeting new members and reconnecting with existing members. Tynan Consultants is a Registered Fund Raising Counsel with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations, PA.

Ms. Jane Antley CPA

Ms. Christine M. Wildauer Lorgus Flower Shop

Mrs. Kathi Miller-Madanci ShopRite

Mr. John Bosio MERJE

Mr. Matthew Smith Brandywine Water Systems, Inc.

Ms. Jennifer O’Brien metropolitan east goshen

Ms. Karen A. Simmons Chester County Community Foundation

Mr. Michael Wolff Optimal Massage

Mr. J. Ken Jaccard The Dunmoore Group, LLC

Mr. Chet Reber The Painted Plate

Mr. Chris Popper Encore Medical International Inc.

Mr. Frank Pancoast Pancoast & Clifford, Inc.

Mr. Peter W. Meyers EP Visual Design

Mr. Hugh Purnell H.J. Purnell, Jr., CPA

Mr. Raymond Bieg Internet Research and Development

Ms. Debbie Sellers Title Searcher

Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Kaplan Kaplans Fine Jewelry

Ms. Kelly Mummert Treetops at Chester Hollow

Mr. Brian Pickell KPInterface, Inc.

Ms. Mary Bigham WC Dish LLC

Chamber Chatter NEWS

The Importance of Being Different (Part 3) Last time we talked about the benefi ts and characteristics of Differentiation Marketing. In this, the fi nal installment, we discuss how it is done.

Four Steps of Differentiation Marketing; The Four I’s • Investigate

• Innovate

• Identify

• Initiate

Investigate This is the stage where you take a close look at your strengths and weaknesses. It is when you objectively look at your company and its brand identity. The goal of this stage is to gather enough information to make intelligent decisions throughout the next four stages. Here are some questions you should ask: • What is(are) my market(s) and what audiences do I need to address in that(those) market(s) • What products or services do I offer? • How good or bad are they? How do they stack up against the competition? What do I do well and what am I doing correctly? • What do I do poorly and what am I doing wrong? • What is my competition doing and what are they doing right and wrong? • How do I measure up to my competition–where do I beat them and where are they beating me? • Is there anything new that I should offer? • Is there anything I am offering that I should not?

Identify Now it is time to specifically identify your brand and discover how to apply it to your products. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you throw away and what do you keep? This is the time to establish the identity of your company, to strictly identify the products and services you will offer and where should these products and services be positioned in the market. Set a direction for yourself and identify what you want your market to know about your company and its products and services. Now is when you identify your market(s) and the audiences within the market(s).

Innovate This is where differentiation marketing takes form. Look at how your competition is marketing itself and fi gure a way to to do it differently. This calls for innovation and and it can come in any form. Next, you need to decide what vehicles you are going to use to get that message to your audiences. How are you going to tell them what it is they need to know. An engineer will get your message from one vehicle–maybe your web page, a tech note or engineering publication–while an executive will probably get information from somewhere else like a magazine written especially for him. There are many vehicles you can use to market yourself–direct mail, advertising, the web, public relations; they just have to be right for your target.

The innovation stage selects the best ways to reach your market and get your powerful marketing message to your customer base. Initiate Initiate the development of your marketing program. Review all your possibilities and make a road map for your action. This is where the work gets done and the program takes form. Identities are established, brochures are designed, media is planned, press releases are written. The purpose of this stage is to develop your plan of action that will get your message to the right market and audiences within that market. Now that you have your plan and the tools to start, do it. Follow your program but don’t be rigid. There will be unforeseen circumstances that you did not predict and therefore did not plan for. Think of them as opportunities to expand on your existing program and use them to your advantage.

