The Chamber Blog

For Business Owners: A Smart QR Code Playbook

QR codes have faded in and out of popularity over the past decade, but they’ve finally surpassed trend status and they’re here to stay. They are convenient ways to drive traffic to desired information or action platforms. When used with intention, QR codes quietly remove friction and move customers exactly where you want them to go. QR codes are great for information that could change such as daily specials. QR code stickers can also update old info on printed materials (perfect for the extremely budget

Christina Metcalf

The 48-Hour Rule: Turning Business Ideas into Reality

Small business owners are usually not short on ideas. You have them in the shower, in the car, halfway through a client call, and even in the middle of the night. Ideas for a new service. A better way to onboard customers. A partnership you should pursue. A social post series that would actually sound like you. No, the problem is not creativity. The problem is action. Most good ideas don’t die because they were bad. They die because they never get translated into a next step while they’re still

Christina Metcalf

Is Your Business Owner-Dependent?

It’s a simple question. Slightly uncomfortable. Surprisingly revealing. If you stepped away from your business for two weeks starting tomorrow, no email, no Slack, no “just checking in,” what would fall apart? Most business owners don’t love this thought experiment. Not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because many small businesses are built on proximity. You are the system. You are the memory. You are the fixer of last resort. That works. Until it doesn’t.

Christina Metcalf

Support Your Team With Confidence in Today’s Workplace

At the risk of starting the year off with doom and gloom, this is a topic that’s becoming increasingly important. Whether it’s personal uncertainties leaking into the workplace or your employees have concerns about the business or their place in it, many of them are feeling like they’re operating on unstable ground. This topic, while uncomfortable, is not something to be ignored or swept under the business welcome mat. Yet for business owners, this can feel like one more thing on an exhaustive to-do list.

Christina Metcalf

Five Ways to Turn Holiday Foot Traffic into Real Loyalty

Frank Kenny

The Most Overlooked Growth Practice for Business Owners Isn’t What You Think. And It ’ s Free

Christina Metcalf

How Small Businesses Can Win Big on Black Friday

You already know this but you will never out-doorbuster the big box stores. You are not supposed to. Your power is not in pallets of TVs sold near cost to get people in the door. It is in how people feel when they walk through your door. If you lean into experience, Black Friday can shift from “we cannot compete” to “we own this lane.

Rhonda Zunker

Igniting the Shop Local Movement: Every Purchase Has a Purpose

Rhonda Zunker

Getting Your Business Holiday Ready in 5 Simple Steps

Rhonda Zunker

Your Community Is Your Best Marketing Tool

Maybe you can’t afford a celebrity endorsement like Taylor Swift, but there are still plenty of lucrative opportunities to do something on a local scale. Influence marketing is changing. While businesses once chased celebrity endorsements and mega-influencers with millions of followers, smart companies are discovering that their most powerful brand ambassadors might already be customers or people sitting in the next booth at the local coffee shop.

Christina Metcalf