In this episode with special guest Amanda Hentsch from the Grand Rapids Chamber (https://grandrapids.org), we explore the pivotal role that local chambers of commerce play in fostering business growth. Learn how joining your local chamber provides invaluable networking opportunities with other local businesses and entrepreneurs. This episode emphasizes the importance of being known within your community through active participation in chamber events. Discover how these connections can elevate your business to the next level, offering insights, collaborations, and exposure. Tune in and find out why it's not just who you know, but who knows you, that makes the difference.

The Huddle was created by Paul Stuart of Stuart & Associates and Go Carrera, alongside Jose and Daniel Gonzalez from Preferred Flooring. Aimed at helping you maintain forward progress in your flooring career, they cover topics from personal and business growth, to installation tips & tricks and everything in-between.

Want to be a guest on The Huddle? Email thehuddleforwardprogress@gmail.com today!

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https://www.preferredflooringmi.com
https://www.stuartandassociates.com

hey what's up everyone how's it going my brother is a black screen we got Amanda with us today from

uh the Grand Rapids chamber Paul is uh I think he is on a job site today so we're

gonna he's the only one that can do the the intro so we're going to have to skip it because no one is as good as he

is so welcome to the Huddle uh thanks for joining us today we're going to be

talking about how your your local chamber can help you so we got Amanda here I'm going to have her introduce

herself and just give a little background about you and then we'll we'll dive into it love it thank you

guys so much for having me so my name is Amanda Hench I serve as the Director of

membership with the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce um I've been here since 2020

right so my background before coming to the chamber world was actually in the nonprofit sector so my passion which has

really led into my entire career is all about community and Community Partnerships and really helping people

build connections to accomplish their goals and that really started in that nonprofit realm right so working on some

of those corporate relationships to fill and support nonprofits in our community and then I moved over to the chamber in

2020 and you know started here because I wanted to do that on a larger scale and you'll find that that's a really common

thing with people and in the chamber world is how can we make impacts in our community and help our businesses and

our nonprofits and really just help things get to where they need to go right and help people accomplish those

goals that they have right because the chamber is the chamber a nonprofit as well

right it is so the chamber is an interesting type of organization and

that might not understand or know a little bit about nonprofits most nonprofits that people are familiar with are

um 501 c3s and those c3s tend to be donation-based organizations so that's

how they get all of their funding is you know you are donating to make sure that

they can do what they have to do the chamber is still a nonprofit so we're a 501 but we C6 which is a membership

based organization so all the work that we're doing in the community is fueled and funded by members who pay in to be

part of our organization and they help shape the work that we're doing and are really an active participant in how we

can accomplish what we need to do and what our priorities are right and that's where we come in

right because we've been part of the chamber since I believe 2018 so it's been a few years been that

long it's been that long already has been that long yeah you don't realize it but I

mean and uh yeah so when when we first started

getting involved with the chamber I think it was actually um who was

it I think it was Zack veral well Zack veral asked me one time

he was like hey have you and it was specifically about the um the minority

contractors right and he was like are you part of this and I was like no he's and he was like well it's part of the

chamber and then you know we started looking into the chamber and it's like you know what let's just you know take a

look at this to see how it can how we can take advantage of it right and and

see what it can and do for us so um when we went there it wasn't Omar it's when

Dante was there and uh that's who we had our initial meeting with and we talk about

it all the time because you know our first initial meeting and it stuck out

to us to this day is when he he told us and he's like you know it's all about

netork working and and everything right said he said you know the the saying it's not what you know it's who you know

and then he said that's old school it's not who you know it's who knows you so how many people can you get in front of

so that way you're always on the top of their mind he said that's what the chamber is all about it's getting you in

front of these people so that way you know not only do you become you know business associates with them and stuff

like that but um a lot of the times you become friends with them and then end up hanging out you know outside of work so

how can how can the chamber Foster those relationships and I mean over I so love

that he told you that because that is like that is to a te what it is it is and and you know

what it was a it was a great experience from the day on right because when when Daniel brought it up to to me and and we

collectively decided to go down there we were at a Crossroads we were like what

can we do what are we doing wrong what can we wrong and I think that that was when when we actually realized and

admitted to ourselves that we have no idea what we're doing we need some help we need we need information from someone

who's been through it or or or people have been through it and that's where everything just kind of fit right in and

everyone said that I don't want to say said the right things to sell it right but everything that we were hearing was

right in line with what we needed so and and that's what attracted us there because we're the type of

people that hang up on somebody who do you need oh Who you calling for not interested

click um there was no click uh hanging up when we went there for the first

time I love to hear that that like that's why we're in it right it's it's truly I'm so glad that Dante shared that