Steve Pinkston founded Steve Pinkston and Others (SP+O) with the idea that clients who understand their customers would benefit from a design studio that understands business.

mail@spo-inc.com | 610.692.2939 | www.spo-inc.com

Chamber Chatter NEWS

By: Steve Pinkston

Chamber Chatter NEWS

Get ready to ring in the holiday season with the 2013 MARS Drinks Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade in Downtown West Chester set to commence at 7:15 p.m. on Friday, December 6th. Presented annually since 1980 by the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce, the parade is the highlight of the four day Old-Fashioned Christmas Celebration held Thursday, December 5th through Sunday, December 8th, featuring over forty events including theatrical and musical performances, guided walking tours and breakfast with Santa. A complete list of events will be posted on www.GreaterWestChester.com.

THE 34th

ANNUAL

Old-Fashioned

As the organizer of the event, the Chamber is delighted to welcome MARS Drinks, a division of Mars, Inc., as the title sponsor for the fifth year. “The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with MARS Drinks on this project,” says Chamber President Mark Yoder, “Their continued title sponsorship of this much loved parade demonstrates their support not only of the Chamber but of the entire West Chester community.”

“Mars Drinks is excited about our continued sponsorship of the West Chester Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade,” says Brian Miller, Regional President of Mars Drinks North America. “This is a great opportunity for us to give back to the community through one of the premier events in the area.” New for 2013 is the addition of QVC as the presenting sponsor of Friday night’s parade! QVC will be on site to broadcast live updates of the parade, and film extended parade highlights that will be broadcast periodically during Christmas day. “For the first time, people in 100 million homes across the country will have the opportunity to tune in to QVC and experience the holiday spirit that makes this Christmas parade so special,” says Paul Capelli, QVC Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Affairs. Prior to the parade, many businesses and organizations throughout downtown West Chester will host Holiday Open Houses offering refreshments and seasonal entertainment. The 5th Annual Jingle Elf Run is sponsored by ESC Janitorial & Maintenance. The race begins at 6:30 p. m., originating at Market and High Streets with a 2-mile run and a 1-mile walk. Popular QVC program hosts and longtime parade fixture 6abc’s Adam Josephs will serve as masters of ceremonies. The parade promises a mix of traditional and modern elements. A host of local schools, businesses, volunteer fire companies and service organizations will be represented among the many marching bands, floats and antique vehicles that have become the mainstay of Old-Fashioned Christmas. DNB First and The Rotary Club of West Chester have collaborated on a special float that will honor military veterans from the West Chester area. The float will feature a representative from each branch of the armed forces.

FAMILY TIP

The best early view of Santa will occur on West Market Street!

Chamber Chatter NEWS

New Parade Route! Starting at New and Market Streets, the parade will travel east on Market Street, north on Matlack Street, west on Gay Street and south on New Street. Spectacular views abound throughout the entire route.

2 MILE RUN, 1 MILE WALK CASH PRIZES & MORE!

CHRISTMAS PARADE! THANKS TO OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS SPONSORS The 34th Annual MARS Drinks Old-Fashioned Christmas in Downtown West Chester is made possible thanks to the support of the business community. The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce is grateful to those sponsors who help make this four day holiday celebration a reality. “Without the generosity of our sponsors, this wonderful event would not be possible,” said Chamber President Mark Yoder. “The Chamber and its Board of Directors greatly appreciates their ongoing commitment to the greater West Chester region and to Old-Fashioned Christmas in particular.” Returning for the 5th year as Title Sponsor is MARS Drinks North America. 2013 welcomes QVC as the parade’s new Presenting Sponsor. Supporting sponsors include WSFS Bank (Toy Drive Float), Under the Sun Productions, Wells Fargo Bank (Light the Night Spectacular), Lamb McErlane PC (Santa Float), West Chester University (West Chester University Float), Fulton Bank (Band Competition), DNB First (Welcome Home for the Holidays Float), ESC Janitorial & Maintenance ( Jingle Elf Run sponsor), Fred Beans Ford Lincoln Mercury of West Chester (Official Truck), Infiniti of West Chester (Official Luxury Vehicle), PECO (Light sponsor), Sheraton Great Valley (Official Hotel) and Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (Berenstain Bears Float). Media Sponsors include 6abc, Main Line Today Magazine, B101.1 FM, and the Daily Local News. Additional sponsors include the West Chester Business Improvement District, Elmark Signs and Graphics (Official Sign Company), The Rotary Club of West Chester (Welcome Home for the Holidays Float) and Side Bar & Restaurant (Official Restaurant).

