By Misty Cryer
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is well known for engaging in multiple activities to promote the well-being and attractiveness of the Carlsbad community, as well as providing information and assistance to newcomers, residents, and tourists. The Chamber of Commerce is second to none when it comes to supporting the local business community, giving special attention to helping Chamber members to be successful while advocating on the state and federal levels to benefit all stakeholders.
The first advantage for businesses in becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce is exposure, according to Chad Ingram, Chief Executive Officer of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. “Being a member of the Chamber of Commerce gives you exposure, and it also gives you access to other members in order to start connecting your dots and building your resources,” he said. “It ties you in with a network of individuals.”
Focusing on tourism and retirement, Ingram said, “When tourists come to town, they generally go to our website, and if they need something, they go to our member list.” When inquiries come in from people wanting information, he said, “The Chamber of Commerce refers our members.”
Ingram became the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce about four years ago, and he will finally start a program this year he has been dreaming about since taking the role. “I’ve been wanting to do this program called ‘Know Your Business.’ Know Your Business is going to be a series of seminars offered pretty soon, free to our members,” he said.
“Each seminar is going to focus on certain aspects that make your small to medium business successful,” Ingram said. For example, he said, “You may make the best green chili chicken enchiladas or pizza on the planet, or you know fashion better than anybody, and you’ve got this idea for a great boutique—you don’t have the full scope of what it means to actually run a business. We’re going to give you those tools.”
Using examples like insurance and questions about liability, recordkeeping, marketing, branding, hiring, and employee retention, Ingram said, “We’re going to help answer some of those questions.”
According to Ingram, the seminars are expected to involve professionals on the topics presented and be delivered through Zoom. He said the goal is to present a new topic each quarter, allowing members to attend seminars that interest them that they think will benefit them.
“The other thing about being a member in the Chamber is that we are advocates for you,” said Ingram. “We’re advocates in Santa Fe. We’re advocates on a federal level. We try to get more dollars down here, get more attention down here, and make sure that our lawmakers are doing things that are necessary in order to make all shareholders successful,” he said.
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce (302 S. Canal St.) can be reached at 575-887-6516. A list of members can be found on the website at https://www.carlsbadchamber.com. Social media accounts for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce include Facebook and Instagram, along with a YouTube channel.
Comentários