What IS a Chamber of Commerce?
The earliest chamber of commerce in the United States came about on April 22, 1912. They named it the US Chamber of Commerce and while it still exists today, it is not the oldest.
The first chamber of commerce ever created came about in 1599 in Marseille, France. Its purpose was to gather merchants, industrialists, traders, and craftsmen in order to discuss and tackle community challenges. The chamber of commerce was a place of unity, even among competitors.
Numerous smaller chambers have cropped up throughout the nation as a voice for local area businesses and communities but their purpose is the same, just on a smaller scale.
Local chambers tackle issues and trends taking place in their community as well as offer resources and services to help local businesses succeed. It isn’t just a goodwill effort, but an effective strategy.
Did you know?
44% of consumers are more likely to think favorably of businesses who are members of their local chamber.
63% of consumers are more likely to buy products or services from businesses who are members of their local chamber.
Consumers view chamber of commerce members as trustworthy and are 12% more likely to believe their products or services are better than competitors.
What Does a Chamber of Commerce Do?
Chamber of Commerce organizations are not out-of-the-box, cookie-cutter setups. Every chamber is unique, with different benefits, resources, and opportunities.
The end goal, however, is the same: to serve as an influential voice and power that stands for the wellbeing of the local business environment. This includes helping to promote local businesses and improve their growth – from regular networking and volunteer events to promotion and marketing packages, business membership will gain local businesses the access to opportunities to make connections, meet potential new clients, and gain exposure for their brand.
For community members, membership offers a chance to support local businesses (maybe even find out about some you don’t even know about), come to meetings to hear the latest about what’s going on in the community, show support to local businesses, volunteer your time and talents to help the chamber of commerce at fundraising events and one of the best reasons? To show pride for your communities.
Our communities have grown so much since they were first established, we have overcome any number of obstacles, hardships, highs and lows and we are not done. The Chamber of Commerce has some exciting updates, improvements, offers for small businesses, acknowledgments, resources and fundraisers on the horizon (including a 2023 Yarnell Daze).
Feel free to reach out to us – there are exciting times ahead and we look forward to our communities coming together, working together and having a bit of fun together.