PRESENTED BY:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 - 6:30PM DOWNTOWN WEST CHESTER Register on-line www.runccrs.com Jingle Elf Hats guaranteed to all pre-registrants. All others will receive hats while supplies last. Great holiday prizes to age group winners. Cash to the top 3 male and female in the 2 mile. Great costume awards for the most creative holiday outfits. Cash to the best elf costume! BENEFITING

WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY ALUMNI DANCE CHAPTER On-Site Registration at CCRS 24 South High Street More Information www.greaterwestchester.com

Chamber Chatter NEWS

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‘Tis The Season to Donate a Toy! Each December the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce hosts their holiday toy drive breakfast. New, unwrapped items donated by Chamber members and community leaders are presented to non-profit organizations who work directly with families in our community. In partnership with WSFS Bank, the 2013 Old-Fashioned Christmas Toy Drive will collect toys from November 4th through December 9th. Volunteers and staff from WSFS Bank will also be on hand December 6th at the Mars Drinks Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade to collect new unwrapped toys. Items will be collected along the parade route and at the WSFS Bank toy drop-off table located on High Street between Market and Gay Streets. “WSFS Bank is honored to support the Old-Fashioned Christmas Toy Drive in West Chester,” said Shari Kruzinski, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking at WSFS Bank. “At WSFS, we take great pride in giving back to our communities. We’re excited to host toy drop-offs throughout our Pennsylvania branches and play a role in bringing holiday cheer to local children in need.”

Toys collected through the 2013 WSFS Old-Fashioned Christmas Toy Drive will be presented to two worthy organizations: The ARC of Chester County - For over 60 years, The Arc of Chester County has earned a solid reputation for being a premier provider of programs and services for people with disabilities in Chester County. The Arc has been at the forefront of public policy, fighting for the rights and abilities of individuals with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. Types of Donations Appreciated: Preschool Toys for children ages 5 and under. www.ArcOfChesterCounty.org

Friends Association for the Care and Protection of Children Friends Association is committed to helping homeless or near homeless families stabilize their lives and find or maintain permanent housing. Through the Friends shelter and homeless prevention programs they address the needs of a wide range of families, focusing on families with children, who are the unintended victims of homelessness. Types of Donations Appreciated: Toddler to Pre-teen. Educational Toys like puzzles, arts and crafts, activity books. Gift cards to Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target for older children. www.FriendsAssoc.org

These donations will help to put a smile on the face of a child who may not otherwise receive a gift. So reach deep into your heart and stop by a participating WSFS Bank Branch with a toy. Or bring your donation to the Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade on December 6th. Together we can make a difference! Contact the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce at 610-696-4046 for more information.

WSFS BANK TOY DRIVE DROP-OFF LOCATIONS November 1 – December 1, 2013 West Chester – 400 East Market Street, West Chester Edgmont – 5000 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square Media – 100 E State Street, Media Glen Mills – 395 Wilmington-West Chester Pike, Glen Mills Longwood – 826 E Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square Hours for participating branches can be found at www.wsfsbank.com/locator.aspx

11 | Chamber Chatter NEWS

Additional drop-off locations: Parkway Cleaners – 623 East Gay Street, West Chester Side Bar & Restaurant – 10 East Gay Street, West Chester Market Street Print & Copy – 204 West Market Street, West Chester La Difference Salon & Day Spa – 830 Paoli Pike, West Chester Anytime Fitness – 1502 West Chester Pike, West Chester

Why Your Employees Don’t Know What They’re Doing You’ve got a great team. They’re hardworking, dedicated, knowledgeable, loyal, and en-gaged. In fact, they hit all the buzzwords of the day. But is their work directly and positively impacting your bottom line? If the following is true of your organization, you’re seriously compromising the likelihood you can answer “yes” with confidence.