and you know it's so cool to still have Dante as part of the work that we're doing here at the chamber and we see him all the time I'm sure you guys do too

yeah and he's always somewhere he is he's always advocating for you guys too I mean it just because he's not there

does doesn't mean that he's not advocating for you yeah and that's such like a cool part about you know anybody

who's involved with the chamber it's like building a family of people and champions for this community truly that

is what we see so when we talk about relationship building and I'm so glad you brought that up Daniel because for me that's what is so important and it's

truly it's about building the relationships that will help us get to where we're going because we it's so much harder to do it on your own right

if you're trying to figure it out on on your own and you aren't the expert it's going to take you 10 times longer to

figure that out and is that the best use of your time or can we go find somebody who can help you accomplish that goal

and figure out the best solution or provide some insights and it's all about those relationships because those last

longer than even just the one time that you talk to them especially as you continue to build on that and see those people time and time again right yeah

absolutely I mean there's been you know numerous events that I've I've gone to and it's like someone from the chamber

is always there you know you guys are always welcoming and then it's always like oh Daniel I have this person over

here that you have to meet and it's like like you you guys know exactly who

we should be talking to be before we do yeah and that's like that's what we

want to do right so my team and what we are specialized in through membership

right so membership is there's a lot that goes into it but truly the way that we approach it is it's really getting to

know you and to understand who you are what your business is and what you need

because we have over 2800 members 2,800 that's a lot of people and they are all

from different businesses they're all from different Industries and they all don't need the same thing so it's really

about understanding what your specific needs are so we can do that because if we don't know you at all we're not able

to make those kind of suggestions and recommendations and make those introductions that you'll need so that's

why we have a team of six membership managers and myself so there's seven of us total that are strictly here to build

relationships with you guys and understand what your business needs so we can help create that pathway to

figuring out what you need to plug into whether that's an event or you know another department and team here at the

chamber or maybe it's somebody externally right so if you've come to an event and I'm like you know who you got to talk to it's this person and it's

making that introduction and we do that all the time that's that's what makes it so fun yeah I mean um Samuel was in here a

probably about a month ago now yeah and he we you know we were just talking to him and then he was like you know what

this sounds like you guys need uh a mentor from this area and they work out

of our building and he set us right up like uh our our Mentor is coming in

tomorrow actually so I mean without the chamber that that wouldn't have happened I mean it's just those kind of things

that I wouldn't have known unless someone from the chamber just brought it up yeah

I'm so glad that he did that so that's one of the things that you know we're trying to get back to as an organization

right so coming out of the pandemic in 20120 2021 we want to get back to going and visiting our members and seeing your

business right so coming in really getting to know you on that deeper level

and it's about meeting people where they're at right so not always having you guys come to us yes we have this awesome office space that you can use

which we had your help you know making even better right but with Val of that it's also how can we know more about

your business see what it looks like reference that to other people when you're not around as well and really getting to know you guys and I I think

um like like you said we we were a part of your guys' Remodel and we appreciate that a lot um I think that

actually us having a relationship with you guys um may have helped that quite a

bit I mean it was you know a bid job and I I don't know you know what other

companies came in at but the the post bid was kind of tedious I'll say that

but I mean it it ended up you know we we got the project and everyone was really happy and now every event that you know

we show up to Rick is sure to to you know introduce us to someone and say they're the ones that

did the flooring there they're awesome to work with with and and that it's just you know it it was a great time we we

appreciate that you guys had us on that project that makes me so happy can you

guys hear see me again we sure can [ __ ] get a phone call from someone who

actually watches almost every week he knows what time I'm doing this and my phone shut shut down so anyway I'm back

kendle it was Kendall it was and I want to add to what

Daniel said just a second ago about Rick and we do have a lot of meetings there and he does he does go out of his way to

mention that um we try to be very humble like thank you you know like yeah you

know you know through introductions for through some of the new groups that that we're in and the new people and just try

to say hi and make a small introduction but he always had to add that they did the floors here it's like thank you I

appreciate that yep and that's what we love to do we're like our memb biggest

cheerleaders truly like that's the way to think about it we are here to like support you lift you up make sure that

people know about you that's what we want to do and be that resource for you we say it all the time and it sounds

cliche but we always say we're an extension of your team because we want you to think of us as part of your team

we are here to work for you and make sure that people know about you and when it comes to this beautiful office space

I mean we didn't do this by ourselves there's no chance right we need to make sure that we recognize the people who

went into making this such a beautiful space for our members and to to speak on

Rick specifically right when I even interviewed here at the chamber in 2019 before I started I was so impressed with

the fact that it's such a collaborative office space that when I came in on the work Cafe level on the entry level floor

