Planning for 2022 and Why it is important for my business to be a member of the chamber

A chamber is an organization made up of local and area business owners & entrepreneurs who promote the interests of the local business community. The chamber provides access to resources, discounts and creates events and opportunities to form relationships that help businesses save money and market their products to other businesses and the community. Whether you are a B2B business or a B2C business a chamber can help.

Pros of Joining a Chamber of Commerce: publicity boosts, networking opportunities, resources and more. Your business will have more exposure both online & offline. We only refer to businesses who are members of the chamber. Every time your business is mentioned online by the Chamber you may get a free link. The more links you have from other websites, the higher you will rank on Google.

You will have many opportunities to network, collaborate, form partnerships (power partners) and more via Ribbon Cuttings, Leads groups, networking events and seminars just to name a few. You will mix and mingle with other members of our professional community at various events and functions. This may lead to opportunities you never imagined and connections you may never have made. A Chamber of Commerce is a Built-in support system for small business.

Also a business that is a member of it’s local chamber is generally looked on a as more credible. Customers respond 63% more favorably to businesses that are members of a local chamber and people are more likely to buy from you. 8% of small businesses fail because they aren’t connected – they don’t have a network. Display your membership plaque and yearly sticker proudly on your storefront and on your work vehicles. Chambers also let our businesses know of ways they can be involved in the community whether through volunteering or supporting other organizations.

There are many resources for businesses in the chamber – a directory where they can find other businesses they can partner with, member-to-member discounts and the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce offers its conference room to businesses to use for interview or training meetings. We offer several seminars each year which focus on topics concerning HR, Legislation, Best practices and more. We offer a job board on our website and post jobs for our local businesses on our social media pages. We keep our members informed of local, state and federal legislation that may affect how they do businesses. We advocate for our businesses with our local, state and federal elected officials.

Please remember – some things take time and you get out of the chamber what you put into the chamber. You must commit to attending some events and meeting people. You must be involved in the chamber and your community. You can’t just join and expect business to flood to you. You don’t have to attend or sponsor every event but you do need people to get to know you. We tend to do business with people we know, like and trust.

Consider checking out the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce by attending an event, emailing the office at info@oswegochamber.org or calling 630-554-3505. Shayna and I are here to help you! We look forward to hearing from you and working with you.