Performance Reviews Aren’t Timely or Goal Directed A recent survey by the human capital management firm Ceridian found that in 2012, only 59% of the respondents had had a formal meeting with their boss to discuss job performance. That’s bad. Almost no one likes performance reviews, but they’re still necessary. If you (or your managers) aren’t telling employees how their performance stacks up against expectation, how are they to know? In the absence of direct feedback, employees will make assumptions and even guess what to do, and that’s unfair to them and almost a guarantee they won’t know what they’re doing—even while they’re trying really, really hard to get it right.

You Don’t Have a Strategic Plan Sometimes business leaders shy away from strategic planning thinking that it’s compli-cated or unnecessary, but nothing could be further from the truth.

By: Peter Johnson

Consider this. Almost any goal you can imagine will be impossible to attain if you don’t plot the specific steps leading to it. Whether the goal is to lose 20 pounds or be the world’s best race car driver, it won’t happen without a plan. And if you can’t even lose weight without a plan, you’d be darn lucky to run a successful organization without one.

Job Descriptions Are Seriously Out of Date It’s been said a thousand times, but we’ll say it again: the pace of business today is killer. If your job descriptions have gotten a little out of date as a result, it’s not the end of the world. But when the work your people do bears little or no resemblance to their job de-scriptions, or when there are no job descriptions, that’s a problem in the making. Up to date job descriptions serve as much-needed guides for your employees and remind everyone why the jobs exist in the first place. (As an added benefit, accurate and thor-ough job descriptions that clearly document essential job functions also provide neces-sary direction when responding to ADA accommodation requests.) It’s true. Even the most talented, intuitive, skillful employees will only be guessing about what your organization needs when they have no strategic plan, no job descriptions, and no feedback to inform their performance. At the same time they’re doing their best, they still won’t really know what they’re doing. And while your competition might want that, surely you don’t?

Strategic plans do not have to be huge, complex tomes. In fact, a good strategic plan can be as few as three pages! The point is to capture, in written form, where the company is, where you’d like it to be, and how you plan to get there. Once the basic plan is in place you can communicate it to staff, and managers can help individual contributors determine the specific actions needed to put the plan into effect.

Peter R. Johnson & Co. is a West Chester based compensation consulting firm that provides total compensation plan design and program management. Our experienced staff of compensation consultants enables Peter. R. Johnson & Co. to provide plan design, implementation support, and ongoing administrative services for all phases of a client’s total compensation program.

610-696-6114 | www.prjandco.com

Chamber Chatter NEWS

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NOVEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13

Chester County Chamber Alliance

Membership Luncheon Moody’s Economic Update

Fall Business Expo

Tyler Case, Associate Economist, will provide an update on the economy in and around Chester County. Sponsored by: Arthur Hall Insurance

Thursday, November 7 United Sports 1426 Marshallton-Thorndale Road, Downingtown 5:00pm – 7:00pm

Wednesday, November 13 Concord Country Club 1601 Wilmington Pike, West Chester 11:45am – 1:00 pm

Free to attend | See page 15 for more details

$25 for members | $35 for non-members RSVP is required

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20

EVERY MONDAY @ 1PM

Business Card Exchange Days Hotel West Chester

Chamber Chatter Radio Show Listen Live

www.wche1520.com Wednesday, November 20 943 S. High St., West Chester 5:30pm – 7:30pm Free for members | $10 for non-members RSVP is appreciated

13 | Chamber Chatter NEWS

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DECEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6

Business Card Exchange Wells Fargo Bank

The Mars Drinks Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade

“Kick off the Old Fashioned Christmas Weekend with us at Wells Fargo”

Wednesday, December 4 17 N. High St., West Chester 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Friday, December 6

Free for members | $10 for non-members RSVP is appreciated

Downtown West Chester 7:15pm | See page 9 for details

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11

Membership Breakfast Toy Breakfast