Rick was just working downstairs right alongside all of our members he is so approachable by everybody and wants

people to be like that and I'd never seen leaders who were that available to

people and that just truly like has been something that we see all the time is our leadership team that's working right

alongside our members who wants them to come up and say hi if we need private spaces we totally can pop into those

private spaces but for the most part you know we want to make sure that we're here and if you guys are around come say

hi we want to talk to you and it's the perfect time to say hi that's a good place to get away when you just want to

get out of the office too whole different setting um so I want to I want to ask a couple of questions so to kind

of Enlighten some people that are out there so you know not just uh the flooring industry listens to to us but

we also have a lot of people just in general construction we have a lot of friends and and family who also follow and listen who are in different walks of

life um do you have to be a business owner to get involved with the

chamber you do not have to be a business owner so I'm so glad that you ask that because I'll tell you right now some of

the biggest things that I've been trying to make sure that our community is aware of is that chamber membership is for

anybody and everybody right it is a membership for a business or an

organization but every single person that works at that company is a part of

the chamber is a member you don't have to be an entrepreneur to be a member of the chamber you can talk to your

leadership teams and see if they can support that we have some folks who have individual memberships here right so

they're in the process of creating a business or maybe they just want to be involved and they have like a private LLC or whatever the case might be but

it's truly membership is for everybody the chamber is a place for everybody every type of Industry every shape and

size every background we want to make sure that it's accessible for everybody because everybody needs that support and

that's what we're here for and if someone has a vested interest in like what's going on in our community and

wants to be part of that work and making change here this is a great way to do it because many voices and many hands make

that message stronger and like I said everybody has something to put into that

and we are completely driven by our members and what our members needs are so we take what our members are saying

very seriously and it helps shape what our priorities are and speaking of shaping that's what

happened with uh I think I I got on the was it the Hispanic Business Council uh became a part of that which transformed

into the Mosaic Collective um yeah which is is also opened up a lot of other

doors and created other relationships for us as well um next thing you know

I'm I'm sitting in a room with with Andy Johnston and then he's got me talking to

uh Mr Tate from the House of Representatives it's just like it was kind of like a lot of things are going

on where local government um and getting very involved and understanding a lot more of the behind the scenes and what

it takes for an economy to to to flourish and and and I'm saying that because I use the chamber for learning

experiences right um I think I think although I know my my voice is very

dusty but um I think I'm getting that um where

people are actually starting to ask questions and listening to everyone's perspective and and uh I'm happy to be a

part of some of that yeah I think honestly that is the

biggest thing is making sure that we have the right voices at the table that people are being represented and being

heard and we're being so intentional with our work to make sure that you know

people we are representing our community correctly and we're thinking about what that is and building these spaces where

people can be their authentic selves is a huge part of that and it's making sure that we have those spaces and it's

helping shape the work that we're doing and making the right moves to make West Michigan a better place for all right so

our mission statement is to create a thriving and prosperous West Michigan for all and we take that very seriously

it shapes everything and when we say for all we mean for all we want to make sure that everyone feels like they have a

place here yeah you guys are are great Partners like you said you're you're an extension of of us right and um I think

anytime that we've had a question we were able to to reach out to you guys and if you guys don't have the answers

it's always like you know what we I can't help you with that but I know someone that does so let me reach out to

them and I mean my brother like this guy comes up with some ridiculous questions

sometimes so I hats off to you guys for being able to to answer whatever he comes up

with uh yeah yeah we always joke and say if we can't have an answer maybe someone

else can and even sometimes if we do have the answer maybe it might not be the answer you want we might be able to

get you the right answer that you're looking for but we'll we'll get you an answer one way or the other right and uh speaking of

Partnerships I am going to play this uh quick video from our partner Flor cloud

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related installation issues floor Cloud now you

know so that's one business that uh we partner with that they they're doing great things for not just the the

flooring industry but the construction industry in general so got to give a a shout out to them all the time because

uh we we run into way too many situations where the site's just not ready and they

they're just on top of their game when making the information available to

everyone and that's huge I honestly like go back to you touched on you know the

educational side of things and I think that's been a huge piece for us as well um and truly when I think about how we

do our programs and for anybody who doesn't know you know the grand a chamber we have over 160 days of

programs and events and that's a lot and we're really intentional about what are those events and how are we supporting

people some of them are network building right so like we touched on the importance of like getting to know people but the other key component that

we really want to focus on and it falls within our economic growth pillar is truly helping business owners and

leaders and anybody who's looking for access to education tap into some experts within very specific Fields so

we've been hosting a variety of workshops throughout the year that are all around business growth right so we

just did one a while back on marketing we've had some on human resources on a small business budget we've done some on

