 Chamber of Commerce
Best Practices
Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce
We knew you when …
Kim Scheeler,
President
We all agree that entrepreneurs are risk takers. After
all, who among us hasn’t at one time or another had a
“great idea” for a business, but stopped short of taking
action because we either were unwilling or unable to
handle the risk of starting our own enterprise? And how
many of us have looked on with admiration when an
entrepreneurial endeavor like Outback turns into a
successful international conglomerate? There is no
question that entrepreneurs are the backbone of the
American marketplace and the reason our country has been
so competitive in the world market. In fact, the concept
of free enterprise is rooted in the idea that an
entrepreneur’s success is limited only by his
willingness to work hard.
Here at the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, we have a
special affection for entrepreneurs. More than 80% of
our members are small businesses and we are constantly
striving to provide programs that will help them
succeed. In fact, through business success studies we
have learned that one of the most critical times in
business is when the entrepreneur grows his organization
to the point that he must become a manager. Some people
make that leap effortlessly and continue to grow and
thrive. Some hire someone else to lead the company once
it reaches a certain size. But others struggle and
cannot come to grips with the fact that no matter how
hard they work, they are “growing” themselves out of
business. Watching those bold individuals struggle with
their success is what motivated us to create a number of
our small business programs.
Part of our membership model (Fit 2) focuses on the
companies making that transition and providing them with
educational opportunities to help them navigate those
stormy seas. The Fit 2 level membership is designed for
those companies with 1-150 employees who are interested
in building their business base and accessing programs
to assist in growing and strengthening their business.
We have found these programs to be so successful that we
have had to expand many of them to meet the demand.
For instance, we have Marketing Mondays where
participants learn how to position their website for
maximum exposure on search engines such as Google or
Yahoo. Not your typical marketing program (we have those
too), but extremely useful in today’s competitive world.
Or, you can learn why the first five minutes of a sales
call are the most important and how it sets the stage
for whether or not you will succeed in the meeting.
In our Business Leaders’ Roundtables, you might hear
Richard Gonzmart talk about how he has grown a family
restaurant into an icon in the business. Or the
Saavedras (Martin Sr. and Jr.) talk about their
successful printing company and how they have continued
to evolve their business to meet the challenges of
marketing in an electronic world. It is all about
successful people sharing their secrets.
The Business Success Seminars are more educational in
nature and a little like going back to college, but with
your most interesting and inspiring professors (we all
remember those folks who managed to teach and entertain,
right?). Here you will learn how to deal with issues
like healthcare plans and wellness programs, topics that
become increasingly important as you deal with the need
to retain your skilled workforce. You will also gain
knowledge in areas that will assist you personally such
as financial planning, so you know how to best invest
the profits you make.
All of these programs are available free of charge to
our Fit 2 members. When we redesigned our membership
model a few years ago, we knew it didn’t do any good to
have great programs if no one took advantage of them, so
now they are built into your membership and there is no
excuse not to make the most out of your membership.
If you’re one of those people who is thinking of making
the leap and becoming an entrepreneur, we can help you
gain the insight to make the right decision. Through our
partnership with the Hillsborough County Small Business
Information Center in coordination with the USF Small
Business Development Center, we are able to offer free
business counseling at the Chamber. The second Tuesday
of each month from 9:00 am to noon, a counselor is
available by appointment at our offices to meet with you
and talk through the challenges and opportunities of
starting a business. Just call Charise Strandberg at
(813) 276-9402 to set up your confidential appointment.
This is available to anyone in the area, not just
Chamber members.
We hope you’ll take advantage of these opportunities to
grow your business or start a business. Our focus is
helping our members succeed and for us the real joy
comes in watching your business grow and become
incredibly successful. Then, we get to say we knew you
when….
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