What is the Chamber of Commerce and why should you care?

After finishing my freshman year of college, I was ready to come home and look for a summer job.  I thought the rumors about the job market were just that, rumors.  However, after almost a month of looking for a job at the normal places (retail, gardening, sporting goods stores, etc.), I can see that there is a lot of truth in those rumors.

My mother often chats with her friends about her children, as all parents do, but one of her friends suggested that I look for work at our local Chamber of Commerce.  Now, I did not even know we had a local Chamber of Commerce in the first place, let alone how I could help them.  I walked into the Middlesex West Chamber of Commerce office the next day without much expectation of finding a job. 

What I found was a group of people ready, willing, and happy to have me.  This was a welcome surprise after being brushed off by so many other places.  However, before I was ready to work there I needed to know more about who they were and what they were trying to accomplish. 

The Chamber is a non-profit organization committed to helping their hundreds of members to grow.  They do this through a number of channels.  With membership you get free access to many networking events which other members host.  At these events you will be able to meet other local businessmen and women.  This attitude of being “happy to help” of the Chamber employees is mirrored by the community members as well. 

At my first networking event, I saw one man give out referrals to an office furniture salesman for three different companies that need new furniture.  These types of local referrals are worth their weight in gold in the business world.  If anyone calls the Chamber looking for a photographer, for example, the Chamber will give priority to one of their members. In addition to networking, the Chamber holds seminars and classes meant to educate people in better ways to run their business. 

The value of the Chamber is that the benefits can be endless, depending on what you put into it.  You can make infinite connections and really help your business grow.  In a time when small businesses are being threatened by large corporations, the Chamber helps to level the playing field, providing a forum for small businesses to work together to benefit the community as a whole. 

After only a week of interning with the Chamber I have found a community that I never knew existed before and now can’t imagine a future without.