AI you know we have more coming up even sooner touching on things like access to

Capital so how if you're looking for funding for your business and looking to grow your business what does that look

like and we bring in some of those speakers to share on that and it's not always us right so we have experts on our team here but we know that there are

folks in this community that have great tools and great resources and we want to give them that platform so that way

business owners and leaders and folks in the community who are looking for that know that they can here and get access

to that kind of information yeah I mean I was I was we were looking at your calendar earlier and it's like man the

the amount of things that you guys have going on is crazy sometimes and I don't understand how you keep up with it but I

mean that's what you guys have that team for right oh yeah if we didn't have that team I don't know how we'd do it like

this morning we started off the day or at least I can speak for myself we had our Athena leadership Forum which is a

forum where we gather together you know speakers on topics better around supporting uplifting women and Business

Leaders in our community specifically um and that went you know right until around 11:30 and at that same time we

had a recognition celebration for some of our leading investors here at the chamber so half of our staff was there

half of our staff was at this Athena Forum with over 200 attendees and you know there are days we have two three

programs all in the same day but we want to make sure that we're providing that content to people and we make that a

priority and make sure that we're thinking about what they might need and when what time of day works well for

them there's a lot of planning that goes into that right because next week you guys got the CEO

Summit and that's a big are you guys I'm trying to get this okay he's

giving the thumbs up because I just asked them earlier because I I can't be there because I have I have a meeting um

like right in the middle of it like I was like I really want to go to this but I also would really like this project so

kind of got to pick and choose sometimes right but oh yeah again that's where having a team is is really beneficial

because I'll be over here he can go over there and we can still have have our

presence at both uh both of the spots but divide and

conquer I I know that he's one of the speakers there that's I was really trying to you know be there to support

him but hey someone will be there you know and

um I want to bring this up too because I'm G to try to ask the questions as if I don't know anything so just to forew

warn you um not not every chamber is as is as um effective as as the other so I

think that we are a little bit spoiled with what you guys have and what the GIC chamber offers um are there are there

any set amount or set expectations that that anyone should have from their

chamber um and if so what what should they be what might they be yeah you know

that's such a great question what expectations should you have from your chamber truly you know when I think

about that your chamber should be there to listen to you and to learn what your needs are that's like at its core how we

can best be effective for our members because again it goes back to not every business needs the same thing and we

can't do cookie cutter Solutions because that's not going to get anybody what they're looking for and help them so I

say to everybody if you have not gone to meet with somebody at a chamber your local chamber or our chamber for example

the Grand Rapids chamber that is your first step is setting up that meeting to understand what their offerings are if

you're not located in you know Michigan for example or if you are in this

area really get to know us and understand what benefits are out there

because there's a lot within that space and then also vice versa letting us get to know you so it can be hard as a

business owner or as a business leader to come in and be really transparent about I'm struggling and this is what

I'm struggling with right now but if we don't know what's going on the good and the bad we can't make their best

recommendations to help you and we really need to know and understand what that is so it's that first initial make

sure that you have that conversation and really get to know those folks and let them get to know you and then once

that's done you got to stick around right so building relationships takes time it's being consistent with showing

up in those spaces reaching out to them if you need anything answering phone calls if we call you and then also

coming to some of those events it's that variety of the connections that you're

building there's a lot of them too so and it could be a little bit overwhelming as well if um I I guess if

you're an introvert trying to put yourself out there it it may be a little overwhelming it does get easier it's h

one of those muscles that you got to you got to work those muscles out makes it easier though is the chamber team right

cuz I'm like every time you walk in there they're like you need to meet this person it's like that ice breaker

between everyone and cuz I'm I'm an

introvert people say I'm not and like in high school I was voted most outgoing but really I don't really like to talk

to people all that much but I I I guess I people like to talk to me so it makes

it easier I think and uh you know I I can a conversation but having that

person there that's just like hey you got to talk to this person and then it just goes in a chain right like because

you meet this person it's like oh you know what I just talked to you for a little bit you need to meet this other

person and and that that networking um events like that like you guys had do

the what the business exchange lunch in uh pretty frequently and every month that's said

every month the only month we don't do that one is January but like like I'm so glad you bring that up because truly

what I find I see a lot and our our staff is like very sensitive to this and when I say sensitive it's like a good

sensitivity if we're in a room and we see somebody that's standing by themselves and doesn't look very

comfortable we are going to make sure that they have someone that they can talk to and we're going to go chat with them and make sure that they feel

comfortable and feel welcome because the last thing that we want is for someone to come and feel like they don't belong

that is like number one like absolutely not we're not going to let that happen we want to make sure that you feel

comfortable now we do like the hump day happy hours also right that's monthly at the chamber

the last Wednesday of the month and that's a little bit more casual but we have folks who come to that and they

they don't want to network they do come just to have a beer and a sandwich from non Le Burger who's our food sponsor and

