Business Training Opportunities from Chambers of Commerce

ABSTRACTChambers of Commerce are an invaluable but often overlooked resource, especially to the small business owner. Chambers provide low cost ways of business education which are frequently underutilized or neglected by the small business owner. This paper presents a case study of one chamber's services which can be used to improve the business skills of small business owners.INTRODUCTIONIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness (SparkNotes Editors, 2011).The above quote from the Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is set in 1775 in England and France. Though conditions are different in the United States in 2011, many small business owners would argue these are the worst of times. For one, there is a weak domestic economic recovery. A survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses showed that 50 percent of the respondents cited weaker sales, rising costs in labor, materials, and insurance as severe problems. Seven percent blamed higher taxes and regulatory costs. Weak sales are reflected by weak consumer purchases in services, a sector dominated by small business (Small Business Don't See Recovery Panning Out: NFIB, April, 2010).The small business owner of today is faced with difficult economic times, real or perceived, increased government regulation at all levels and fast changing technology as reflected by the increased role of Facebook, Twitter, and email marketing.To keep up with a very competitive environment and changing times, the small business owner must update or sharpen his or her business skills. There are many opportunities to do so. Universities, colleges, and community colleges offer noncredit certificate programs in small business management. Maidment (2008) found that 52 community colleges across the United States offered 66 noncredit certificate programs in Entrepreneurship. He concluded that community colleges need to take a more active role in small business/entrepreneurship education. Programs, courses, and workshops are offered both on-site and over the Internet. Educational programs are offered by state and local economic development agencies. For example, the Louisiana Economic Development agency has launched a new online training portal for Small and Emerging Business Development-Certified businesses. The online resource is designed to provide small businesses access to more than 40 course options, including marketing, strategic planning, computer skills, accounting, budget management, customer service, and business etiquette. This service is free (Louisiana Economic Development...July 1,2001). Training is also made available by Small Business Development Centers (free or at a low cost) and chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives.Proprietary programs are available such as the on-site Constant Contact Boot Camp-Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Trade associations, both state and national, provide learning opportunities at yearly conventions such as the 58th (2011) Annual Louisiana Foodservice Expo. Workshops and seminars were conducted on such topics as Making the Most of the Recovery Through Menu Marketing and Managing and Food Flandler Training. One other source of training is the local Chamber of Commerce.PURPOSEThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how small business owners, especially chamber members, can use the training and educational opportunities offered by a local chamber to improve business skills. It is a natural assumption that business owners with better skills should avoid costly mistakes; at the very least this should reduce the risks of business failure while hopefully increasing the performance of his or her business. The effectiveness of the different training methods is not evaluated here due to space constraints. Such evaluation is left for future research.This study also serves as an impetus to future research studies on chambers of commerce, a topic which has been neglected by academic researchers. …