Leah Skinner is the Executive Director of the La Verne Chamber of Commerce in La Verne, Ca. Today she is going to explain what the Chamber of Commerce is, what the benefits of the local chamber are, and how to reach your local chamber to get help with your small business.
What is a Chamber of Commerce
The chamber provides support and services for a specific community, in La Verne, it is the geographical community. There are chambers based around heritage and nationality, regional chambers, state chambers, and a World Chamber of Commerce.
We are not a government agency. We are not in any way affiliated with the government. We are our own tax-exempt nonprofit organization. We are a membership organization and our members are the businesses They do pay a membership investment every year. Chambers are tax-exempt but are not charitable organizations like a 501(C)3. your member investment does not count as a charitable donation but is a qualifying business expense.
What are the benefits to the Chamber of Commerce?
There are benefits to membership and does vary what the business gets out of their chamber membership based on what their needs are. some overarching benefits are that we provide information, so we keep our businesses informed on legislation, funding opportunities, changes in labor laws, community events, and city happenings.
We keep that information and we are that funnel for everything that goes directly to them (member businesses) so they don't have to look in millions of different places to get the information they need to stay in business. We help provide connections that can go all over the place: from potential clients to vendors, resources to a shoulder to cry on when you had a tough day because someone else is going through it too. We provide that sense of community as well. Members of the La Verne Chamber of Commerce are very involved in the community of the City of La Verne.
When you are an entrepreneur and sole owner-operator of your business, you really do get lost in your own world sometimes. So, by belonging to the chamber, it broadens your horizons and brings you in contact with other people who are going through all the same situations as you're going through.
Traditional benefits of membership are that we are always known for our networking events, and we do provide opportunities where everyone comes out and has those one-on-one conversations, and get to know everybody. We provide referrals and marketing opportunities. Every day we get a call from somebody, somewhere looking for something: from plumbers and real estate agents to birthday venues and florists. We are considered a reliable resource, they trust the businesses that are members of the Chamber, so when we provide a referral they feel secure that they are not going to get a dishonest business.
Why and How do I Contact My Local Chamber?
Even if you don't think it's part of the scope of our work, we have those resources and referrals. If you are looking for funding for expansion we partner with the SBDC and we always reach out. If you are having trouble with permit processing, we reach out to our government officials and ask for help.
Most chambers will have websites like ours at www.Lavernechamber.org more common than a dot com because we are a non-profit. Most city websites will have links to the local chamber, I know the City of La Verne does so we are pretty easy to find. There are 3,500 chambers of commerce in the United States and over 270 in the State of California. A lot of chambers have a physical store front and some chambers are volunteer run so they might be more of a virtual office so the website and telephone are going to be their main way to connect.
Final Thoughts
Traditional you will join the chamber after you have established your business and have gotten all of your permits and that is the right time to join, once you are up and running. However, the chamber is still an amazing resource to help you get to that point.
So once you think about getting started, visit your local chamber, and talk to them and they will provide resources that would take months to gather on your own to accumulate. Just some really critical business information before you dive deep into it, like are you picking a place that is zoned properly for a brick and mortar? Are you picking a place that is zoned properly for a home-based business? Just many questions and concerns that you can find the answers to in one place. Then come back and join the chamber once you are open. We will help you keep your doors open!
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