then a beer from New Holland right but they might want to talk to like one or two people or bring a client and a

customer to have like a meeting during a happy hour there and that's totally good but someone looks like they're they're

trying to figure out how do I break in we're gonna go make them feel comfortable right and I think we took a

page out of out of your guys's book from you guys doing that too so when we go to conventions and stuff we'll see someone

sitting at a table you know at lunch sitting by themselves and it's like NOP that that's where I'm going to sit

because you know no one you're you're already in an uncomfortable situation

and it's easier for for me to go over there and be a little uncomfortable when

I know how uncomfortable they are not knowing anyone there yeah 100% and it

kind of goes back to like you mentioned you're an introvert but people love talking to you I think people that are

perceived as being introverts but you know preced excuse me as being an extroverted but are actually introverts

I think it's because you prefer the relation the deep relationship conversation you're not like about the

surface level right and that's what we find and the biggest thing for folks who feel comfortable with surface level

networking and getting to know people is just getting that that bridge gapped right so making sure that we can really

make sure to make those connections so you can build that relationship and then by the time you know it I mean you guys

touched on this at the very top of the the recording right but like when you come in and you are going to chamber

events often it becomes like you're seeing your friends you're like running into people that you've met so many

times it turns into oh I'm going to give this person a hug I know them let's catch up and then they can introduce you

to somebody else and it's it's building those deep deep relationships that turn into friendships in the long run which

is so fun it's like my favorite and also the connections that are made too like um you know I just had

um R&R mechanical come and come to my house and do some work right I probably

never would have would have heard of them if it wasn't for the chamber to be honest with you um and I've known about

about Ruben and them for for a few few years now and this is the first time I've actually had a need outside of what

uh what what I could do myself or or had time to do um but so it's just

connections like that that are worth their waiting gold because that just goes back to it's not you know who who

you know it's who knows you right and you knew them so they were in there and

and uh it it's more of a personalized relationship as well right you're not just calling a company because of of

what they offer you're calling a company because you know who they are what they are what they do what they stand for um

you know I understood I understood their values um and it was a no-brainer for

me and you you you know we we've mentioned the your guys's office a few

times can you kind of give us a rundown of what you guys offer at your at your location for all your members yeah yeah

no I'm so glad you bring up the office space because again I mean it's it's a shock to a lot of people and I think

that's why we're so used to having people come here meet because they don't expect this office space to exist for

them but you know we've been here for I want to say it's a little over six years now and they moved into this space

before I started here so I've been here for about that four and a half year timeline right um but they moved from a

more traditional Chamber of Commerce you know office building and I think a lot of people when they hear the

organization title of like Chamber of Commerce it's been I mean they've been around for hundreds of years right so

they're very old organizations a lot of times we have these like perceived you know knowledge of what we think it'll be

and what it looks like and a lot of times when people think Chamber of Commerce they think like old office space almost like an attorney's office a

lot of like dark panel wood that kind of environment and it's like closed off and

it's mainly for the staff when we moved into this space over six years ago we decided to completely flip that around

because as an organization that's about building Partnerships and that wants to be and aims to be the Hub of what's

going on in West Michigan we needed our office space to reflect that so because of that we made this

office space that we are now currently in into a collaborative co-working space for our members and it started out as

mainly having a couple small meeting rooms that were available for members to use and then our work Cafe space which

is a lot more open think like coffee shop but business professional

atmosphere and then last year so last January of 23 we decided to expand that

because we needed more space we ran out of space because we really leaned into what our members needs were and we were

hearing from Members you know coming out of the pandemic that they they needed more working space they were downsizing

their offices they had remote workers who were looking for a place to land and host meetings and we needed to fill that

gap for them and because of that we did a giant expansion and added on I want to

say about nine additional conference rooms um and now we have meeting rooms that seat anywhere from one person desk

space where you can come and plug in your computer to a monitor and have an external Monitor and a keyboard to you

know our two to three person spaces or small meeting rooms that seat up to nine boardrooms that seat

up we've got a handful of those and then we also

have Center space that seats up to 120

and coffee that's available and things like like that

that's all going to be key as

well yeah we we got you breaking up a little bit but I think uh we got the the

gist you know you guys have a huge space right the the conference rooms is where I think anytime we go is where we spend

a majority of our time because it's all for events and every time we're there you guys are are constantly like you

know you guys know you can come uh work over here anytime you want and then when

like when Samuel came here he's seen the setup and it's like the the programs that we use it's just like I have two 32

inch monitors plus my computer so it's like to to get rid of this for a day is

is kind of hard but I AB totally and I think there

are some that it doesn't work for them to go work

remote but then others you know it works well so I mean it's good to hear that you guys have such a great setup I'm

gonna have to come by I don't think I've seen your space

it's it's very small and homey but it gets the job done for the most part yep

we like it um it works it works I think I think what you were saying like you

know throughout the pandemic a lot of people were getting rid of office space and I think you guys expanding and

opening up you know more space for that was huge because I think after that

people were like you can work from home and be fine right but there's still

people out there that are like yeah I like working from home but I still need other people around me like they thrive

on having having that other people around them so to go there and that you

know while we were working there and just going there um through the meetings

and stuff you do you see quite a few people there working and it's it's awesome it's it's a great space

and I we probably should make it a point to to go down there and um like if you

are like say like when we started all we had was like a 10x10 office right when

we started with you guys and we had I think at that time like three desks in

there and no space at all yeah it was pretty small yeah and like for us to to

rent a room to have meetings in would have been huge and that's that's kind of like the

big thing it's you know honestly having just like a quiet space to get away and especially for people who work from home

I can't do that like I'm not a big work from home person it's too distracting for me and I get energy from working

around people but working at a coffee shop is sometimes not the most consistent right it can be hard to find

seating you have to constantly pay for more coffee right whereas we have Coffee

brew fresh all day by Ferris coffee so they're our coffee sponsor here at the chamber and then we have Gordon Water

Systems filtered water which is really nice and truly for us it's it's about creating an environment where people can

come in and feel comfortable for the day and you don't like have to check in and out you come in once and you can hang

out all day um and if you need a room will help you find a room and make sure that you feel comfortable but the other

big thing is we see a lot of people build relationships just from being in the same space because you see the same

people over and over again within that same space you get up and get coffee at the same time you chat with somebody

else that that person might know and it's it goes back to just being in the same space helps you build that relationship and get some of that

visibility which is really cool yeah and did did you touch on uh

your guys's little the studio that you're in now I didn't so I apologize

that I broke up I have no idea why that happened but you know one of the things that we added on when we did our

expansion was we created a studio room that has some sound dampening on the walls because you know people like me

I'm pretty loud so people can hear me regardless so I've got this nice little wall behind me that helps keep the sound

more insulated in this room and then yeah you two I'm this yeah yeah everyone can hear me all the time and then we

also have some really great um recording equipment that's ailable for our members so right now it's all stowed away

because it's much more high-teen out of my league I'm not the expert but our marketing team works with our members so

if we a member needs to come in and you know record a podcast for example or record you know an audio book we've had

people do that or commercials that's happened before um or do very formal interviews and like voiceover work we've

had people come in and do that and we again we're it's trying to fill that Gap but making it in a a way that it's

comfortable for people they have you know some of those Comforts like coffee and tea and all of that as well as the

spaces that they need that will be supportive for them and a whole bunch of amazing

people we try we really try and I think a lot of people don't even know what the

different teams are here at the chamber right because we have so many people here we have over 30 staff and we're

growing so we had some new folks that you all see the official announcement of

uh here soon out on social media so if you guys aren't following our social medias we definitely recommend that to

make sure that you stay up to date on what's going on at the chamber but you know with our different teams I touched on the economic growth piece right so

that's our team that's really working with businesses to figure out what resources they specifically need and

doing a lot of that resource building but we also have a team that's dedicated to advocacy and public policy so they're

doing a lot when it comes to government and policy initiatives that are going on in our town in our city um and in our

region even to make sure that our members voices are heard when laws are getting passed or being AV valuated and

then we also have a team that's dedicated to talent development and leadership development growth so building strong leaders for this

community and making sure that we're building Community while we do that and then the other piece of that pie is also

diversity equity and inclusion work so making sure that we're building an inclusive environment and inclusive leaders in workplaces and really working

with people on all of those fronts to make sure that we have well-rounded businesses and a well-rounded community

that is a place for resource development and support and just developing those

relationships which is just like the joy of our work truly yeah I think that's one of the big things that that Drew Us

in was the the Dei that you guys had and you know the West Michigan minority

contractors is you know what what piqued our interest and it's it's actually

gained us quite a bit of not just work but relationships with the people so

it's huge to to get out there and put yourself out there and you know become part of the chamber to to

just see what they have to offer right it's a lot like and I know that

that first step is always a lot and and the the groups that are available like uh um you know last year

I was or two years ago I was part of a um like a a Sales Group cuz I wanted to learn I don't know if I really had a

place in there to give information but I was part of the group and I absorbed a lot of information now I'm on my second

term with the CEO group um which you know I always feel like I'm learning

more than I I contribute right like they have a lot more to offer than what I can contribute which um I think everybody

feels like that at some point but just those type of groups that are available um to to be a part of is worth his

waiting go that I've learned so much already just listen I like I like to listen I like to learn I take a lot of

notes not today though not taking notes today though now why you driving in doing that that'd be way too much right

yeah yeah I probably shouldn't be driving and doing this either but I'm doing my best to not uh stay here you're

committed we appreciate ask uh can someone who lives outside of Grand

Rapids join the the chamber or come attend events yeah so I was just going

to address that for sure so you know I think a lot of people hear our name as the Grand Rapids chamber and they think

that that means that you have to be part of the city of Grand Rapids in order to be part of our chamber so I mentioned

this earlier but we have over 2,800 members and that's unique businesses

right that are members of the chamber it's a business-based membership or a nonprofit for example anybody can be

part of the chamber truly we're Regional based chamber so we have a lot of members who are actually out on the Lakeshore over in like the mosan Grand

Haven area we have members that are on the east side of the state we have members that are up on Mao and we have

members that have locations outside of the state of Michigan so anybody is able to be part of this we do have some

virtual events that people can attend um but for the most part it's about you know do you have a vested interest in

what's going on in West Michigan and in Grand Rapids and really want to make sure that you're part of the the

community building and the growth of our city and do you have clients and customers even that are here right so if

you have clients that are here and that's a great example as to why we have some hotels that are up on meno they

don't have locations here but their clients are coming from here so you know if you have clients that are here making

sure that you're present here and you're sending your business development folks to some key events or even just doing

some advertising with us or even just having your members on our business directory being on the directory is a

great way for people to get to know your business and it's passive marketing it's just being there so if someone comes to

our website and search sech es flooring for example you guys are going to pop up because you're on the directory you've

got those keywords that are going to help with your SEO so your search engine optimization and we make sure when we're

meeting with our members to go what do you think people would be searching and you want to make sure that you pop up if

they're searching that so what are your lines of business what services do you offer what are the things that make you

unique and that helps us make sure that you're getting some of that visibility here and you're involved and then again

meeting with somebody on our team helps cury what your pathway is so I mentioned we have 160 days of programs and events

that doesn't mean you have to go to all 160 that's way too much we want to narrow it down it is impossible I don't

even go to 160 days of programs there's no chance but we want to figure out like what are the two to five I'd

say very most things that you and your business should be tapped into and Jose

you mentioned this of my favorite those roundtables it's building those deep relationships and that's one that I

recommend for just about anybody because it's small group discussions with people that are outside of your industry and

it's you know really asking them how would you approach this challenge that I'm facing or I'm trying to accomplish

this how what have you done that's worked well and it gets you out of your industry's like sideload train of

thought which is really cool and it's great to get offside perspective yeah for sure my

no I that yeah that's it's amazing that you guys like like I said like when we

started we were very small just to have that meeting room to to bring clients to

and not have to yeah worry about it right it's crazy amount of things you

guys offer yeah yeah I've had stories of people who um you you know like

attorneys who've done like mediation between two different people for example so they have two meeting rooms booked

and they're going back and forth between the two rooms to work on things and I've had you know stories of we have some

like consultants for example who they set up shop and they're here all day

this is their office space and they're just here and they're connecting with our teams and they know us really well

um and again I think it's the more that you are around the more that you're going to get to know your chamber and

it's figuring out if you don't know anything about the chamber most Chambers do this I know that we do this and we

talked about this offline but we have a chamber 101 coming up here on the 26th where we're going to be doing a deep

dive information about all things chamber so if you don't know anything and you're like where do I even start

that is where I always point someone in that direction because it's a great way to understand member benefits our

different offerings what are some of those events get to know other people we generally see over a hundred people

attend that so it's really great networking as well as information and it's so fitting that today this is your

101 episode and it's chamber 101 that's what we do so this is like it's like a mini chamber 101 right now I mean yeah I

mean you that's gives a huge Deep dive into what you guys I I've attended one

before and I've tried to get some of the like my sister and stuff to go see what

you guys have going on and it's like like you said sometimes you know it's hard to attend things so things come up

but I mean it's great information and um that's where I think I really learned

about like the other programs that you guys offer like

um what was it the Davenport for example you guys have a discount at Davenport

for members like 20% off I believe right yeah for all new students and like the

amount of people who don't know about that I'm like everybody should know this because it's not just for the employees

of the business it's for their dependents so if you have kids that are about to go off to college like that is

use that 20% off because that's huge and like your spouse even and that works for professional development so if you want

to go back and get some certification on like project management at their Institute for professional Excellence

you can get 25% or 20% off excuse me if you're a first-time student with them which is huge and is that for every

single one of our employees too then right every single employee and their dependence so we actually have some

members who put that in their um employee benefits package when they're hiring somebody they're like Hey listen

you work for us you're a chamber member you get this discount and you can do all this other stuff as right and I and well

like before such a great way truly what are those

benefits yeah I think before we started we we talked kind of about

um a lot of people are like what is the are going to do for me what benefits am

I going to get right away and stuff and it's kind of like um yeah we we attend a lot of events in the flooring industry

and we always tell people the same thing they're like in certifications and stuff and they're always like well how is that going to benefit me but it's like what

are you going to do in order to make it benefit you right so like you said putting it in your benefits package yeah

it's technically like a pass through thing but it's still something that you can put on your stuff to make it more

enticing for someone to join yeah I think right now especially with

hiring people right like I I talked to so many businesses who are hiring and a lot of people look at employers and jobs

for businesses that they know and it's how are you getting your company out there so people are like oh I know that

company I want to work for them so it's building that brand and that reputation in a way um and really pyb backing on

like what we have to offer here at the chamber so we one of the other things that I feel like a lot of people don't know we have we have a job board so if

you're hiring you can put your open positions on the job board so people can get to know what those positions are and

you know apply right through there it connects right to whatever platform you're using and it's just a great tool

to continue to boost those openings for you yeah I mean whatever you can do in

in order to uh entice people to join the team because it's it's tough out there

right now it is is is there anything else that you wanted to touch on that you guys offer

that we haven't talked about yet oh man I mean there's so much truly if I could

say anything to anybody that's like you know what do I do where do I start like I said it's it's reaching out to us

directly you'll find all all of our contact information right on our website and our we easiest website ever it's

literally Grand rapids. org um that is our website and you'll see all of our

programs and events on there if you're not getting our newsletters subscribe to those go to our social media channels

right that's a great way to stay up to date on like what's going on and come to chamber 101 come to a happy hour that we

host monthly that's just a great way to get to know people and you know we're we're truly here for everyone and that's

one of the stigmas that I'm trying to break down is you know we're not a chamber for small business and we're not a chamber for large business we're truly

a chamber of commerce for all and that's how chamers should be and we want to continue to be that place no absolutely

we love it and I mean people can't say no to free food and drinks right it's true it's hard to say know when you have

Burgers and Beer that are like right there and ready for you right and I did pull this up I wanted to put it this is

uh your guys's entrance right there the little work

Cafe this is where you guys host a lot of the events and stuff right in here

yeah so I mean it's it's a great working space so I just wanted to show people

exactly what they'd be getting into I think um I think it's definitely worth

checking out and we we appreciate everything you guys do oh well thank you so much truly like I said I think the

the secret sauce to what we do at the chamber it's not just our staff but it's our members right like we have such an

amazing Community here in West Michigan and such amazing businesses just like you guys and it if we're not doing it

together it's so much harder so like I want to really focus on how can we create these Partnerships and

relationships to get to where we need to be and really just having more people at the table is better for everybody

absolutely so I I think uh we we've covered a lot of stuff today yeah you

guys do offer a lot of stuff so we do um if if anyone needs to reach out to

anyone like she said just go over to uh Grand rapids. org and uh I believe I

have it pulled up right here you guys can go on there and you can pull up your entire the entire team right and email

entire team individually if you wanted to yep and our emails are so easy so if anybody that's on has questions you guys

are so welcome to contact me directly my email is literally just Amanda grandrapids dorg easiest email um my

phone number is also on the website so phone you can call you can email you can reach out to any of our team we're truly

here for the community so no question is a bad question well we appreciate you uh

joining us today and if there's anything else that we can help uh the chamber out with definitely let us know and you guys

have done so much for us already so we definitely appreciate you guys and we look forward to to you know going to all

your guys' amazing events and and keep the relationships going yeah thank you so much for having

me this has been amazing oh look he he's back

now just for the time for the ending yeah welcome back I I I heard I heard

most of it I heard most of it

so we got a baseball game today so I muted I muted myself while I was at the office grabbing a couple things so I

didn't interfere with uh with Daniel's feed here's the website just so everyone

can see yeah you guys just redid the website too right we did last year was a big

year for us we got a new website had a bunch of new folks expanded our team you know redid the office space and we're

just constantly growing so if there's anything I can also say you know we're going to be consistently growing and changing so everything we're doing we're

trying to be Innovative and think about what our community needs and we're always going to switch it

up awesome well like I said I appreciate it and uh we'll see you I mean are you

going to be there on Tuesday at the CEO I will I'll see you guys at the CEO

Summit and I'll see you at happy hour and all the events

all right sounds good thanks for joining and uh thanks everyone make sure you guys uh like And subscribe to to and if

you don't like it let us know too and still subscribe so that way you can keep giving us a thumbs

down uh let us know what what we can do better so appreciate it and we'll see you guys next

week thanks everyone